Foreign minister to discuss European support for Ukraine during Finland visit
Foreign minister Maxime Prévot is in Finland on Tuesday for a visit focused on European support for Ukraine. The minister says the conflict “must not be allowed to disappear from the European agenda”.
Belgium and Finland are collaborating through the Shelter Coalition for Ukraine, a Finnish initiative in which the Belgian development agency Enabel is responsible for the construction and renovation of shelters for the Ukrainian population.
Finland has a population of 5.5 million and more than 50,000 civil defence shelters. In peacetime, they serve as sports halls, play areas or underground car parks; in crises, they are operational within 72 hours. Belgium can learn from that model, Prévot believes. He will visit a shelter in Merihaka that can accommodate 6,000 people.
Prévot, of Les Engagés, will meet his Finnish counterpart, Elina Valtonen, in Helsinki. “Ukraine must not become a topic we grow tired of,” he said. “Our support must remain resolute, in terms of military resources, humanitarian aid and concrete projects for sustainable reconstruction.”
Prévot is also due to visit Jordan and Lebanon this week. Belgium was one of 15 European countries to sign a statement last week calling for peace in Lebanon, asking, among other things, for Hezbollah to “cease all hostile action” and for Israel to “respect the sovereignty” of the country. Two additional countries, Austria and Cyprus, have since joined the signatories.
Belgian Foreign minister Maxime Prévot and his Finnish counterpart, Elina Valtonen, at the Finnish Foreign ministry in Helsinki, 7 April 2026 © BELGA PHOTO VIRGINIE LEFOUR / BELG VIDEO JEROME FETU
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