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State Secretary Štucin at consultations in Helsinki on current foreign policy topics

In Helsinki, State Secretary Štucin held bilateral consultations with Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering Tytti Tuppurainen, Permanent State Secretary at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs Jukka Salovaara and Director of Foreign and Security Policy in the Cabinet of the President Petri Hakkarainen.

State Secretary Štucin and his hosts discussed current foreign policy topics, focusing on the situation in Ukraine, the changed security conditions, the energy crisis, the situation in the Western Balkans, migration, Schengen enlargement and respect for the rule of law.

Slovenia and Finland share similar views on the European perspective for the Western Balkans. During the discussion, State Secretary Štucin expressed strong support for granting Bosnia and Herzegovina candidate status by the end of 2022. He went on to mention the outer and inner dimensions of migration issues, outlining the importance of a fully functioning Schengen system and the removal of the controls at the internal borders. They agreed on the need to respect the rule of law, which is one of the priorities of the Slovenian Government, and focused on the accession of Finland to NATO.