Summary:
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Kai Mykkänen met with British Minister of State for Trade and Investment Lord Price on 22 June. According to Mr Mykkänen, Lord Price said Britain has no intention of setting up a customs barrier and that the country plans to hold on to e.g. product standards and testing requirements even after leaving the EU. It has been a year since the Brexit vote, and Mr Mykkänen says it is unfortunate that there have been only few answers to questions that are important to Finland. Mr Mykkänen estimates that the meeting with Lord Price indicated that Britain might in the future rely more on the WTO, which may be a good thing for Finland.
Catégorie : Presse Finlandaise
Jutta Urpilainen appointed Foreign Minister’s Special Representative on Mediation
Summary:
Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini has appointed MP Jutta Urpilainen the Foreign Minister’s Special Representative on Mediation. Ms Urpilainen will focus on strengthening of the role of women and youth, while the regional focus of the assignment will be Africa.
Media: Turun Sanomat
Date: 29.6.2017
Journalist: STT
Main source: –
Finland ranked third in the EU’s innovation comparison
Summary:
Finland is in third place in the latest annual European Innovation Scoreboard published by the European Commission on 20 June. Sweden and Denmark top the list. Finland places first in the finance and support innovation areas. Compared to 2010, Finland’s innovation performance has, however, weakened.
Media: Verkkouutiset / Nykypäivä
Date: 20.6.2017
Journalist: Heikki Jantunen
Main source: –
Battle for carbon sink bearing fruit – investments worth billions at stake in Finland
Summary:
The twist on LULUCF details is about to take a turn that is positive for Finland, believes Sylvain Lhôte, Director General of the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) which is also striving to make changes to the proposal that would turn forest use into emissions. The Finnish government’s stance is that it is impossible to at the same time reduce emissions, increase the use of renewable energy and limit forest use, and also the extensive investments in bioeconomy in Finland require an increase in forest use. Recently there have been positive tones in the European Parliament. Lhôte says Finland should try to convice other member states that they too can utilise forests in a sustainable way.
Orpo: The government got rid of troublemakers
Summary:
Finland’s Minister of Finance Petteri Orpo discusses the splitting of the Finns party in a Helsingin Sanomat interview. He says that Finland must now be particularly active in EU policy, because Germany and France want to deepen integration. This would not have been possible with Jussi Halla-aho’s Finns party in government. For Orpo, patriotism means making decisions that are in the best interest of the nation, which includes being active EU member and working to develop the union. Minister of European Affairs Sampo Terho, part of the splinter group, has spoken about a potential EU referendum. According to Orpo, this will stop now.
The Prime Minister met with Federica Mogherini – supported the EU defence cooperation
Summary:
Prime Minister of Finland Juha Sipilä has expressed his support for EU defence cooperation in his meeting with EU Foreign Affairs High Representative Federica Mogherini, who thanked Finland for being active in developing the EU defence cooperation. Juha Sipilä says that the Finnish stance is very ambitious and that Finland hopes to progress also in the area of structural cooperation. Sipilä also highlighted the importance of good communication with France, whose President Emmanuel Macron also supports developing defence cooperation.
Media: Verkkouutiset / Nykypäivä
Date: 15.6.2017
Journalist: Ilkka Ahtokivi
Main source: Prime Minister of Finland Juha Sipilä
EU Arctic Stakeholder Forum in Oulu: Warming in the Arctic twice as fast as in the rest of the globe
Summary:
The first EU Arctic Stakeholder Forum was held in Oulu. EU Commissioner responsible for Arctic policies, Karmenu Vella, stated that warming in the Arctic is twice as fast as in the rest of the globe. According to Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini, who hosted the forum, the Arctic needs growth, but in a sustainable way. Both Mr Vella and Mr Soini said that US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement was a great disappointment. Soini stated that he would like to appeal to Mr Trump with the fact that protecting the Arctic is « good business ».
Surprisingly strong positive current in Russian economy
Summary:
The chairmans of the Finnish-Russian Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation met in St. Petersburg at the end of last week in connection with the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Finnish chairman, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Kai Mykkänen, says that during the meeting with Russian vice prime minister Dmitri Kozak solutions were sought to concrete problems facing Finnish businesses. According to Mr Mykkänen, the recovery of the Russian economy seems to be even stronger than expected and foreign investors were more eager to participate in the economic forum. He estimates that Russian President Vladimir Putin, who spoke at the forum, has adopted a more humble tone and put more emphasis on the economy.