Sámi Parliament advances EU advocacy
In late 2025, the Sámi Parliament strengthened its advocacy work in the European Union through two major initiatives: a visit during the European Parliament plenary week in Strasbourg and participation in the Sámi Indigenous Summit in Brussels.
EU advocacy is the Sámi Parliament’s key international priority for this electoral term. The work emphasises interconnected themes: strengthening Sámi participation and representation rights, climate change, and funding solutions that meet Sámi needs.
Opening session and key panellists in a group photo. Photo: Barents Euro-Arctic Council.
The visit to Strasbourg on the 24th–26th November 2025 focused on strengthening Sámi participation and representation rights in the EU, increasing the visibility of Sámi rights in political processes, and examining EU funding opportunities. Discussions particularly highlighted the impacts of climate change on Sámi areas and traditional livelihoods, as well as the need to take these into account in the EU’s future policies and funding frameworks.
During the visit, the Sámi Parliament representatives met with European Parliament officials and Finnish MEPs. The visit reinforced the Sámi Parliament’s position as an active and credible actor in EU-level discussions. The Sámi Parliament was represented on the visit by the Secretary for International Affairs, Inka Saara Arttijeff.
The Sámi Indigenous Summit, held in Brussels on the 9th–10th of December 2025, brought together EU decision-makers, officials and Indigenous representatives. The event addressed the Arctic region’s security and geopolitical situation from a Sámi perspective, the impacts of climate change and the green transition on Sámi areas, and Sámi participation in environmental policy. It also considered economic development, cross-border cooperation and the role of EU funding in strengthening Sámi communities and livelihoods.
The event emphasised that permanent Sámi representation in the EU and the binding, systematic implementation of the FPIC principle are prerequisites for the EU’s climate, environmental and economic policies to be genuinely fair and respectful of Indigenous rights. The Sámi Parliament was represented at the event by Vice-President Tuomas Aslak Juuso and Secretary for International Affairs Inka Saara Arttijeff.
-Climate change is not a future threat for the Sámi, but a current reality. Therefore, it is essential that the special status of Indigenous Peoples is recognised in the EU’s climate and funding policies, and that genuine opportunities for participation in decision-making are secured, says Vice-President of the Sámi Parliament Tuomas Aslak Juuso.
The discussions in Strasbourg and Brussels show that there is growing interest in the EU in strengthening the position of the EU’s only Indigenous People, their participation rights, and in recognising the key importance of climate change and funding for the realisation of Sámi rights. The Sámi Parliament will continue its determined EU advocacy work to advance these themes as part of its key international strategy for this electoral term.
More information:
Tuomas Aslak Juuso
Second Vice-President President of the Sámi Parliament
+358 40 687 3394
tuomas.juuso@samediggi.fi
Inka Saara Arttijeff
Secretary for International Affairs
+358 50 574 7629
inka-saara.arttijeff@samediggi.fi
