Marin, Michel discuss Europe´s security, Ukraine situations

Prime Minister Sanna Marin and President of the European Council Charles Michel met in Helsinki on Wednesday and discussed various issues including the security situation in Europe and Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.

They spoke at a joint press conference on the eve of the meeting where Marin, Michel expressed their strong support for Ukraine, said a government press release.

In their meeting, they also discussed next week’s special European Council, the topics of which will be Ukraine, energy, defence and food security.

“I am pleased that Finland has been able to break away from its dependency on fossil fuels imported from Russia. The energy package announced by the European Commission last week offers instruments that will help the whole Union reduce its dependency on Russia. These same tools will also help us accelerate the green transition. This is necessary in order for us to achieve our climate objectives,” Marin said.

The special European Council meeting on 30–31 May will also discuss food security, which is now at risk due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“In the near future, it will be very important to support Ukraine in transporting its grain stocks to the global market and in ensuring the success of this year’s harvest. In the coming months, we will have to be ready to respond to growing humanitarian needs in the least developed countries, which will suffer from rising food prices and a possible grain shortage,” the Prime Minister added.