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26.3.2026 | Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and Taoiseach or Prime Minister of Ireland Micheál Martin will meet in Helsinki on Tuesday 31 March. Their bilateral discussions are expected to focus on the forthcoming Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU and on topical international issues.

31.3.2026 | Prime Minister Petteri Orpo called for quick decisions on EU funding when he met with Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland Micheál Martin in Helsinki on Tuesday 31 March. Discussions at the meeting focused Ireland’s forthcoming EU Council Presidency, key international issues and bilateral relations between Ireland and Finland.

28.2.2025 | Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will visit Dublin, Belfast and London from 3 to 4 March. In Dublin, the Foreign Minister will meet Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Minister for Defence Simon Harris. In Belfast, Minister Valtonen will deliver the Annual Harri Holkeri Lecture on mediation at Queen’s University. In London, she will speak about European security at an event hosted by Chatham House.

27.5.2025 | We are deeply concerned by recent legislative and constitutional amendments infringing on the fundamental rights of LGBTIQ+ persons which were adopted by the Hungarian Parliament on 18 March and 14 April 2025 following other anti-LGBTIQ+ legislation already introduced in previous years.

11.8.2023 | At the presidential session on Friday 11 August, the President of the Republic appointed a new Ambassador to Ireland and new non-resident Ambassadors to Djibouti, South Sudan, Malta and San Marino. In addition, the Government appointed a new Under-Secretary of State for International Trade.

5.4.2022 | Prime Minister Sanna Marin and Taoiseach or Prime Minister of Ireland Micheál Martin will meet in Helsinki on Friday 8 April.

8.4.2022 | Prime Minister Sanna Marin and Taoiseach, Prime Minister of Ireland, Micheál Martin met in Helsinki on Friday 8 April. The main topics in the discussion were the EU’s actions to end Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, support to Ukraine, and the economic and energy situation in Europe.

13.4.2022 | Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished ambassadors,

13.4.2022 | Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished ambassadors,

6.2.2022 | This year, Ireland and Finland celebrate 60 years since diplomatic relations were established in 1962.

18.1.2021 | Direct passenger flights from the UK, Ireland and South Africa continue to be suspended Ministry for Foreign Affairs Publication date 18.1.2021 15.37 Type: News item The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom has decided that the sus...

21.1.2021 | Changes to travel recommendations: avoid all travel to United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa Ministry for Foreign Affairs Publication date 21.1.2021 12.50 Type: News item The Ministry for Foreign Affairs urges to avoid all travel to the United ...

2.2.2021 | Changes to travel recommendations: avoid all travel to Brazil, Ireland, Portugal, South Africa and the United Kingdom Ministry for Foreign Affairs Publication date 2.2.2021 9.52 Type: News item The Ministry for Foreign Affairs urges to avoid all t...

Finland's EU policy The European Union is Finland’s most important political and economic frame of reference and community of values. The basic stance of Finland’s EU policy is to further develop the European Union and to promote growth, stability...

13.7.2026 | The EU General Affairs Council (GAC) will meet in Brussels on Tuesday 14 July. The main theme of the meeting will be the simplification of EU legislation. The Council will also hear a presentation on the priorities of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU. Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering Joakim Strand will represent Finland at the meeting.

7.6.2022 | Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will meet Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney in Helsinki on 7 June. Follow the live webcast of the press conference at 12.50.

9.7.2026 | An informal meeting of EU ministers responsible for competitiveness (internal market and industry) will be held in Dublin on 9–10 July 2026. Finland will be represented by Minister of Economic Affairs Sakari Puisto.

3.7.2026 | In its meeting on 3 July, the Ministerial Committee on European Union Affairs specified Finland’s positions on the overall level of the EU’s multiannual financial framework (MFF) for 2028–2034, new own resources and key issues for the negotiations. The ministerial committee also outlined Finland’s positions for three upcoming council meetings.

30.4.2026 | The European countries participating in Santa Marta express their strong support for the Santa Marta First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels and appreciate the leadership as shown by Colombia and the Netherlands. Santa Marta establishes an action-oriented platform to scale up work and to elevate energy transition. This is critical for addressing the climate emergency.

11.3.2026 | Minister of Science and Culture Mari-Leena Talvitie has signed a joint statement from the ministers responsible for culture from 22 European countries, sent to the organisers of the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. Allowing the Russian Federation’s participation is unacceptable, and the ministers call on the Venice Biennale to reconsider its decision.

16.9.2025 | Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering Joakim Strand will visit Dublin on Wednesday 17 September. During his visit, he will meet with Irish Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence Thomas Byrne, members of the Committee on European Union Affairs in Ireland’s Oireachtas (Parliament) and representatives of the business sector. Minister Strand will also deliver a keynote addr...

