Foreign Minister Soini to attend General Affairs Council meeting

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini will attend the meeting of the General Affairs Council in Luxembourg on Tuesday 18 October.

The focus of the meeting is on preparations for the European Council, which will be convening the same week on 20 and 21 October. The main topics of the Council are migration, trade policy and external relations. Finland considers it important that work in the autumn European Council meetings is done in the spirit of the roadmap discussed at the informal meeting of the Heads of State or Government in Bratislava.

Also on the agenda at the General Affairs Council is the mid-term review of the multiannual financial framework 2014–2020 based on a status report drafted by the Presidency. In principle Finland is in favour of the objectives to increase flexibility, including to respond to the expenditure caused by migration. Any proposals for additional funding should include a thorough consideration of the possibilities to reallocate funding to make sure that additional funding is implemented without increasing the total level of the financial framework.  

Inquiries: Heli Siivola, Senior Specialist for EU Affairs, tel. +358 295 160 476, Prime Minister's Office and Riikka Taivassalo, Press Attaché, tel. +358 46 923 4581