PM in Brussels to attend EU meetings

The newly appointed Prime Minister Sanna Marin left Helsinki on Wednesday for Brussels to attend a series of meetings of the European Council scheduled for Thursday and Friday, according to an official press release.

The European Council will finalise its guidance on the EU’s long-term strategy on climate change to be submitted to the Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in early 2020.

The EU heads of state or government will focus on the target of achieving climate neutrality by 2050.

The EU leaders will also discuss the multiannual financial framework for 2021-2027 – the EU’s long-term budget. The discussion will be based on a proposal prepared by Finland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The Euro Summit will focus on deepening Europe’s Economic and Monetary Union. Its topics include completing the Banking Union, changes to the European Stability Mechanism, and the euro area budgetary instrument.

The Special European Council without the UK will meet on 13 December Friday, the day after the UK parliamentary elections, to discuss preparations for the negotiations on future EU-UK relations.

Prime Minister Marin’s delegation includes Minister for European Affairs Tytti Tuppurainen.