Minister of State Werner Hoyer will be in Helsinki from 29 to 30 March for talks with the Finnish Government.

With Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb he will be discussing current foreign and European policy issues. These will include inter alia the shape of the new European External Action Service, the implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon and the strategic direction of the EU’s external relations.

In his talks with Finance Minister Jyrki Katainen the main subject will be the current debate on what steps the Eurogroup needs to take and the Europe 2020 strategy.

He is scheduled finally to meet Mari Kiviniemi, the Minister of Public Administration and Local Government.

In connection with his forthcoming trip, Minister of State Hoyer today (28 March) issued the following statement:

“Germany and Finland not only have excellent bilateral relations but also cooperate extremely closely within the European Union. The whole Baltic Sea region is a very important area of Europe that we are keen to develop further together with all EU partners and in close collaboration with Russia.”