Sipilä, Ratas discuss Finland's EU council presidency

Prime Minister Juha Sipilä met with his Estonian counterpart Juri Ratas on Thursday to discuss the future of the European Union (EU), Finland's upcoming presidency of the Council of the EU, as well as bilateral ties.

"Estonia and Finland are good partners and our cooperation is strong in every field. One excellent example is Finland's recent confirmation that they are planning to join the Rail Baltica ... joint project that is helping to promote regional economic cooperation as well as the development of our region in general," Ratas was quoted as saying in a statement.

Rail Baltica is a greenfield rail transport infrastructure project that aims to integrate the Baltic states in the European rail network. The project includes five EU countries, namely Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland indirectly.

The two prime ministers discussed the challenges facing the EU, including Britain's pending departure from the bloc and key issues to be tackled by the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU after July. The EU budget for the 2021-2027 period was also covered.

The statement recalled that a new team will take over at the helm of the European Commission and other institutions after the European Parliament elections this coming May.

The two leaders also discussed bilateral cooperation in the field of digital connections.