On day one of their visit to Finland, the Delegation of the Committee on European Integration met with the Prime Minister Mr Jyrki Katainen, and they also had meetings with the Vice President of the Parliament Mr Pekka Ravi, the Chairperson of the parliamentary Commerce Committee Mr Mauri Pekkarinen, as well as the representatives of the Department for Europe to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – the Deputy General Director Mr Juha Ottman and the director Ms Päivi Laivola. 

During the meeting with the Prime Minister Katainen, the Chairperson of the Committee Mr Slaven Radunović extended his gratitude for the overall political support of Finland, with regard to the European integration process and on that occasion informed his interlocutor on the recent activities of the Committee on European Integration, and the Parliament of Montenegro. Mr Radunović pointed out the challenges that Montenegro was facing in the intensive negotiating process and emphasised his hopes that in the following years the country would fulfil all the necessary requirements in order to be fully ready for the decision on the membership. During the conversation, the Prime Minister Katainen confirmed the positive relation of the ruling Finnish coalition toward the integration and the enlargement process in general, and with a special emphasis pointed out that he could see Montenegro as the leader of the new wave of enlargement in the following period. During the meeting they jointly pointed out the sensitivity of the negotiating process of each candidate country, because the results of negotiations would determine the later form of a country’s EU membership, therefore extreme caution would be advised during negotiations, in order to protect the national interests in the best manner possible.

During the meeting the Delegation has been informed on the work dynamics of the Parliament of Finland, where a special place is taken by the Grand Committee consisting of 25 members, and which, on behalf of the Parliament, is responsible for providing opinion on the directions of determination of Finland with regard to the proposals for the decisions coming from Brussels. In a probably unique procedure with regard to the experience of the national parliaments of the member states, following the discussions in the meetings of other working bodies of the Parliament, the Grand Committee decides on the positions of the state with regard to the policies that are planned to be implemented through the Union institutions. Pointing out the strength of impact of the world economic crisis on the Finnish economy, the parliamentarians pointed out that all the decisions were made with a special sensibility, having in mind their potential effects on the quality of life of the citizens of Finland.

The Committee Delegation consists of the Chairperson Mr Slaven Radunović, as well as the members Mr Srđa Popović and Mr Genci Nimanbegu.