Finland assumes EU Council presidency

Prime Minister Antti Rinne in an official statement dubbed the coming months crucial in terms of which direction the EU is to take.

On Monday, Finland officially assumed the presidency of the Council of the European Union at an event marked during the Summer Day Festival at Töölö Bay.

“The next few months will be crucial in terms of the direction the EU is going to take. The next Commission and the newly elected European Parliament provide the opportunity to build this cooperation on a new basis,” Rinne told an event marking the official ascension of Finland to the presidency of the European Union Council.

In reference to the Brexit process, the prime minister emphasised the importance of cooperation, saying that “solutions to complex problems should be sought together, not alone.”

According to Rinne, the Finnish presidency of the EU Council offers an opportunity to influence the future of Europe. A future which the prime minister said must be socially, economically and ecologically sustainable.

“The EU must lead the way in the work to combat climate change. Now is the time to look for and to find solutions. To build an ecologically sustainable Europe, we must commit to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. This is one of the most important objectives of our presidency,” said Rinne.

News agency Xinhua adds: The day culminated as hundreds of junior footballers from 21 countries gathered to take the match oath. One of the locations of the competition is just next to the Finlandia Hall, the official convention site for EU meetings, and thus people attending meetings there can see football match through windows.

Compared with Finland's last presidency in 2006, when celebration events were spread out to 21 locations, this time's inauguration ceremony was held only in Helsinki out of consideration of security arrangements and cost savings.

The decision, however, has been met with disappointment in regional cities. Critics say "the whole Finland is a member in the union, not only Helsinki."

A Finnish language newspaper Keskisuomalainen in Jyväskylä noted in a critical editorial that the "rest of Finland is now deprived of the change to make their cities better known". Keskisuomalainen recalled that Jyväskylä benefited greatly from being able to host a ministerial meeting during the 2006 presidency.

The newspaper also said Helsinki is not suitable as a "window on ecological Finland" as it is a major user of coal for its heating and electricity production.

Police officers from other parts of the country have been transferred temporarily as the capital police alone cannot cope with the security needs. KSML noted the 70 million-euro budget of the EU presidency actually does not include the security cost, but it remains in the police budget.

News consortium Lannen Media deplored in a feature earlier that the consolidation of EU meetings in Helsinki contributed to "a further alienation of the ordinary citizens from the European Union."

Helsinki Mayor Jan Vapaavuori was also present at the ceremony.