Prime Minister Orpo to represent Finland at Copenhagen meetings

Prime Minister Orpo to represent Finland at Copenhagen meetings

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo will represent Finland at the informal meeting of the members of the European Council on Wednesday 1 October and the meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) on Thursday 2 October. Both meetings of heads of state or government will be held in Copenhagen, as Denmark currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU.

The informal meeting of the European Council will focus on strengthening Europe's common defence and support for Ukraine. The EU Member States have previously pledged to increase Europe's defence readiness by 2030. The purpose of the Copenhagen meeting is to discuss what practical measures will be needed to achieve this. Topics of discussion will include European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's proposal to build a drone wall along the Union's eastern border.

"Strengthening European defence and especially the EU's eastern border are top priorities for Finland. All of Europe must understand that Russia poses a permanent threat to our security. While we support Ukraine, we are also strengthening our own defence. The proposal to build a drone wall sends a concrete message that the Union has updated its priorities for responding to security concerns," said Prime Minister Orpo.

Continued strong support for Ukraine will also be on the agenda at the seventh meeting of the EPC, which will take place the day after the European Council. Along with Ukraine, the meeting will focus on building a stronger Europe in a challenging geopolitical situation.

In addition to the plenary session, the European leaders will hold discussions in small groups. Prime Minister Orpo will take part in the small group discussion on security and resilience. The leaders will also have time for bilateral discussions in connection with the meeting.

The EPC is an informal forum for discussion between of European heads of state or government. Representatives of the EU institutions have also been invited to the meeting, along with the Secretaries General of NATO, the OSCE and the Council of Europe.

Inquiries: Tuomas Tikkanen, Senior Adviser to the Prime Minister in European Affairs, tel. +358 40 523 5768, Marja Koskela, Diplomatic Adviser, tel. +358 295 160 978, and Anne Sjöholm, Head of Communications for EU Affairs, tel. +358 40 537 0733, Prime Minister's Office