The role of the Permanent Representation is to draft the decisions of the Council, the European Union’s principal legislator, on the basis of instructions from the Finnish government.
The work of the Representation is led by the Permanent Representative, Ambassador Jan Store. Ambassador Marianne Huusko-Lamponen acts as Deputy Permanent Representative.
The Representation has a staff of approximately 100. Representation’s civil servants are experts in different fields of the administration. They work in Brussels for an average of 2-4 years.
Committees of senior civil servants play a key role in drafting legislation. The most important of these is Coreper, the Committee of Permanent Representatives, which is responsible for preparing Ministerial-level Council meetings. Coreper meets in two configurations, Coreper I and Coreper II, which deal with different subject areas.
In Coreper II the Member States are represented by their Permanent Representatives, i.e. by their Ambassadors at the Permanent Representations in Brussels. Finland is represented by Ambassador Jan Store. Coreper II deals with
In Coreper I the Member States are represented by their Deputy Permanent Representatives based at their Permanent Representation in Brussels. Finland is represented by Ambassador Marianne Huusko-Lamponen. Coreper I deals with
Coreper II and Coreper I are convened weekly in order to draft decisions to be taken at meetings of the Council of Ministers. Coreper resolves matters to which a solution could not be found at working party level, so that a compromise can be put forward on these issues or a decision taken.
The Committee is chaired by the Permanent Representative of the rotating Presidency.
Coreper is assisted by over 200 working parties. A Member State is represented in a working party by an expert sent either from the capital or the Permanent Representation.
In addition to the working groups, decisions are drafted in different committees. The Political and Security Committee (PSC) is responsible for the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CSFP) and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). Member States are represented at the PSC by Ambassadors based in Brussels. Finland's representative is ambassador Piritta Asunmaa.
The European Union Military Committee (EUMC) is the highest military body set up within the Council. It directs all EU military activities. The EUMC is composed of the Chiefs of Defence of Member States, who are regularly represented by their permanent Military Representatives. Finland is represented by the Major General Markku Nikkilä.
Other key committees include the Economic and Financial Committee, the Trade Policy Committee, the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) and the Working Party on Competitiveness and Growth.
The Representation is a popular destination for groups of visitors. Requests to come and find out about the work of Finland’s Permanent Representation are received from all over Finland. The Representation is an unusual working community in that it represents the whole of the Finnish state administration in miniature.
