On July 1st, 2019, Finland took over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
As the Council president, Finland will be integral to shaping the political direction the Council will take over the next six months.
The current “trio presidency” (Romania, Finland, and Croatia) is occurring in a difficult European and international context. The exit of the United Kingdom from the EU, the recent transition to a new European Parliament and European Commission will all be difficult to navigate. The presidency will face negotiations on the strategic reference documents of the EU. Finland will also be the first presidency to integrate the new priorities of the Strategic Agenda 2019-2024.
The “trio presidency” programme focuses on five key areas:
- A Union for jobs, growth, and competitiveness
- A Union that empowers and protects all its citizens
- Towards an energy union with a forward-looking climate policy
- A Union of freedom, security, and justice
- The Union as a strong global actor
The priorities of the Finnish Presidency are encompassed in the motto: “sustainable Europe, sustainable future”.
In the health sector, the focus will be on “wellbeing and skills: the foundation of inclusive growth”.
The priorities in the health sector will be:
- To deepen the single market and the digitalization of sectors such as health and mobility
- To increase the number of skilled workers in Europe and to promote longer working careers in Europe through improvements in occupational health and safety, public health policies and part-time work schemes
- To work towards an ‘economy of wellbeing’, a new holistic approach with a focus on improving long-term care and understanding how people’s wellbeing enhances productivity, generates, economic growth, and reduces long-term public expenditure.
During the Presidency of the Council of the EU, Finland will organise a high-level conference on the economy of wellbeing on 18–19 September 2019 in Helsinki.
Related documents and links:
- Download the full Finnish programme
- Download the full programme of the trio presidency
- For more information about the Presidency, upcoming activities, and how the Council works, you can visit the Finnish Presidency webpage or the Council of the EU webpage.
- Factsheet: Economy of wellbeing in the EU: people’s wellbeing fosters economic growth
