Current Affairs

Minister for Nordic Cooperation and Equality, Thomas Blomqvist, will attend a meeting of the Ministers for Nordic Cooperation in Halden, Norway, on 27–28 June. One of the main topics of the meeting will be Nordic cooperation in times of crisis with a particular focus on the role of the ministers for Nordic cooperation in ensuring the exchange of information between the countries. At the meeting, ministers will adopt a joint declaration on cooperation during crises.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend Nordic foreign ministers’ meeting in N5 format in Norway on 27 June.

The international community supports the sustainability and operational capacity of Ukraine’s public sector in the midst of the war through the World Bank’s FREE Ukraine Multi-Donor Trust Fund. Following Russia’s aggression in February 2022, Finland has granted EUR 21 million in additional funding for development cooperation and humanitarian assistance in Ukraine.

Restrictions on entry at Finland’s external borders imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic will be lifted on 1 July 2022. Third-country travellers arriving in Finland will no longer be required to hold vaccination or COVID-19 test certificates, and COVID-19 tests will not be carried out at border crossing points.

On Wednesday 22 June, the Government appointed a new Deputy Director General. At the presidential session on Wednesday 22 June, the President of the Republic decided to appoint two new Ambassadors.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will participate in a high-level panel discussion to be held in connection with the summer session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg. Minister Haavisto will have also bilateral meetings.

EU foreign ministers will convene in Luxembourg on Monday 20 June. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will represent Finland at the meeting. The main themes on the agenda of the Foreign Affairs Council will be the Horn of Africa, EU relations with Egypt and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Ministers will also have a discussion on the Persian Gulf.

Executive Secretary Robert Floyd of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) is visiting Finland from 15 to 17 June at the invitation of Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto. The will includes a tour of Finland’s CTBTO monitoring network.

On 14–16 June 2022, Finland will serve for the second time in succession as president of the session of the Conference of States Parties (COSP) to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Representatives from more than 180 countries are expected to attend the conference in New York. A large number of representatives of civil society organisations and UN agencies, dedicated to promoting the rights of persons with disabilities, will also attend the conference. The Finnish delegation will be led by Permanent State Secretary at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs Jukka Salovaara.

The Fifth National Dialogues Conference (NDC) will bring about 120 peace mediation experts from 30 different countries to Helsinki on 15–16 June. On the two days, the conference will focus on the significance and challenges of national dialogues in the changing world. Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto will open the conference and participate in the opening panel discussion.

On 13 June 2022, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) adopted an opinion on a matter concerning the right to be included in the electoral roll in Sámi parliamentary elections.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will visit New York and Washington DC on 14–17 June 2022. The matters on the agenda of discussions during the visit will include questions relating to UN specialised agencies focusing on development, the security situation in Europe, and commercial cooperation between the two countries, especially in the forest sector.

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) will hold its 50th regular session from 13 June to 8 July 2022. It is the UN’s most important intergovernmental body protecting and promoting human rights.

On Friday 10 July, the President of the Republic granted a new authorisation to represent Finland abroad.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will host a Nordic-African Foreign Ministers' Meeting on 13–15 June. In addition to the Nordic foreign ministers, 25 African foreign ministers have been invited to the meeting.

On 18 May, representatives of civil society organisations met with Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto to discuss Finland’s objectives and priorities at the 50th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council, which will convene in Geneva on 13 June–8 July 2022. Nearly 40 CSOs had sent their representatives to the consultation event organised at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The event was chaired by Ambassador for Human Rights and Democracy Rauno Merisaari.

Sustainable development, contacts between people, transport and logistics will remain as other priorities.

The European Commission offers technical support for Member States for the promotion of sustainable economic growth, competitiveness and employment as well as for the implementation of national recovery and resilience plans (RRPs). The national deadline for submitting requests for technical support under the Technical Support Instrument (TSI) for 2023 will be open until 24 October 2022.

Finland has opened its first Embassy in French-speaking West Africa. Ambassador Anu Saxén and Administrative Official Maija-Liisa Vähäkuopus from the Embassy discuss the reasons behind the decision to establish a mission in Dakar.

In response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a flagrant violation of the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, based on international law, the other Arctic Council founding states -- Canada, Finland, Iceland, the Kingdom of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and the United States -- on March 3 announced a pause in their participation in the Arctic Council. Since March 3, representatives from these States have examined modalities to allow a resumption of the work in the Arctic Council.