This weekend’s unofficial meeting of eight foreign ministers at the Finnish Arctic resort of Saariselkä resort was considered so successful that the group agreed on holding another one next year in Lapland, newspaper Helsingin Sanomat reports.
The host for the meeting, Alexander Stubb, urged the participants to support the establishment of a planned EU Arctic Centre in Rovaniemi.
One of the purposes of the unofficial gathering was to support Ashton as she builds up the new institution. Ashton welcomed the support she received from the ministers; she also promised Stubb that Finland would get be represented well in the new foreign affairs body. Stubb had said previously that Finland hopes to get two directors’ posts at EU missions, and between 15 and 30 posts in other tasks, Helsigin Sanomat writes.
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