Foreign Minister Tuomioja to Nordic and Baltic Foreign Ministers' meeting  in Oslo

Press release 311/2006
24 August, 2006

Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja will participate at the meeting of the so called NB8 Group, the foreign ministers of Nordic and Baltic countries, held in Oslo on 25 August. Similar late summer meetings have been held since 1993. Lately, the meetings have been focusing on the EU's common foreign and security policy and its key issues.

This time the EU dimension will dominate the meeting more than before. The reason for this is not only the Finnish EU Presidency but also the fact that Minister Tuomioja will proceed, together with other NB ministers, from Oslo directly to Brussels, where an extraordinary foreign minister meeting of the EU countries will be held. At the centre of discussions will be the participation of the EU member states in the peace-keeping operation in Lebanon.

At the conference in Oslo Finland is scheduled to provide an intermediary report on its presidency and to give an overview on the challenges in the coming months. In addition to the Middle East question situations in other conflict areas, such as Sri Lanka, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan, will also be discussed. The ongoing question of Iran at the UN Security Council will also feature on the agenda as well as the EU-Russia relations, the eastern neighbourhood policy of the EU and the Western Balkans.

Discussions on the Baltic Sea cooperation will include the expiration of the mandate for the Nordic Baltic Task Force against Trafficking in Human Beings and how to transfer the legacy of the task force to the larger framework of the Baltic Sea Council. During its four-year existence the task force has managed to raise combat against human trafficking to the political agenda in each of the eight NB countries. Also the cooperation between the countries in combating human trafficking has become more effective. For more information about the action group see http://www.against-trafficking.org.

Further information: Counsellor Ari Tasanen, Unit for Central and Southeastern Europe, tel. +358 9 1605 5630, and  Legal Officer Janina Hasenson, Unit for Human Rights Policy, tel. +358 9 1605 5320