President Halonen meets the President of the European Commission

President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen had talks with the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, at the former’s official residence, Mäntyniemi, in Helsinki on Monday July 3. The members of the Commission were making a two-day visit to Finland to mark the start of Finland’s six-month EU Presidency beginning on July 1. During the visit the Commission met all the members of the Finnish Government to discuss the Presidency agenda.

Presidents Halonen and Barroso at Mäntyniemi. Phtoto: Lehtikuva.

In the course of their meeting Presidents Halonen and Barroso also discussed topical EU issues such as the enlargement of the EU and the state of the Constitutional Treaty.

At their joint press conference the Presidents also gave their views on the situation in the Middle East and the WTO negotiations. Both expressed their concern at the growing violence in the Middle East. According to President Halonen, Finland and the EU will, during the visit to Finland by the Israeli Foreign Minister on July 4, be appealing to the parties concerned to defuse the situation.

The website of Finnish EU Presidency