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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.