Breadcrumb trail
You are on the page: First page / State and municipalities / Handling of EU affairs in Finland
Navigation
State and municipalities
- Changes in the Administration 1.1.2012
- Highest organs of government
- State administration and central government
- Ministries
- Ministry for Foreign Affairs
- Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
- Ministry of Defence
- Ministry of Education and Culture
- Ministry of Employment and the Economy
- Ministry of Finance
- Ministry of Justice
- Ministry of Social Affairs and Health
- Ministry of the Environment
- Ministry of the Interior
- Ministry of Transport and Communications
- Prime Minister's Office
- State local administration
- Regional administration
- Municipalities and local government
- Other self-government
- The State's business activities
- Indirect public administration
- Courts of law
- Handling of EU affairs in Finland
- An overview and institutions of the EU
- Public servants
- Finland essentials
Handling of EU affairs in Finland
Responsibility for the monitoring and preparation of affairs relating to the EU and the determination of Finland's position on EU issues rests with the ministries.
In accordance with the parliamentary principle, the Finnish Government must enjoy the trust of the Finnish Parliament in the handling of EU affairs. As a result, the Government has the responsibility to inform Parliament and hear its views on the preparation of EU affairs.
EU affairs in the Government
The Cabinet Committee on European Union Affairs agrees on Finland's priorities for all formal and informal meetings of the Council of the European Union. The Cabinet Committee is chaired by the Prime Minister.
The Committee for EU Affairs discusses broad EU issues involving several ministries. Each ministry, the Prime Minister's Office, the Office of the President of the Republic, the Office of the Chancellor of Justice, the Bank of Finland and the Provincial Government of Åland are represented on the Committee for EU Affairs.
The preparation of EU affairs at the civil servant level takes place in preparative sub-committees, which function under the Committee for EU Affairs. The current number of sub-committees is 37.
The Government Secretariat for EU Affairs is responsible for seeing that the coordination of EU affairs among different institutions proceeds smoothly. It serves as the secretariat for the Cabinet Committee on European Union Affairs and the chair and secretariat for the Committee for EU Affairs, and oversees the work of the preparative sub-committees.
- Cabinet Committee on European Union Affairs
Finnish Government - Committee for EU Affairs
Finnish Government - Government Secretariat for EU Affairs
Finnish Government
EU affairs in Parliament
In Parliament, EU affairs are mainly discussed by the Grand Committee. Special committees provide the Grand Committee with opinions on EU affairs. The position of Parliament on each issue under debate is expressed in the Grand Committee. Matters relating to EU Common Foreign and Security Policy are an exception. These are discussed and the opinions formed are expressed by the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament.
Before the meetings of the Council of the European Union, the Government presents the agenda of the meeting and the opinions of Finland's representatives on the matters to be discussed to the Grand Committee. A corresponding account will then be provided of the course of the meeting and the decisions taken.
Plenary sessions of Parliament do not participate in the preparation of EU affairs. EU decisions may be submitted for discussion at a plenary session, if an EU decision needs to be approved or requires legislative measures to be taken by Parliament. A significant proportion of current legislative work in Finland relates to EU legislation.
The “Send Suomi.fi link” functionality lets you add Suomi.fi pages to your bookmarks and send Suomi.fi pages by e-mail to the recipients of your choice. You can also share Suomi.fi content with your network in social networking services. Using these services is usually free of charge, but they require user registration.
