H.M. King of Spain and the President of the Republic of Finland with their spouses visited the University of Lapland and Arktikum

Their Majesties King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain and the President of the Republic of Finland Alexander Stubb and his spouse Suzanne Innes-Stubb visited the University of Lapland on the 7th of October 2026.

As part of the visit at the University of Lapland, a panel discussion was held, and His Majesty and the President of the Republic delivered their speeches on European security, global engagement and cooperation. Before the public event program included a visit to the Science Centre and Museum Arktikum.

The high-level visit filled the Fellman Hall at the university’s main campus to capacity with students and staff members from the University of Lapland and the Lapland University of Applied Sciences as well as other invited guests. The event was opened with a panel discussion titled Bridging Europe’s Frontiers: Security and Cooperation from the Arctic to the Mediterranean and the Construction of European International Actorness.

Panelists included Research Professors Timo Koivurova and Sanna Kopra from theArctic Centre, University of Lapland, Cristina Manzano, Member of ECFR – European Council on Foreign Relations and Professor Pol Morillas, Director of Barcelona Centre for International Affairs. Panel was moderated by Head of Science Communications Markku Heikkilä from the Arctic Centre.

The panel focused on different perspectives on European security and the role of the EU as a global actor. The panelists highlighted the diversity of security challenges and their interconnected nature. The experts emphasized that for example the security threats caused by climate change do not respect national borders, and both combating them and adapting to them require cooperation. According to the panelists Europe’s strength as a strong global actor is based on its unity. Also, strong partnerships with other countries committed to similar values and goals were considered important.  

King Felipe VI and President Stubb emphasized the strong European solidarity

After the panel discussion Rector Antti Syväjärvi welcomed the presidential couple and the King and Queen to the University of Lapland. Rector Syväjärvi stated that it is a great honor for the University of Lapland to host a part of the state visit. He also highlighted the important role that universities and the academic community play in building bridges between different regions of Europe.

King Felipe VI also emphasized the importance of European unity. Even though Spain and Finland are located on different edges of Europe and have different geopolitical realities the connection between countries is strong. The European Union only has one border and whether the security challenges occur in the south or the north, Europe will respond to it as one. After the big round of applause King Felipe VI thanked both the presidential couple as well as everyone who took part in organizing the state visit program.

In his remarks, President Stubb noted that Europe is more united today than at any time during his long and varied career. The president stated that being European has never felt as comfortable as it does right now. President Stubb attributed this unity to the shared difficulties the continent has faced, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and to some extent also pressures related to transatlantic relations. President Stubb encouraged the students present in Fellman Hall to use their own voices and take action, even though the global situation is challenging and there are major, concurrent problems to be solved.

After the public event the presidential couple and the King and Queen met briefly with Finnish and Spanish students from the University of Lapland and the Lapland University of Applied Sciences.