President Halonen visited Austria

President of the Republic Tarja Halonen met Austria's political leaders during her two-day working visit on 26-27 June 2006. President Halonen congratulated Austria for its well-run EU Presidency. Both countries noted that the EU Presidency cooperation between Finland and Austria has been effective.

President Halonen and Federal President Fischer at a joint press conference in Vienna.

Finland will take over the rotating Presidency of the European Union from Austria at the beginning of July.

President Halonen met in Vienna with Federal President Heinz Fischer and Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel. They discussed matters related to the Presidency of the EU, the EU's external relations, especially Russia, and timely international issues.

On the second day of the trip, President Halonen visited several Austrian sights, such as the Melk Abbey, Dürnstein and the old town of Krems together with Federal President Fischer and his wife.