Prime Minister Orpo to host Arctic summit of EU leaders in Rovaniemi
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has invited a group of EU leaders to the European Arctic Summit in Rovaniemi on 13–14 September. The aim of the summit is to strengthen the EU’s common strategic approach to the Arctic region as its geopolitical significance continues to grow rapidly.
“The Arctic region is an increasingly important part of Europe's security environment. The European Union has direct interests in its stability, security and sustainable development. It is very valuable to be able to discuss these issues together with a comprehensive group of EU leaders,” said Prime Minister Orpo.
The summit will be hosted by Prime Minister of Finland Petteri Orpo and will be attended by Federal Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz, Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Estonia Kristen Michal, Prime Minister of Latvia Andris Kulbergs, President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda, President of Romania Nicușor Dan and Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Noël Barrot. President of the European Council António Costa and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, Security Policy Kaja Kallas and the Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela will also be in attendance.
In connection with the meeting, the leaders of the EU Member States and institutions will have a working dinner on Sunday 13 September with President of the Republic of Finland Alexander Stubb, Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre and Prime Minister of Iceland Kristrún Frostadóttir.
Prime Minister Orpo has also invited EU leaders to Finland in previous years: the Eastern Flank Summit was held in Helsinki in December 2025, while the North South Summit on European security challenges took place in Saariselkä in December 2024.
Inquiries: Laura Quist, Diplomatic Adviser to the Prime Minister, tel. +358 50 439 1677, Tuomas Tikkanen, Senior Adviser in European Affairs, tel. +358 40 523 5768, Elisa Tarkiainen, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister (EU Affairs), tel. +358 295 160 363 and Anne Sjöholm, Head of Communications, tel. +358 40 537 0733, Prime Minister’s Office
The email addresses of the Finnish Government are in the format [email protected].
Updated information on participants: The French Foreign Minister and the EU Commissioner for International Partnerships will attend the meeting, Poland's Prime Minister and Ireland's Prime Minister will not attend. The Prime Ministers of Norway and Iceland will also attend the dinner on Sunday.
The press conference after the summit on 14 September will be streamed live at 14.45 on the Government video service and YouTube.
Photos of the summit will be available in the Government Flickr account.