The Finnish Institute of International Affairs is a research institute whose mission is to produce high quality, topical information on international relations and the EU.
The Institute maintains active international contacts in its activities and its researchers regularly participate in public debate, contributing to newspapers, periodicals and specialist journals. Furthermore, it also publishes a journal, Ulkopolitiikka (Finnish Journal of Foreign Affairs), and maintains a specialized library, containing in excess of 23,500 volumes.
The Institute was established by the Finnish Parliament in June 2006, which also provides its basic funding. It is autonomous in its research activities and is governed by a nine-member board, assisted by an advisory council and a scientific advisory council. Similarly to universities, the Institute does not have a common view on issues related to its field of research and each researcher comments on topical issues in the news media based his or her own expertise and research.