The President of the Republic Tarja Halonen will not be attending next week's European Council meeting in Brussels.
At the March 22-23 meeting hosted by the current EU president Luxembourg, Finland will be represented by the Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre), the Minister for Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja (SDP), and the Minister of Finance Antti Kalliomäki (SDP).
The meeting's agenda centres mainly on economic questions without specific additional foreign-policy issues. The main topics are the Stability and Growth Pact and the Lisbon Strategy, both of which aim to increase the Union's competitiveness.
