EU decision-making involves multiple stages

Responsibility for the national preparation of EU affairs in the Ministry of the Interior and the offices and agencies within its mandate rests with Minister of the Interior Päivi Räsänen. The ministers responsible for EU justice and home affairs meet at the Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA Council) on average eight times a year. In a great majority of cases, the Council takes its decisions by qualified majority voting in association with the European Parliament. Two of the JHA Council meetings are informal and the rest six of them formal. The formal meetings are held either in Brussels or Luxembourg while the informal ones take place in the country holding the rotating Presidency.

The Government Secretariat for EU Affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office prepares the general guidelines for Finnish EU policy and coordinates the preparation and handling of issues relating to the EU in the ministries. Decisions on the guidelines for Finnish EU policy are made in the Cabinet Committee on European Union Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister.

The Finnish Parliament takes an active part in the preparation of EU home affairs. The Government informs Parliament of the key legislative projects related to the EU by submitting a government communication to Parliament. Prior to Council meetings, the relevant ministers are required to appear before Parliament’s Grand Committee and inform the Committee of the items on the meeting agenda.