News

The EEAS, Finland, Czechia, Estonia, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Sweden denounce Russia’s continued and systematic attempts to manipulate and interfere in the information space of democratic societies.

A Joint Readout by the United States, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom following recent engagements.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs will open a call for applications for programme-based support available for Finnish civil society organisations (CSOs). In this application round, Finnish CSOs may apply for discretionary government grants for development cooperation programmes and humanitarian assistance included in the programmes for the period 2026–2029. Applications will be accepted from 20 January to 28 February 2025.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland wishes everybody a joyous holiday season and a happy and peaceful New Year 2025!

Finland is supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s war of aggression in many ways. A new form of development aid has been developed to fund public investments in Ukraine carried out by Finnish businesses: the Finland-Ukraine Investment Facility (FUIF). The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is requesting that Finnish businesses submit concepts for projects to be funded.

The new decree of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on fees charged for services provided by the Finnish Foreign Service in 2025 enters into force on 1 January 2025. Several services that are now provided free of charge will become subject to a fee from 1 January 2025.

The terms and conditions of the Finnpartnership business partnership program will change at the beginning of 2025. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Finnfund signed an agreement in December 2024 to implement the Finnpartnership program's option period. During the option period covering 2025–2027, proven activities and practices from the previous program period will continue, with the addition of innovation financing.

Finland's membership of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) comes to an end at the turn of the year. The three-year term from 2022 to 2024 coincided with a turning point in global politics, which was reflected in both the HRC agenda and Finland's priorities. For Finland, systematically defending the HRC's global mandate to promote and protect human rights has been a prime concern. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs invited civil society organisations to discuss the outcomes of Finland's membership, lessons learned, and Finland's future actions as an HRC observer.

The Public Sector Investment Facility (PIF) is one of Finland’s development policy instruments for financing investments in developing countries. PIF provides financial support to such public sector projects in developing countries that are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and that make use of Finnish technology and expertise.

The UN Member States adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Paris on 10 December seventy-six years ago. One of the UN's most influential statements, the declaration is a key element of the multilateral rules-based system, writes Finland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen on International Human Rights Day.

Finland is the first country in the world to commission a composer to create an official national soundscape. Ääniä is an original musical work by Lauri Porra, one of the country’s most celebrated composers. It takes the listener on a journey through the impressions, seasons and serene beauty of the happiest country in the world.

Welcome to a business event hosted by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on 17 December 2024. We have invited experts to analyse the impacts of the upcoming US presidential term on geopolitics and thereby on foreign trade.

The seas of the world are the main theme of this year’s last issue of the Kauppapolitiikka trade policy magazine. Who owns marine riches and what are the risks of exploiting them?

Does your company or customers need legislation or guidelines concerning the export control of dual-use items in English? You will find the links on the website of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Nepal, Finland’s long-term partner country in development cooperation, is expected to graduate from a Least Developed Country (LDC) status in 2026. Finland and Nepal established diplomatic relations 50 years ago. Finland is now aiming to diversify its partnership with Nepal and increase commercial and economic cooperation with the country by taking advantage of the links between trade and development. Effective development cooperation plays a key role in bilateral relations.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs will organise an event on current export control matters for exporters of dual-use items on 29 November 2024.

Finland, together with Åland, holds the Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2025. The programme for the Presidency “Nordic Region 2025: United and Strong” was presented at the Nordic Council plenary session in Reykjavik on 29 October.

In June, Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen announced Finland’s and South Africa’s joint mentoring programme for young mediators. The programme is part of the implementation of the Letter of Intent on cooperation in mediation between Finland and South Africa.

The destruction caused by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has further increased the importance of environmental security. Environmental cooperation is one of the priorities of Finland’s development cooperation in Ukraine, and it is financed from development cooperation appropriations administered by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

UNICEF’s Child-lens Investing Framework helps investors assess how their investments impact children and encourages investors to finance projects that improve children’s wellbeing.

On 18 November, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs together with the US and UK sanctions authorities will organise a business event to discuss what it means to comply with the sanctions imposed by the European Union, the United States and the United Kingdom and how the sanctions may affect your business. This is a unique opportunity to deepen your understanding of the key sanctions, the associated risks, and the circumvention of sanctions.

Following the new Act on the Export Control of Dual-Use Items, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs has granted a national general export authorisation. The national authorisation allows businesses to export dual-use items on the national control list to certain countries simply by notifying the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The Ministry has also issued guidance for businesses on export control legislation.

The consultation on the draft decision on a national general export authorisation has ended, and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs is finalising the decision.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs will update the National Action Plan on Youth, Peace and Security in cooperation with the Finnish National Youth Council Allianssi and the Finnish Youth, Peace and Security Network. For this purpose, young people’s views on peace and security will be canvassed using group consultations and a survey questionnaire, which is now open.

