"I had always regarded language as more a question of utility than identity. Therefore, I promptly noted that all the (EU) meetings should be conducted in English and French. My older colleagues laughed. Later I understood why. On the second day of the Finnish presidency (of the EU) a German delegation refused to participate in an informal ministerial meeting because no German interpretation had been arranged."
Cai-Göran Alexander Stubb is a Finnish politician serving as the president of Finland since 2024. A member of the National Coalition Party, he previously served as prime minister of Finland from 2014 to 2015 and has held several senior ministerial posts since 2008.
"Joint statement on behalf of the Nordic states by President of the Republic of Finland Alexander Stubb at the UN Security Council session on Ukraine at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 23 September 2025" President of the Republic of Finland (September 24, 2025)"
Alexander Stubb"Call me the “stan” man. Or have you ever been to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kirghizia or Kazakhstan. Give it eight weeks and I will have done them all."
Alexander Stubb