Foreign Ministry opens call for applications for government grants for foreign and security policy in 2026

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs opens a call for applications for discretionary government grants for civil society organisations (CSOs) and communities whose activities are relevant to Finland’s foreign and security policy and its international commitments and that support the promotion of international activities of Finnish businesses and the development and provision of services aimed at helping businesses to expand internationally.

Discretionary government grants open for applications from the 2026 Budget item 24.90.50 (‘Certain government grants’). The call for applications is open from 8 December 2025 to 16 January 2026.

The priorities for the 2026 call for applications are based on the Government’s foreign and security policy, including the reports on foreign and security policy, international economic relations and development cooperation. The grants are meant for CSOs’ and communities’ activities that are relevant to Finland’s foreign and security policy and its international commitments and the mandate of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in general. Government grants may also be awarded for communities for activities that support the promotion of international activities of Finnish businesses and the development and provision of services aimed at helping businesses to expand internationally. Grants are not awarded for services for individual businesses or for economic activity.

The priorities for the call for applications are:

Future and security of Finland and Europe

1. Supporting Ukraine

2. Supporting the westward orientation of the EU neighbourhood

3. Supporting the international rules-based system

Economic relations supporting Finland’s growth

4. Attracting investments and talent

5. Promoting Finnish businesses’ exports and expansion into international markets

6. Strengthening the EU’s strategic competitiveness

7. Deepening partnerships (especially in critical technologies)

The grants are discretionary general grants, and they are awarded in accordance with the Act on Discretionary Government Grants (688/2001). The grants will be awarded if Parliament allocates the necessary funds in the 2026 Budget. The grants for 2026 will be awarded for a period of one year.

Discretionary government grants may be awarded to competent CSOs, associations or foundations that have been entered into the Finnish Register of Associations for a minimum of three years prior to the closing date of the call for applications. Government grants may also be awarded for communities that support the promotion of international activities of Finnish businesses and the development and provision of services aimed at helping businesses to expand internationally. The grants may be awarded for the operating expenses of entities registered in Finland that support the objectives of the administrative branch of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs by providing expert, information and advisory services to improve the ability of small and medium-sized enterprises to expand internationally or operate in Finland or abroad. For special reasons, the grants may be awarded to entities registered abroad if the project benefits Finland.

Applications must be submitted in the Applyforgrants.fi service. To submit an application, you must have a mandate to act on behalf of your organisation. Mandates are granted in the Suomi.fi e-Authorizations service. In some cases, mandates must be registered in the Digital and Population Data Service Agency’s mandate service. The applicant is responsible for checking and getting the necessary mandates. Read more about the Suomi.fi e-Authorizations on the website of the State Treasury.

All applications must be submitted by 16 January 2026 at 16.15. Applications arriving late will not be considered.

Applicants may email questions about the call for applications to [email protected] until 12 December 2025. The answers will be published on the Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ website about government grants for foreign and security policy by 17 December 2025.