11.2.2026 | The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Finnish missions abroad provided consular services to approximately 245,000 customers in 2025. In addition, the Ministry’s 24/7 service was contacted around 6,700 times over the course of the year.

2.12.2025 | Finland has ranked 8th in the Gender Equality Index for the European Union (EU). The Index measured gender equality in various domains, such as work, health and power. The data for the most recent Index is mainly from 2023 and 2024.

5.2.2026 | European route 16, E16, will be extended to Finland. The Finnish Government gave a decree on the matter on 5 February 2026. The decree will enter into force on 5 March 2026.

11.12.2025 | Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever spoke briefly on Thursday 11 December. Among other things, their conversation focused on frozen Russian assets and the plans for a reparations loan that would use the frozen assets to support Ukraine.

26.1.2026 | The President of the African Development Bank, Dr. Sidi Ould Tah, will visit Helsinki on Monday 26 January. The African Development Bank (AfDB) is the premier development financier on the African continent and a key partner for Finland in advancing sustainable economic growth and development in Africa at a time when global economic and security policy shifts are reshaping development funding.

3.10.2025 | On 3 October 2025, the President of the Republic approved an amendment to the international agreement on European roads (AGR) by which European route 16, E16, can be extended to the Finnish side. The Ministry of Transport and Communications has launched a legislative project for the national implementation of extending E16 to Finland.

27.11.2025 | The Government has issued a decree which determines the amount of the healthcare fee, the late payment fee and the fee for an unattended appointment charged from higher education students in 2026.

19.11.2025 | Minister of Transport and Communications Lulu Ranne participated in the Summit on European Digital Sovereignty in Berlin on 18 November 2025. Finland also signed the Declaration for European Digital Sovereignty initiated by Austria and published in connection with the summit.

3.6.2025 | Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering Joakim Strand and Irish Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence Thomas Byrne will meet in Helsinki on Wednesday 4 June. Their discussions will focus on the current EU agenda, Ireland’s forthcoming EU Council Presidency and bilateral relations between Ireland and Finland.

12.11.2025 | The Sports Ministers of 33 countries and the European Commission have expressed their grave concern about the decision of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in September to discontinue the partial suspensions of the National Paralympic Committees of Belarus and Russia from the Paralympic Games.

20.10.2025 | The EU heads of state or government will meet for the European Council on 23 October in Brussels. The meeting will focus on support for Ukraine, efforts to strengthen European defence, the EU’s competitiveness and the clean transition, the Middle East, migration and housing. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo will represent Finland at the meeting.

24.10.2025 | The European Council agreed on further measures to strengthen European defence and security in its meeting on 23 October in Brussels. The EU heads of state or government also discussed the use of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine in the form of a reparations loan. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo represented Finland at the meeting.

14.11.2025 | The EU General Affairs Council (GAC) will meet in Brussels on Monday 17 November. The main themes of the meeting will be the EU’s next multiannual financial framework, the annual rule of law dialogue and preparations for the December European Council. Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering Joakim Strand will represent Finland at the meeting.

4.12.2025 | The economy of wellbeing offers tools for policy makers to secure the preconditions for a good life both for the current population and future generations. A new working paper by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) analyses how wellbeing economy practices have been integrated into decision-making in ten countries. This comparison will also help Finland create its own governance model.

17.9.2025 | Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering Joakim Strand gave a keynote Address to the Institute of International and European Affairs on the 17th of September 2025 in Dublin, Ireland. Check against delivery.

3.9.2024 | Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering Joakim Strand and Irish Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence Jennifer Carroll MacNeill will meet in Helsinki on Wednesday 4 September.

30.1.2025 | The EU leaders will meet for an informal retreat in Brussels on 3 February. The main topic on the agenda will be European defence. The leaders will also meet for discussions with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo will represent Finland at the meeting.

7.2.2025 | Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo will attend the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit in Paris on Monday 10 and Tuesday 11 February at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron. President Macron has also invited EU leaders to a Summit of Heads of State and Government, and leaders from nearly 20 EU Member States are expected to attend alongside Finland.

12.4.2024 | Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and other EU Heads of State or Government met for a discussion on the next EU Strategic Agenda on Thursday 11 April in Warsaw. In addition to Orpo, the Prime Ministers of Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Poland and Spain attended the dinner meeting.

10.12.2024 | Finland has ranked eighth in the Gender Equality Index for the European Union (EU). The position is the same as last year. The Index measures gender equality in various domains, such as work, health and power.

10.4.2023 | The Good Friday Agreement was signed on 10 April 1998 after lengthy negotiations, bringing to an end three decades of violence in Northern Ireland.

