Prime Minister Juha Sipilä meets with his Estonian counterpart, Jüri Ratas, in Tallinn, Estonia on May 7, 2018. Picture: Riigikantselei (Riigikantselei)
Prime Minister Juha Sipilä and his Estonian counterpart, Jüri Ratas, discussed mutual interests in a historical jubilee meeting in the Estonian capital, Tallinn on Monday.
One of the central topics was the EU budget for 2021-2027.
According to Sipilä, there’s a lot to improve.
“For example, the level of the budget is pretty high in relation to our policy,” said Prime Minister Sipilä after the talks.
Finland and Estonia welcome the additional funding to research and development to support the economic growth of the EU and also the development of immigration, border control and defense cooperation.
Both countries are worried about cuts in agriculture and both countries want to stress their significance.
The premiers also discussed the digital initiatives that are under development in the EU, such as artificial intelligence.
“The European Commission’s initiative of artificial intelligence is a good basis. I see a lot of opportunities to the cooperation of Finland and Estonia,” Sipilä said.
The inter-governmental meeting between Finland and Estonia is the first one in the whole history of the two nations. Estonia celebrated its centenary in early spring, on February 24. Finland celebrated 100 years of independence on December 6 last year, on Independence Day.
The meeting is in many ways both unique and historical.
This is the first time Estonia is holding a government meeting together with another country. For Finland, this is the first time the government is convening outside its own borders.
Finland and Sweden held an inter-governmental meeting in Hämeenlinna in 2009, when Finland celebrated 200 years of Finnish public administration.
Source: The government
