H.E. Ms Raili Lahnalampi:

I thank the Chairman and members for their very important and interesting questions. I thank everyone for their kind words and well wishes for our Presidency. We take the Presidency seriously and we need friends like Ireland to support us. We are very happy to receive Ireland's support.

Senator Richmond asked about the timetable and our approach to the multi-annual financial framework, MFF.

My approach has always been one of following the money. When one does that, one knows where things are going. Finland will take this very seriously. We have very ambitious plans for the timetable. Our EU Commissioner, Jutta Urpilainen, has already approached all her colleagues from the member states to establish bilateral meetings. She will explain Finnish priorities at the July General Affairs Council. We hope to have an exchange of views at the October General Affairs Council in order to complete the process as planned. We are in the hands of member states. New demands arise from the new strategic goals and pressures such as those relating to climate change, but we also need to ensure that we continue support for sectors such as agriculture. Finland has said that although climate change and agriculture are related, we hope that every member state's agriculture can still be productive. We aim to have initiatives that would take better care of the climate in the context of agricultural production. We believe it is possible. There are already pilot projects on farms in Finland that are looking at carbon emissions.

Deputy Durkan referred to Brexit, security and climate change. We also regret that the UK is leaving, but it is a democracy. It has voted to leave and we must respect that. We think we are losing a very good partner. At the same time, we hope British minds will come to a resolution. The EU has made up its mind, the 27 members have been very united and that solidarity will continue. Finland understands the Irish problems and will stand with Ireland in the context of its concerns. We hope that once the campaign for the Tory leadership has concluded, the UK will be able to come back and state clearly what it wants to see. Like Ireland, Finland is worried that the possibility of no deal is growing. We are also preparing for that. We all need to prepare as the possibility grows larger.

On security, I do not see such a large difference between Ireland and Finland. As the Deputy noted, we have been in many UN peacekeeping operations together. For example, we have done a great job peacekeeping together in Lebanon. There are new threats, such as hybrid and cyber threats where countries such as Ireland and Finland are at the same level, regardless of whether they are NATO countries. These threats cross borders, and as I noted in my opening statement, hybrid threats, including cyber, are threats for which we need to prepare. That is why Finland is organising a table-top exercise during its Presidency to draw politicians' attention to the fact that foreign states are trying to influence our elections or, through cyberattacks, our tech companies. We need to be aware.

Deputy Durkan asked about climate change, deforestation, afforestation and the role of Mercosur. The Chairman also asked about Mercosur. Every country will have to look at the outcome of the Mercosur negotiations. The negotiations have been ongoing for the past 20 years. Finland is a free trader. We believe that if trade is free and regulated, Finnish companies have a niche and will survive. If trade is not regulated and we do not have a system, and if we have a trade war which is evident in US-China relations, then we will be in a much worse position. We very much support the Commission on the trade agreements. At the same time, we believe that the social aspects, including climate change, must be taken care of in all our trade agreements. The Commission will explain more clearly the climate implications of the Mercosur treaty and what climate protectors have been included in it. I understand that there are certain conditions for countries such as Brazil to take care of the Amazon region, but parliaments and governments must follow up on these.

In the context of deforestation, I attended a very interesting meeting organised by the Irish forestry industry and IBEC. Finland and Ireland have many common interests and much common knowledge which we can share. As ambassador, I will try to promote more co-operation between Finland and Ireland. Finland has been doing afforestation for many years and we have some things that we can share and we can learn from Ireland because we also have problems with turf and peat. We can work together on that.

Deputy Haughey spoke of common values. Finland is trying to do many things in its Presidency to strengthen the rules-based system and common values so that they stand up in practice. We are trying to see how we could strengthen the toolbox of the rule of law in the EU. Many things are in that toolbox which have not been used. We are also trying to strengthen the dialogue and have something more like the OECD peer review which we think is very effective. Peer reviews are not naming and shaming but rather lessons learned. When we know more about other countries' systems, we can learn. We are also looking at how to fight corruption more effectively. The rule of law and the values based system is not only a value, it also affects our economies if the rules based system and rule of law are not in place. A significant issue we are examining relates to whether, when they receive funds from the EU, member states should be more conditional in terms of their compliance with and obeying and following up on all of the agreements that we reached in common. We are also looking at equality. Gender equality, that between men and women, is a key cornerstone for the rule-based system.

Senator Leyden expressed his worry that there may be a not-so-fun meeting in Helsinki. I used to work as a staffer in the Finnish Parliament and I can assure him that even though we have tap water, we have other drinks to offer to every member who attends COSAC.