International and EU affairs
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and its administrative branch engage in proactive international and EU cooperation that promotes health and social policy. As part of the Government, the Ministry is responsible for international and EU cooperation in matters falling within its mandate. We at the Ministry work actively both in the EU and globally and take the international obligations binding on us into account in our activities.
The focus of our activities is on influencing international and EU legislation, norms and policy programmes relating to our administrative branch, incorporating them into Finnish legislation, implementing binding international treaties and reporting on the implementation.
The most important objectives are comprehensive security and resilience, the economy of wellbeing, gender equality, non-discrimination and human rights, universal health and social protection coverage, and digitalisation.
Broad-based cooperation in various forums
The most significant forums for international cooperation in the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health’s administrative branch are as follows:
- European Union (EU)
- United Nations (UN)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- International Labour Organization (ILO)
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
- Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM)
- Council of Europe (CoE)
Other intergovernmental cooperation organisations and regional cooperation bodies that are important to the Ministry include the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the Arctic Council, the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), the Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Wellbeing (NDPHS) and the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC). The Ministry also participates in commercial cooperation and export promotion.
It is also important to participate actively in multilateral cooperation so that Finland can influence decision-making. International, regional and bilateral cooperation makes it possible to further develop the Finnish administrative branch for health and social policy and expertise in that policy area.
International Affairs Unit plans, develops and coordinates EU and international cooperation
The Ministry’s International Affairs Unit is responsible for the following activities, among others:
- planning, developing and coordinating EU and international cooperation within the Ministry’s administrative branch together with the Ministry’s departments and institutions and other ministries
- coordinating the reporting on the implementation of international human rights treaties and other international agreements within the Ministry’s administrative branch
- preparing the international meetings and bilateral visits of the Ministers, State Secretaries and the Permanent Secretary.
The Ministry’s departments are responsible for content-related issues in accordance with their division of duties.