ByXuefei Chen Axelsson
STOCKHOLM, Prime Minister Juha Sipilä commenced a tour of the EU member states in preparation for Finland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union with a meeting with the Prime Minister of Portugal António Costa on Tuesday, 2 October 2018. Prime Minister Sipilä plans to meet with the prime ministers of all EU members states prior to Finland assuming the Presidency in July 2019.
“The agenda for next autumn contains a number of significant elements, including the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU, and negotiations on the multiannual financial framework and on migration are likely to remain ongoing,” Prime Minister Sipilä said.
“Finland’s Presidency comes at an important phase for the Union, as it coincides with the appointment of a new Commission and the time when new strategic priorities will be laid out. At our meeting, I highlighted the importance of investing in security and sustainable growth,” Prime Minister Sipilä said.
The prime ministers also discussed the Economic and Monetary Union, migration, climate and energy, the bioeconomy, digitalisation and articifical intelligence. The discussions also focused on the bi-lateral relations between the two countries.
“Finland and Portugal enjoy excellent relations, and there are many similarities between our two countries. We are both small nations on the edge of the European Union, which means that we tend to share the same perspective on a number of key European issues,” Prime Minister Sipilä said.
“We also discussed forestry with Prime Minister Costa. Forestry plays a key role in the Portuguese and Finnish economies. I believe there is significant scope for us to develop our cooperation in this sector too,” Prime Minister Sipilä said.
Prime Minister Sipilä and Prime Minister Costa also attended the inauguration of Nokia’s new head office and a joint seminar held by Finnish and Portuguese businesses. A total of 14 Finnish businesses are taking part in Team Finland’s export promotion visit focused on forestry and the bio and circular economies.
Following the conclusion of his visit to Portugal, Prime Minister Sipilä will travel to Spain, where he is due to meet with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Thursday, 4 October. At the meeting, Finland, Portugal and Spain will release a joint statement of cooperation on the bio and circular economies.