NordenBladet — Sunday 18 March will mark the fourth anniversary of the illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol by Russian Federation. Finland condemns the illegal annexation by Russia, which is against the international law.

“Finland’s support to Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty stands firm. We condemn the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia and continue the non-recognition policy of the annexation”, Foreign Minister Timo Soini notes.

Furthermore, Minister Soini expresses his concerns regarding the deteriorating human rights situation in Crimea.

“There are worrying reports that the human rights situation in Crimea is worsening. I urge Russia to investigate all violations, bring the perpetrators to justice and give international organisations unhindered access to the area.”

Minister Soini notes also the ongoing militarization of the peninsula with grave concern. The military build-up in Crimea will make the already difficult security situation even worse.
Finland fully aligns itself with the joint EU statement issued by High Representative Federica Mogherini on March 16.

Source: Finland.ee
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NordenBladet — The Arctic Council, the Finnish Meteorological Institute and the World Meteorological Organization WMO will come together for joint meetings in Levi next week. Hundreds of guests from different parts of the world will arrive in Levi.

On 20 March, the Finnish Meteorological Institute will organise an Arctic Meteorology Summit, which will gather together directors-general of the meteorological institutes of the Arctic countries and various stakeholders in the field from all over the world.  Minister of Transport and Communications Anne Berner and Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization WMO, Petteri Taalas will speak at the summit.

“The Arctic Meteorology Summit aims to ensure that meteorological cooperation conducted in the Arctic region is close and comprehensive,” says Juhani Damski, Director General of the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

WMO Experts on Polar and High Mountain Observations, Research and Services will convene for a meeting 21-23 March in Levi.

The Arctic Council will hold its Senior Arctic Officials’ meeting from 21 to 23 March. The topics on the meeting agenda include meteorological cooperation, connectivity, the promotion of the UN sustainable development goals in the Arctic regions and the work on a strategic plan for the Arctic Council.

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NordenBladet — The President of the United States, Donald Trump, signed orders to restrict steel and aluminium imports with the exception of imports from Canada and Mexico. Tariffs of 25% are to be placed on steel and 10% on aluminium imports from the EU to the US. The tariffs are to take effect on 23 March 2018. Countries may negotiate exemptions to the tariffs.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen considers President Donald Trump’s announcement on import tariffs very unfortunate and emphasises that it is important to maintain continuous consultations on possible exemptions between the European Union and the United States.

“The EU is now carefully reviewing the situation in light of the content of President Trump’s decision, and I will be in close contact with Commissioner Cecilia Malmström. It is now important that the EU stands united,” Virolainen notes.

The European Union is the biggest trading and investment partner of the United States and a close ally in security questions.

“We believe that imported steel and aluminium from the EU does not threaten US national security. Moreover, these actions will not resolve the excess capacity problem, which must be addressed in international forums despite what the US is doing”, Minister Virolainen emphasises.

Imposing tariffs would markedly reduce steel and aluminium imports from the EU to the USA. For Finland, the United States is among the most important trading and investment partners after the EU countries. Finnish subsidiaries in numerous business sectors provide employment for approximately 34,000 persons in the United States and, if indirect effects are taken into account, work is provided to as many 70,000 persons.

“Finland is worried about the possible repercussions on the jobs and competitive capacity of companies both in Europe and in the United States,” Minister Virolainen says.
The volume of trade between Finland and the United States was USD 11.6 billion in 2016. Finland exports mainly forestry products, measuring instruments, electrical machines and devices, and mineral oils to the United States. In 2017, of Finland’s total exports, the United States’ share was 2.4% for steel and 0.5% for aluminium goods.

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NordenBladet — Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini will continue his school visits, which focus on the prevention of violent radicalisation, in March in Lapland. On Tuesday 13 March, Minister Soini will visit the Ounasvaara upper secondary school in Rovaniemi and another upper secondary school in Kemijärvi. The school visits aim to enhance young people’s knowledge and awareness of the importance of Finland’s foreign and security policy in the prevention of violent radicalisation.

“People do not become radicalised and commit acts of violence on a whim; instead, such acts stem from a long series events, which can be addressed. I want to encourage young people to be active and step in. It is also interesting to hear what young people think and what they want to ask about the matter,” Foreign Minister Timo Soini says.

“I want to remind upper secondary school students about the importance of Finland’s foreign and security policy in the fight against violent radicalisation and terrorism. Finland works in various parts of the word to promote human rights, especially the rights of women and girls, seeks to reduce poverty in a sustainable manner, and takes part in crisis management. All this is important in efforts to reduce violence and marginalisation.”

