7th Kultaranta talks opens

The Kultaranta Talks opened on Sunday at the President's summer residence Kultaranta.

The theme of the two-day event “The world at a turning point – where will Europe go, how will Finland cope?” is focussed on foreign and security policy.

Organised for the seventh time, the event gathered experts and opinion leaders from various sectors of society.

The President of the Federal Republic of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a keynote speaker in his address spoke about the future of the European Union pointing out the increasing uncertainty, the rise of new powers, violent crises and new confrontation.

Steinmeier also underscored the need for Europe to reassess "some of its own fundamental assumptions and to rethink its relations with the world’s major powers,”

President Sauli Niinistö took questions from journalist before the summit officially opened, reported national broadcaster Yle.

Niinistö responded to queries on Finnish foreign policy change, repatriation of Finnish women and children in Syria and Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline project.