Russian invasion of Ukraine

Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will attend the Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), held in Skopje, North Macedonia, on 29–30 November. North Macedonia holds the OSCE Chairmanship in 2023.

The Joint Statement was delivered in Brussels on 27 November by the Benelux and Nordic Countries: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will attend a meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Brussels on 28–29 November.

Finland will grant EUR 3 million in additional support to improve food security in Ukraine. The funding will be used to support Ukrainian exports of grain to countries where food security is adversely affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Some of the funds will be used to help clear mines in rural Ukraine to restart agricultural production.

EU foreign ministers will convene in Brussels on 13 November. Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will represent Finland at the meeting.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will visit Berlin on 9 November 2023 to meet with Germany’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock and to attend the NATO Annual Cyber Defence Conference.

Border States met in Vilnius to discuss EU sanctions circumvention, especially trade routes and patters, and agreed on concrete common measures to further strengthen implementation of sanctions and prevention of sanctions circumvention.

Finland’s support to Ukraine, channelled through the World Bank Group, will be used to strengthen basic public services, repair critical infrastructure, promote policy reforms and lay the foundation for Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery. Part of the support will be used to help the least-developed countries affected by the Russian invasion and by other global crises.

Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will attend an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 2 October.

EU foreign affairs ministers will meet at the Informal Meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers (Gymnich) in Toledo in Spain on 30–31 August. State Secretary Lauri Tierala will represent Finland at the meeting.

In honour of Ukrainian Independence Day on Thursday 24 August, the Government will fly the Ukrainian flag at Senate Square and at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ main building Merikasarmi, which will also be illuminated in blue and yellow in the evening.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will visit Oslo in Norway and Copenhagen in Denmark on 11 August. The Minister visits the two countries for the first time.

The European Union has imposed new sanctions on Belarus in response to the deteriorating internal situation in Belarus and to the country’s involvement in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The EU Member States approved further sanctions against Belarus on 3 August 2023.

On 28 July Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio assigned the task of drawing up a plan concerning Finland’s participation in the reconstruction of Ukraine.

The first stocktaking meeting of the UN Food Systems Summit held two years ago takes place in Rome on 24–26 July. Finland highlights its experiences as a frontrunner in providing school meals.

EU foreign ministers will convene in Brussels on 20 July. Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will represent Finland at the meeting. The ministers will also have an informal exchange of views with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken via videoconference.

Companies play a key role in the enforcement of sanctions and in preventing circumvention of sanctions. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has published practical expert guidance to companies on how to detect and prevent circumvention of sanctions on the MFA Russia sanctions webpage. The guidance provides practical advice on carrying out risk assessments and sanctions compliance. The guidance includes a list of red flags that the company can use when assessing concrete cases of foreign trade. The guidance includes links to the lists published by the Commission of products of particular relevance for the enforcement of sanctions.

In their joint statement of 12 July 2023, the Nordic countries express their readiness to support Ukraine and its security in the long term, building on the security commitments made to Ukraine by the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States). 

The UN Human Rights Council convenes for its 53rd Regular Session from 19 June to 14 July in Geneva, Switzerland.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend the Nordic foreign ministers’ meeting, N5, in Iceland from 12 to 13 June.

The OECD Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) will take place from 7 to 8 June 2023 in Paris. The theme of this year’s meeting is securing a resilient future. The ministers will also discuss the reconstruction of Ukraine.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will host United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Finland on 2 June.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will attend the Foreign Affairs Council in its trade configuration in Brussels on Thursday 25 May. The trade ministers will discuss the EU’s trade relations with the United States and China and preparations for the next Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The ministers will also discuss the EU’s ongoing bilateral trade negotiations.

Making a rare appearance in Finland, the Finnish-Ecuadorian climate and environmental activist Helena Gualinga will deliver a keynote speech at the invitation of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs at the World Village Festival in Suvilahti, Helsinki on Saturday 27 May.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is a main partner of the World Village Festival taking place on 27–28 May in Suvilahti, Helsinki. This year’s festival theme is "Force for Change!".

EU foreign ministers will convene in Brussels on 22 May. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will represent Finland at the meeting.

Combatting circumvention of the EU sanctions is a common mission of the EU Member States, especially of those who are at the forefront of sanctions implementation at the border with Russia. In order to facilitate co-operation further, the Border States, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and EFTA member state Norway, met in Helsinki on 15-17 May.

Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will visit Boston in the United States from 19 to 21 May.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend the Baltic Offshore Wind Forum of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) in Berlin, Germany, on 9 May. The Baltic Offshore Wind Forum is hosted by the German Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock and the Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs Lars Løkke Rasmussen.

The EU Foreign Affairs Council will meet on 4 May in Brussels in its development configuration.

Under-Secretary of State Kai Sauer and the foreign ministers of Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden visited Chisinau in Moldova and Odesa in Ukraine on 27–28 April.

EU foreign ministers will convene in Luxembourg on 24 April. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will represent Finland at the meeting.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will meet Estonia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna in Helsinki on 18 April.

On 9 March, the National Enforcement Authority Finland imposed interim measures to freeze a shipment of fertilisers, loaded on board at the Port of Kotka. The fertilizers were suspected of being under control of a person listed in the EU sanctions against Russia. An investigation, carried out in cooperation among authorities, confirmed the link between the shipment of fertilisers and a sanctioned individual.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend a meeting of Nordic foreign ministers (N5) on 22 March.

EU foreign ministers will convene in Brussels on 20 March. A joint session of EU foreign and defence ministers will be held on the same day. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will represent Finland at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting. Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defence Antti Kaikkonen will represent Finland at the joint session. In addition, Minister Haavisto and Minister Kaikkonen will meet NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Ukraine has requested support from Finland, particularly to meet the immediate and longer-term needs related to education, the environment and radiation safety. Finland will provide Ukraine with EUR 29 million in humanitarian assistance and development cooperation support.

The meeting agenda will also include global health and the EU’s competitiveness. Finland is represented by the Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will visit Geneva, Switzerland, from 26 to 27 February. He will deliver Finland’s address to a High-Level Segment of the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council on 27 February.

On 25 February 2023, the EU imposed new sanctions as a response to Russia’s continued attacks against Ukraine’s civilian targets and critical infrastructure. The tenth package of sanctions introduces new export bans on critical technology, industrial products and dual-use items. In addition, the EU introduces new measures to prevent the circumvention of sanctions.

Finland stands with Ukraine now and in the future, says Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto in Finland’s national statement on the anniversary on 24 February 2023 of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Friday 24 February marks the one-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs will mark the day in many ways. Finland wants to show its solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people and to commemorate the victims of Russia’s aggression.

Finland contributes EUR 5 million to the World Food Programme (WFP) to support the implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. With Finland’s support, WFP is buying grain from Ukraine and taking it to African countries affected by the food crisis.

EU foreign ministers will convene in Brussels on Monday 20 February. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will represent Finland at the meeting.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend the Munich Security Conference in Germany from 17 to 19 February.

Germany’s Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will visit Finland from 13 to 14 February at the invitation of Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto.

On 2 February 2023, Finland joined a core group set up to support Ukraine in achieving accountability for Russia’s crime of aggression against Ukraine. Altogether 19 states and the European External Action Service have joined the group in addition to Finland and Ukraine.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will visit Tallinn in Estonia and Riga in Latvia on 25 January.

EU foreign ministers will convene in Brussels on 23 January. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will represent Finland at the meeting.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto and Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will attend the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. Minister Haavisto will be in Davos from 17 to 19 January and Minister Skinnari from 17 to 18 January.