Press releases

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend a meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Bucharest from 29 to 30 November.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs requests opinions on the draft Decree of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on Fees for Services Produced by the Foreign Service in 2023. The consultation round will be open until 7 December 2022. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs proposes an increase of EUR 20 to the fee for the EU Emergency Travel Document (ETD) issued to EU citizens.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will visit London on 24 November. Minister Skinnari will meet the United Kingdom’s Minister of State at the Department for International Trade Greg Hands and Minister of State in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Andrew Mitchell.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Haavisto will visit Paris on 23 November. He will meet Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Catherine Colonna and President of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the French National Assembly Jean-Louis Bourlanges.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend the Manama Dialogue organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in Bahrain from 18 to 19 November. He will have a number of bilateral meetings during the visit.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs together with its partners will organise a Crisis Management NOW event focusing on crisis management and peacebuilding. The event will take place in the Wanha Satama conference centre in Katajanokka on Tuesday 29 November. It will be open to all and free of charge.

More than half of Russians still have a positive attitude towards Finland, according to a country image survey carried out by the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. However, the proportion of Russians who are positive towards Finland has dropped compared to previous years. Finland and Finnishness are associated with nature, quality and a high standard of living. The best-known Finns in Russia are Ville Haapasalo, Mika Häkkinen and Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto has convened an international conference to discuss gender equality promotion and feminist foreign policy. The conference will take place at the House of the Estates in Helsinki on 16 November. The conference aims to share best practices on the content and means of foreign policy that promotes gender equality. Another aim is to encourage more discussion about feminist foreign policy in Finland. Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto commissioned a review on how Finland’s foreign policy has succeeded in promoting gender equality.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade of Finland Mr Ville Skinnari will lead a trade mission to South Africa and Namibia from 14 to 18 November. The programme of the visit includes meetings with representatives of South African and Namibian governments, central banks and businesses.

EU foreign ministers will convene in Brussels on 14 November. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will represent Finland at the meeting.

The Government endorsed a report on Nordic cross-border barriers in its plenary session on 10 November. The report presents Finnish efforts to remove and prevent cross-border barriers during the government term and highlights barriers, which the Finnish authorities have been working to remove. In addition, the report gives general information about the removal of cross-border barriers by, for example, listing key bodies and their roles.

Most of the people who need humanitarian assistance are living amid crises that have gone on for years. Altogether 325 million people in 69 countries need assistance. Finland is granting EUR 13.6 million in humanitarian assistance to help especially the most vulnerable people.

Recent crises underline the importance of development cooperation as a key instrument of foreign and security policy, according to Finland’s Development Policy Results Report submitted to Parliament on 9 November.

Finland will support the grain shipments of the World Food Programme (WFP) from Ukraine to Somalia. At the same time, Finland will increase its humanitarian assistance to the Horn of Africa, where more than 20 million people are in need of urgent food aid.

Finland’s human rights record will be examined in the Universal Periodic Review by the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on 9 November. The review gives UN Member States the opportunity to ask Finland questions about our human rights record and give Finland recommendations. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will head Finland’s interministerial delegation.

A draft government proposal on the adoption of the North Atlantic Treaty and of the Agreement on the status of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, National Representatives and International Staff was sent out for comments on 3 November 2022. The draft proposal was prepared by a working group led by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

The annual meeting of the Nordic Women Mediators’ network will be held in Helsinki on 2–4 November 2022. The three-day meeting will explore topical issues related to peace and security. Minister for Foreign Affairs Haavisto will host a panel discussion in connection with the meeting.

Minister of Commerce of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Dr. Majid Alkassabi will visit Finland on 1–4 November on the invitation of Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari.

On 31 October 2022, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) gave Finland recommendations in relation to the eighth periodic report of Finland on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will visit Vienna, Austria, on 1 November. Haavisto will attend a symposium of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and meet the Austrian Foreign Minister.

The 74th Ordinary Session of the Nordic Council will be held in Helsinki from 31 October to 3 November. Minister for Nordic Cooperation and Equality Thomas Blomqvist will attend several meetings and events on 1 and 2 November.

The 74th Ordinary Session of the Nordic Council will be held in Helsinki from 31 October to 3 November. Minister for Foreign Affairs Haavisto will attend a hearing of foreign ministers at the Plenary of the Nordic Council and a meeting of Nordic foreign ministers (N5) on 2 November.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will visit Saudi Arabia and Qatar from 24 to 27 October 2022. During his visit, Minister Skinnari will meet Saudi Arabian and Qatari ministers and representatives of business life. In addition, he will deliver a keynote address at the international Future Investment Initiative Forum (FII), which will be held in Riyadh on from 25 to 27 October.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will meet Sweden’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Tobias Billström in Helsinki on 21 October.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will meet UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly in London on 19 October.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has been drafting a government report to describe the work carried out during the government term to remove cross-border barriers between the Nordic countries and to increase awareness of efforts and key parties in removing the barriers. Comments on the draft report can be submitted on the website lausuntopalvelu.fi until the end of October.

Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Catherine Russell will visit Finland on 19 October. Russell was invited to Finland by Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs will begin cooperation negotiations at its Service Centre for Entry Permits in Kouvola. The negotiations concern the officials who process visa applications at the centre.

EU foreign ministers will convene in Luxembourg on 17 October. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will represent Finland at the meeting.

Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) David Beasley will visit Finland on 18 October. He will attend the ministerial meeting of the School Meals Coalition in Helsinki.

On 12 September 2022, the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Rights of the Child issued its views on a communication against Finland concerning Finnish children held in the Al-Hol camp in northeast Syria. The views were made public on 12 October 2022. The communication was submitted by relatives of some of the children held in the Al-Hol camp. The Committee concludes that Finland is in violation of Article 6(1) (right to life) and Article 37(a) (prohibition of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Finnish-Kazakh Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation will meet in Helsinki on 11 October. Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will chair the meeting. The Kazakh delegation is led by Minister of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources Serikkali Brekeshev.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will visit Brussels on 10 October and speak at a meeting of the EU Heads of Mission. Minister Haavisto will also meet EU High Representative Josep Borrell and Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hadja Lahbib.

On 6 October 2022, the European Union imposed new sanctions on Russia in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The eight package of sanctions will ban transport of Russian oil that exceed a pre-established price cap and add new import and export bans. The new package will extend and specify the already imposed sanctions and include new provisions on their implementation. In addition, the EU introduces a new criterion for the listing of individuals and entities subject to sanctions that will make it possible to add to the list those who facilitate the circumvention of EU sanctions.

The Development Policy Committee commissioned a report on sustainable development investing. While significant sums are already being invested from Finland in the world’s least-developed countries, private investment could bolster the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) even more systematically. It would be essential to create clear criteria for sustainable development investing. In addition, the private and public sectors should work together to find ways to promote responsible investment especially in the least-developed countries.

The United States and Finland will open negotiations on a Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) this autumn. The agreement will provide a framework and a legal basis for regular defence cooperation between Finland and the United States. It would also create conditions for closer cooperation if the security situation so requires.

The Finnish Government has appointed a coordination group for Finland’s NATO membership, with responsibility for monitoring the preparations for Finland’s membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The group will coordinate among the ministries new functions and resource needs that are related to the membership. In addition, it will ensure the flow of information across branches of government. The coordination group is chaired by Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto.

On 29 September 2022, the Finnish Government issued a resolution to significantly restrict the entry of Russian tourists into Finland. The entry restrictions will enter into force on 30 September 2022 at 00.00, and they will remain in force until further notice.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will visit Tokyo on 26–27 September. He will represent Finland at the state funeral for Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo on 27 September.

Finland, like many other States, has decided to take part in two sets of international judicial proceedings in which Ukraine demands that Russia be held responsible for violations of international law.

Finland calls for a recommendation that allow Schengen countries, when they refuse entry of Russian nationals at their border, to either annul or revoke a person’s visa or impose an entry ban on them in accordance with ordinary Schengen practices.

The Finnish Internet Forum will be held on Thursday 29 September 2022, after a break of three years. The themes of the event include the impacts that giant platform economy companies may have on freedom of speech and EU regulation concerning the internet.

Finland will participate in the EU Integrated Resolve Exercise, which will be held between 19 September and 18 November 2022.

The high-level meetings of the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 77) will start in New York on Monday 19 September. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto and Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will attend ministerial events in New York and have bilateral meetings with their counterparts and with representatives of the UN. Minister Skinnari also has Team Finland programme.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will meet Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó in Budapest on 15 September.

Minister for Nordic Cooperation and Equality Thomas Blomqvist will attend a meeting of Ministers for Nordic Cooperation on 13 September. The meeting will be held virtually.

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) will hold its 51th regular session from 12 September to 7 October. This is the third session during Finland’s three-year membership in the Human Rights Council. Finland will continue its long-standing commitment to the promotion of universal human rights.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will meet political leaders of Åland in Mariehamn on 12 September.

On 2 September, the Finnish police decided to interrupt the active criminal investigation measures requested by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. On 17 December 2019, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs requested the police to investigate how certain internal documents wound up in the public domain.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend a meeting of Nordic and Baltic foreign ministers, to be held in the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) cooperation format, in Kaunas in Lithuania on 6–7 September.