Following Finland’s reform of the Act on Export Control of Dual-Use Items, the United States has added Finland to the list of IEC eligible destinations from 17 September 2024.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is consulting exporters on the draft decision on a national general export authorisation until 14 October 2024.

This is the last time during its membership period 2022–2024 that Finland will participate as a Member in the regular session of the UN Human Rights Council. In accordance with established practice, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs invited the representatives of the civil society to exchange views on Finland’s objectives and priorities for the upcoming session. The Human Rights Council (HRC) is the UN’s most important intergovernmental body promoting and protecting human rights. The HRC’s 57th session started on 9 September and ends on 11 October.

Finland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen met Sweden´s Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard in Helsinki on 13 September. The press conference was broadcast live on Friday 13.9 at 14.45.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is preparing a call for proposals for programme-based support, which will be open to Finnish civil society organisations (CSOs) in January 2025. In this application round, Finnish CSOs can apply for discretionary government grants for development cooperation programmes and, where applicable, for humanitarian assistance included in the programmes for the period 2026–2029. The grant is awarded from the development cooperation appropriations for Finnish CSOs’ development cooperation and humanitarian assistance.

Finland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen met Estonia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna in Helsinki on 6 September.

Nuclear weapons have been at the core of international relations ever since they were developed. Nuclear-weapons states and their allies regard nuclear weapons as the cornerstone of security and means to stabilise international relations. At the same time, nuclear weapons pose a threat to the existence of humankind.

The Government issued a decree on an advisory board on export control on 29 August. The decree was issued under the Act on the Control of Exports of Dual-Use Goods. The new act on the export of dual-use items enters into force on 15 September 2024.

EU-based exporters are required to prohibit in their contracts re-exportation to Belarus of goods covered by specific annexes to the Council regulation concerning EU sanctions against Belarus.

The reform of the Foreign Service of Finland took a step forward on 1 August, when the reorganisation of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the updated rules of procedure took effect. The purpose of the organisational reform is to lay a suitable foundation for the Ministry’s work in the current international situation and in terms of Finland’s foreign policy change. At the same time, cooperation across organisational boundaries has become even more important.

Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen and the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita met in Helsinki on Tuesday 6 August. The Ministers discussed a number of topical issues during the visit.

The public consultation concerning a government decree ended on 15 July 2024. The comments are available in the Gateway to Information on Government Projects.

On 16 July, the President of the Republic approved the bill for the Act on Temporary Measures to Combat Instrumentalised Migration. The aim of the act is to improve border security and ensure that Finland has effective means at its disposal to combat instrumentalised migration, which is being used to put pressure on Finland. The aim is also to prepare for more serious instances of instrumentalised migration.

Finland is participating in the UN High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development in New York on 8–17 July. The Forum assesses annually what progress has been made in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in different countries.

Based on predetermined criteria, the contract was awarded to VF Worldwide Holdings Ltd, which is the current provider of the outsourced application services to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.

The Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH) of the Council of Europe will hold its hundredth meeting in Helsinki in 25–28 June. The CDDH develops human rights standards and promotes human rights in the Member States of the Council of Europe. The intergovernmental work of the CDDH is based on the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and on the European human rights treaties.

Finland’s membership of the UN Human Rights Council continues until the end of 2024. This year, Ambassador Heidi Schroderus-Fox, Permanent Representative of Finland to the United Nations Office at Geneva, is serving as one of the Council’s Vice-Presidents. The President and Vice-Presidents are responsible for upholding the Council’s mandate to protect and promote human rights.

At the end of May, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs invited representatives of civil society organisations to comment on Finland’s participation in the 56th session of the UN Human Rights Council. The discussions focused on increasingly narrow civic space in countries such as Belarus, Uganda and Myanmar and on the rights of women and girls in the midst of war and crises.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will host the Foreign Ministers’ meeting of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) in Porvoo on 13–14 June. Watch the webcast of the press conference on 14 June at approximately 13.15.

Despite the increasing instability of the global operating environment, good results have been achieved within the framework of Finland's bilateral country programmes. The recent report summarizes the results of an analysis that looked at Finland's ten country programmes in 2021-2024.

The export authorisation application form has been updated as of 13 June 2024. The change will support the overall assessment of applications.

What should we do to tackle the crises related to climate change, biodiversity and pollution on the global scale? This was the main theme of a course on environmental law-making and diplomacy for an international group of students. The course was organised with support from the Finnish Government.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has published an online course Business and Human Rights, which is open to everyone.

The Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages has called on the Finnish authorities to further strengthen education of Inari Sami, North Sami and Skolt Sami and ensure their effective use in social and health care services. The committee also recommends that the authorities increase awareness and tolerance in the society as a whole vis-à-vis the regional or minority languages and the cultures they represent.