Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen to speak at sanctions conference in The Hague and to meet Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp

Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen to speak at sanctions conference in The Hague and to meet Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp

Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will visit The Hague on 15 January and speak at a conference on sanctions compliance and enforcement hosted by the Netherlands. She will also have discussions with the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Caspar Veldkamp and representatives of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Minister of Foreign Affairs Caspar Veldkamp and Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will be joined at the sanctions conference by Latvian Minister for Foreign Affairs Baiba Braže.

The conference will have representatives from 15 EU Member States as well as from Ukraine, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Commission, including EU Sanctions Envoy David O'Sullivan. Most participants will be from the public sector. The conference will focus on sanctions compliance and enforcement in the Member States.

Foreign Minister Valtonen and Dutch Foreign Minister Veldkamp will also discuss bilateral themes, Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and its impact on European security, support for Ukraine and other topical foreign and security policy issues.

"The security situation in Europe and recent events in the Baltic Sea highlight the need to strengthen cooperation on sanctions. Sanctions and their efficient enforcement are important tools in supporting Ukraine. The EU must ramp up sanctions against Russia together with other countries in the sanctions coalition," Foreign Minister Valtonen says.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has cooperated with businesses on sanctions matters since the start of Russia's war of aggression. In The Hague, Finland will share its experiences of public-private cooperation on sanctions.

"The Hague sanctions conference is a very welcome opportunity for EU Member State authorities to meet and share information and best practices and thereby ensure that the sanctions are effective and that they are enforced uniformly. I also find it very useful to exchange views on topical themes with my Dutch colleague," says Foreign Minister Valtonen.

During her visit to The Hague, Minister Valtonen will also meet with the First Vice-President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Judge Rosario Salvatore Aitala, and Registrar Osvaldo Zavala Giler.