Before the meeting at the Federal Chancellery with Prime Minister Juha Sipilä, Chancellor Angela Merkel said that they would also be discussing the withdrawal negotiations with the United Kingdom. "Germany and Finland support all 27 member states conducting these negotiations together," she said.

Pushing for joint solutions

At international level, Germany and Finland are pushing for joint solutions, the Chancellor reiterated. They cooperate very closely within the European Union. "The way the seating is arranged in the European Council also makes us neighbours, said the Chancellor, "so we can engage in very close discussions".

Good economic relations

Chancellor Angela Merkel pointed to the close and cordial relations between the two countries. Not only do they cooperate closely at political level, she said, the economic and cultural ties between the two are also manifold.

300 German businesses operate in Finland, she continued, and about the same number of Finnish businesses have established operations in Germany. "2,000 Finnish expats have now settled in Berlin, where their artistic creativity and entrepreneurial skills are a great boon to the city’s cultural and start-up scenes," declared Angela Merkel.

2017 – an anniversary year

There have been close historic, cultural and economic links between Germany and Finland since the days of the Hanseatic League and the Reformation.

There was a specific reason for Juha Sipilä’s visit to Berlin, said the Chancellor. Two anniversaries will be celebrated this year. Firstly, the 100th anniversary of Finnish independence. Shortly after the Russian Revolution in 1917, Germany was one of the first states to recognise Finland’s independence, declared Angela Merkel. "That is why we are actively marking this anniversary year with concerts and exhibitions, partly also to illustrate our relations with Finland."

In conjunction with the 500th anniversary of the Reformation too, the two countries are closely linked. The founder of standardised written Finnish, Mikael Agricola, for instance studied in Wittenberg from 1536 to 1539 with Philipp Melanchthon and Martin Luther, said the Chancellor.

In the late afternoon Prime Minister Juha Sipilä and Federal Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel attended the Midsummer Celebrations in the grounds of the Finnish Embassy.