The Minister started his visits to schools last year at the Tikkurila upper secondary school. His visits in 2017 included also the Tapiola upper secondary school, Maunula Secondary School and Helsinki Math School. In 2018, the Minister’s visits extend to schools in the counties. Earlier this year, he visited schools in Nurmes and Siilinjärvi.

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NordenBladet — Foreign Minister Soini reiterated Finland’s strong support to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine at his meeting with Pavlo Klimkin, Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, in Kiev on 5 March. The ministers discussed the situation in Ukraine, bilateral relations between Finland and Ukraine and reforms in Ukraine.

“A permanent ceasefire is needed in eastern Ukraine so that there can be progress towards implementing the Minsk Agreement.  The only way to peace is through a political dialogue. Finland supports solutions to the conflict that respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” Foreign Minister Timo Soini said.

Minister Soini emphasised that Finland condemns the illegal annexation of Crimea into Russia. Sunday 18 March will mark the fourth anniversary of the day on which the Crimean Peninsula was incorporated into Russia after an illegal referendum.

“Finland does not recognise the illegal annexation of Crimea into Russia. There are worrying reports that the human rights situation in Crimea is worsening. I urge Russia to investigate all human rights violations, bring the perpetrators to justice and give international organisations unhindered access to the area. A military build-up in Crimea will also make the already difficult security situation even worse,” Soini noted.

Foreign Minister Soini emphasised the importance of the reform process in Ukraine. The reforms have a direct impact on the daily life of citizens. In particular, progress in anti-corruption efforts is also vital to healthy and sustainable development in society at large. Foreign Minister Soini and Ukraine’s Minister of Education and Science signed an agreement between the two countries under which Finland will provide Ukraine with additional assistance for reforms of its education sector. Under the four-year programme set out in the agreement, Finland will support Ukraine in the development of teacher education and the updating of teaching material. Finland will also significantly expand its assistance to Ukraine so that it can improve the energy-efficiency of its economy:

“In its support for Ukraine, Finland will focus on sectors in which we possess a high level of expertise. Education is one of the fundamentals of society and we are ready to play a central role in the reforming of the Ukrainian education sector. In the energy sector, we will focus on improvements in energy-efficiency, increasing the use of renewable energy and on developing clean energy production. These are all essential to ensuring a sustainable energy supply,” Soini noted.

Foreign Minister Soini is visiting Kiev on 5 and 6 March 2018. During his visit, he will also hold meetings with President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, the chair of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee as well as representatives of Ukraine’s anti-corruption authority and civil society organisations. Soini will also meet with Finnish experts working in international organisations in Ukraine.

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NordenBladet — The President of the United States Donald Trump announced on 1 March that he was going to institute tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium. The tariffs would be 25% for steel and 10% for aluminium. The decision is to be signed by the President next week.

The Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen considers the announcement by President Donald Trump concerning the import tariffs as most alarming.
“The European Union is the main trade and investment partner for the Unites States. Barriers to trade should be removed instead of imposing new restrictions. Transatlantic integration is beneficial to both parties”, Minister Virolainen says.

Already at present the problems of overcapacity in steel are being discussed in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and by the G20 countries.
“The envisaged import tariffs are not founded on national security, but it is a question of protecting domestic industry. The proposed measures would not address the real problem, that is, overcapacity in steel and aluminium. Finland is very worried about the impact of new tariffs on the competitiveness of European and Finnish companies and employment”, Minister Virolainen says.

Studies on the impact of steel and aluminium imports on national security in the United States were launched in April 2017. The reports published by the Commerce Department in February recommend various means to restrict both steel and aluminium imports.

The European Union is the main trade and investment partner for the Unites States. The EU and United States economies combined represent about half of the world’s GDP. In 2016 the value of trade in goods and services between Finland and the United States was USD 11.6 billion.

In 2017 the proportion of the United States in total Finnish exports was 2.4% for steel, 4.6% for steel goods and 0.5% for aluminium goods.

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NordenBladet — The new visual image of the Foreign Ministry’s Europe Information communicates a picture of an open provider of information, which, in active interaction with the citizens, seeks to promote communications and discussion about EU matters.

The new visual image is a part of a longer-term process. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Finland’s missions abroad adopted a new visual identity earlier this year.

”We wanted to update and modernise the visual image of Europe Information, while retaining the link to the well-known former logo, which has served us well. The new image is also well in agreement with the Foreign Ministry’s recently reformed visual image,” says Director of Unit Ville Cantell.

Europe Information is a provider of information on the EU for people in Finland. It is a reliable source of EU-information, producing various materials and responding to the citizens’ questions on EU matters. Europe Information serves everybody, focusing on teachers, students and the media. Europe Information is a part of the Unit for Communications on Europe and Neighbouring Areas in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

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