Prime Minister Orpo at European Political Community Summit in Tirana: “We are speaking with one voice"

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo represented Finland at the Summit of the European Political Community (EPC) in Tirana, Albania on Friday 16 May. 

“It is very important for all European countries to come together at the same table, especially today, when there are ceasefire discussions taking place in Istanbul that will be decisive for the future of Europe.  It sends an important and unified message: Europe stands with Ukraine,” Orpo said.

“We are speaking with one voice: we need a ceasefire, peace talks, and a just and lasting  peace,” Orpo continued.

During the summit, Prime Minister Orpo took part in a small group discussion on European security. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy was also in attendance.

“If an agreement is not reached on a ceasefire, Europe – together with the United States – must respond quickly. In practice, this means imposing harsher sanctions and putting additional pressure on Russia. At the same time, we have to strengthen our support for Ukraine,” Prime Minister Orpo said in his speech.

In connection with the meeting, Prime Minister Orpo spoke with leaders including Federal Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and had separate meetings with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and Secretary General of the Council of Europe Alain Berset.

Inquiries: Marja Koskela, Diplomatic Adviser to the Prime Minister, tel. +358 295 160 978, Tuomas Tikkanen, Senior Adviser in European Affairs, tel. +358 40 523 5768, Juuso Kilpinen, Special Adviser for EU Affairs, tel. +358 50 322 9636