Prime Minister Juha Sipilä will attend the meeting marking the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome in Rome on Saturday, said an official press release.

At the meeting, the Heads of State and Government of the 27 Member States of the European Union will adopt a declaration setting out a joint vision for the future of the Union.

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 will be issued now is based on these discussions.

Prime Minister will leave Helsinki for Rome on Friday 24 March to attend an audience of EU Heads of State and Government with Pope Francis in Vatican.

Earlier on the same day, Sipilä will co-host a Finnish-Italian business event with Italy's Minister of Economic Development Carlo Calenda. The Finnish companies participating in the event will be Nokia, Comptel, Wärtsilä and Kalmar/Cargotec.

The Prime Minister will also host a reception to mark the centenary of Finland’s independence, to be held at Villa Lante, the Finnish Institute in Rome.

Earlier, the EU leaders at an informal meeting held on 10 March in Brussels discussed the future of the European Union and the main points of the Rome declaration. 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 and are jointly known as the Treaties of Rome.

The Treaties of Rome created the European Economic Community, which later became the European Union.