Council of the EU

The presidency is responsible for driving forward the Council's work on EU legislation, ensuring the continuity of the EU agenda, and ensuring cooperation among Member States.

Finland has a national presidency programme with priorities that steer its work.

The priorities for Finland’s Presidency are to:

• strengthen common values and the rule of law
• make the EU more competitive and socially inclusive
• strengthen the EU’s position as a global leader in climate action
• protect the security of citizens comprehensively.

During Finland’s Presidency, the Council will also be dealing with a number of other wide-ranging issues, such as migration and the multiannual financial framework.

Presidency programme

Finland’s Presidency is present in the traditional and social media and via the public events it is organising. The informal meetings of ministers also have a visual impact on the streets of Helsinki.

The budget for Finland’s Presidency is €70 million, €25 million of which will be spent on meeting arrangements.

In addition, the Ministry of the Interior received a separate sum earmarked for the security arrangements of Presidency meetings in Helsinki. 

Finlandia Hall was selected following a competitive tendering process. Some of the main reasons for this choice were the suitability of the premises for EU meetings and the fact that the space was available at certain times.

A centralised meeting venue saves time and resources, since the temporary facilities required for meetings don’t have to be dismantled or moved. It also reduces the carbon footprint of the
meetings.

Sustainable meeting arrangements

Transportation makes up a significant portion of the costs of the presidency. In general, the Member States do not have enough vehicles readily available, which is why all the presidencies in the last few years have had a partnership agreement on transportation equipment.

Following an EU-wide call for tenders, the Secretariat for Finland’s Presidency signed a partnership agreement with Oy BMW Suomi Ab. This is the only such agreement signed by Finland’s Presidency.

The contract was concluded in accordance with the Finnish Act (1397/2016) on Public Procurement and Concession Contracts. BMW fulfilled the conditions of the tender. These conditions included the size, colour, age (maximum one year) and emission standards (minimum €6) of the vehicles. BMW was the only company that submitted a bid.

Press release on the meeting arrangements

Finland had a partnership agreement with Volvo-Auto Oy during its previous presidencies in 1999 and 2006.

Finland’s Presidency is not planning to launch a discussion on the regulation of sponsorship in the EU member states. Sponsorship is used to cover some of the costs of the informal ministerial meetings that the presidency is responsible for organising. This is therefore a matter of national competence for the member state holding the presidency.