President Niinistö to meet European presidents in Portugal

Office of the President of the Republic
Press Release 50/2014
25 September 2014

President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö will attend the informal meeting of European presidents in Braga, Portugal, on 29–30 September 2014. President Niinistö will make a key note speech in a session on research and innovation in the promotion of growth, competitiveness and creation of employment. Other sessions will focus on energy and immigration issues. There will also be bilateral meetings between presidents.

This meeting of what is known as the Arraiolos Group will be hosted by Cavaco Silva, President of Portugal. The presidents of Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, and Poland are also expected to attend. The Group took its name from the Portuguese town of Arraiolos where it first met in 2003. Meetings of the Group were held in Finland in 2005 and 2012.