For the third time, after 1999 and 2006, Finland is holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU. As part of the Presidency  Trio Programme with Romania and Croatia, Finland is taking over the Romanian Presidency, from 1 July 2019 until 31 December 2019.
In line with the slogan "Sustainable Europe – Sustainable future", the Finnish Presidency intends to focus on four main areas:

• to strengthen common values and the rule of law
• to make the EU more competitive and socially inclusive
• to strengthen the EU’s position as a global leader in climate action
• to protect the security of citizens comprehensively

As a European based international animal welfare organisation, FOUR PAWS wishes all the best to Finland for the Presidency. In addition, FOUR PAWS International is particularly delighted to see Finland commits to foster animal welfare during the Presidency, as mentioned in the 6 months programme. We are also delighted that animal welfare was a topic during the first meeting of the Council of agriculture of the new presidency, as transport under extreme temperatures was intensively discussed.  

• The Finnish Presidency website
• Programme of the Finnish Presidency: here
• The scheduled political events
• Contacts