ROME-- Prime Minister Juha Sipilä attended in Rome the meeting marking the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome on Saturday 25 March. At the meeting, the Heads of State and Government of the 27 Member States of the European Union adopted a declaration setting out a joint vision for the future of the Union.

 On Friday 24 March Prime Minister Sipilä had joined also an audience of EU Heads of State and Government with Pope Francis in Vatican. Earlier on the same day, Sipilä co-hosted a Finnish-Italian business event at the Embassy of Finland, with Italian entrepreneurs with interests in Finland and representatives of Finnish companies, such as like Nokia, Finnlines, Comptel, Wärtsilä and Kalmar/Cargotec. In the evening, the Prime Minister hosted a reception to mark the centenary of Finland’s independence, held at Villa Lante, the Finnish Institute in Rome. Sipilä remembered the long tradition of common values between the two countries, and panels in Italian spread in the halls of Villa Lante were useful to inform the Italian guests of the achievements of Finland during the last 100 years.

 The event was quite crowded and registered also the visit of the Italian Foreign Minister, Angelino Alfano, who stressed the long history of good relations between the two countries, giving wishes for the Finland’s centenary.

 Signing the Declaration of Rome

 Premier Sipilä had the task to sign the Rome declaration on Finland’s behalf.

 The Rome Declaration is related to the discussion about the future of the European Union (so-called Bratislava roadmap), launched last summer after the UK referendum. The EU Heads of State and Government have discussed the future of the EU on several occasions. The declaration that was issued now is based on these discussions

 In the future development of the Union, Finland stresses an appropriate balance between ambition and realism. Finland underlines that it is important to ensure that the EU remains united and functions smoothly, focusing on the most essential questions, especially growth and security. Finland considers that moving at different pace in the Union is possible as far as this takes place within the Treaties and provided that the process will be open to all Member States.

 The Treaty of the European Economic Community and the Treaty of the European Atomic Energy Community were established in Rome on 25 March 1957 by six countries and are jointly known as the Treaties of Rome. The Treaties of Rome created the European Economic Community, which later became the European Union.