16.4.2024 | Prime Minister Petteri Orpo will represent Finland at the extraordinary European Council on 17–18 April in Brussels, where discussions will focus on the tense situation in the international arena. Items on the EU leaders’ agenda include the ongoing events in the Middle East and Ukraine, relations with Türkiye and Europe’s long-term competitiveness.

7.9.2023 | The Third Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen was held in Kyiv on 6 September 2023 on the invitation of Olena Zelenska, the First Lady of Ukraine. The summit also brought together health ministers from EU Member States and WHO European Region who signed a statement at the event. 

15.11.2023 | On Tuesday 14 November, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo attended a European Council dinner discussion on the EU’s forthcoming Strategic Agenda and policy guidelines for 2024–2029 in Copenhagen. In addition to Prime Minister Orpo, the prime ministers of Sweden, Denmark, Latvia, Bulgaria, Ireland and the Czech Republic took part in the discussion.

24.10.2023 | Minister of Youth, Sport and Physical Activity Sandra Bergqvist will represent the EU on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Foundation Board.

20.3.2023 | The EU General Affairs Council (GAC) will meet in Brussels on Tuesday 21 March. The meeting will focus mainly on preparations for the March European Council. The ministers will also discuss EU-UK relations and continue their annual rule of law dialogue. Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering Tytti Tuppurainen will represent Finland at the meeting.

9.10.2023 | The Government proposes amendments to the Act on Student Healthcare for Higher Education Students and the Act on the Social Insurance Institution of Finland. The Student Healthcare Act would be harmonised with the relevant EU Regulation in respect of reimbursements regarding students from certain European countries, and the provisions of the Act on the financial process would be specified.

8.11.2023 | Many of the guests invited to former president Martti Ahtisaari’s state funeral reflect his decades-long international career. The state funeral on Friday 10 November will be attended by several international dignitaries.

13.4.2022 | On Wednesday 13 April, Minister for European Affairs Tytti Tuppurainen travelled to Dublin, where she met with her colleague, Irish Minister for European Affairs Thomas Byrne, and attended a local meeting of heads of mission. The ministers’ discussions highlighted Europe’s support for Ukraine and the importance of the rule of law for the European Union.

3.2.2023 | The EU General Affairs Council (GAC) will meet in Brussels on Monday 6 February. The meeting will focus on preparations for the February Special European Council. The GAC will also discuss relations between the EU and the United Kingdom and receive an overview of Sweden’s priorities for its Presidency of the Council of the EU. Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering Tytti Tuppurainen will represent Finland at the meeting.

23.10.2023 | The EU General Affairs Council (GAC) will meet in Luxembourg on Tuesday 24 October. The meeting will focus mainly on preparations for the October European Council. The GAC will also continue its annual rule of law dialogue with country-specific discussions. Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering Anders Adlercreutz will represent Finland at the meeting.

12.4.2022 | Minister for European Affairs Tytti Tuppurainen will travel to Dublin on Wednesday 13 April. During her visit, Minister Tuppurainen will meet with her colleague, Irish Minister for European Affairs Thomas Byrne, and attend a local conference of heads of mission in Ireland.

1.7.2022 | Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering Tytti Tuppurainen will visit Kosovo, North Macedonia and Albania on 3–5 July. The purpose of the visit is to discuss ways to accelerate the EU integration of the countries of the Western Balkans and the security situation in Europe. Minister Tuppurainen will visit the region together with Thomas Byrne, Ireland’s Minister of State for European Affairs.

19.1.2024 | In 2023, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the missions abroad provided consular services to approximately 244,000 customers. The demand for advisory services remained high. Over the course of the year, the Ministry’s 24/7 service was contacted around 8,000 times in total.

6.6.2022 | Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will meet Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney in Helsinki on 7 June.

1.3.2023 | In a joint letter to the presidents of the European Commission and European Council, Finland and nine other EU Member States call for a long-term strategy to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness and global influence. The countries hope that the European Council can adopt the strategy this spring. The European Council will discuss the European economy and competitiveness in its meeting at the end of March.

17.11.2022 | The healthcare fee charged from higher education students for using student healthcare services will be EUR 73.60, or EUR 36.80 per term, in 2023. Compared to 2022, the fee will increase by EUR 2 to improve the availability of services. The late payment fee and the charge for an unattended appointment will remain unchanged.

3.6.2022 | On 3 June, Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering Tytti Tuppurainen travelled to Bratislava, where she participated in the GLOBSEC 2022 Bratislava Forum, one of Europe’s leading conferences on security policy. The programme for her visit also included several high-level meetings.

4.5.2023 | Ministers of sport from 36 countries have issued a fourth collective statement on the exclusion of Russia and Belarus from international sports.