Tampere to host EU-Mediterranean meeting

Consolation prize for losing ASEM summit

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The city of Tampere is expected to be the venue of one of the most important meetings during the Finnish Presidency of the European Union in the second half of next year.
      Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja (SDP) has confirmed that preparations for holding a meeting linked with the so-called Barcelona Process in Tampere have been initiated.
      A final decision is to be made in the government's EU Ministerial Committee early in the autumn.
     
The follow-up meeting of the Barcelona Process is a joint meeting of foreign ministers of the EU countries and countries on the Mediterranean Sea, and is expected to have more than 400 participants.
      The precise dates of the meeting have not been decided, but late November 2006 is considered likely; a number of participants are expected from predominantly Muslim countries, and organisers feel that it is important accommodate their needs by holding the event after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
     
After considerable wrangling, Tampere failed in its bid to host the biggest gathering of the six-month EU Presidency - the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). The Finnish government went back on a previous decision after it found that the city's accommodation facilities were inadequate for the massive event.
      The Barcelona Process Foreign Ministers' Meeting is the second-largest gathering related to the Finnish EU Presidency, right after ASEM.
      Key meetings involving EU decision-making will be held in Brussels during the EU Presidency. However, a number of bilateral summits between the EU and its partner countries are to be held in Finland. These include meetings with Russia, China, and Canada. The venue for these meetings will probably be Helsinki.
     
A total of about 100 meetings are to be held in Finland in connection with the EU Presidency, including eight unofficial ministerial meetings.
      The largest of these will be a gathering of ministers of justice and ministers of the interior, to be held in Tampere in September.
      A number of gatherings of civil servants and experts of different fields are also to be held in Finland. The largest of these, a conference evaluating the quality of administration, is to be held in Tampere.
      A conference on drug policy is to be held in Turku, while a conference on Fishing is scheduled for Vaasa, and a water conference is to be held in Ivalo.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Report: ASEM summit might not be held in Tampere (29.4.2005)

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