On October 17, 2011, Her Excellency Ritva Koukku-Ronde, Finland's new Ambassador to the United States, offered her perspectives on Finland’s evolving role within the European Union, her nation’s approach to resolving the European sovereign debt crisis and the challenges of insuring greater political parity within the EU 27. She also assessed the current state of Finnish-U.S. relations, emphasizing the need for continued transatlantic cooperation on shared economic, security and environmental challenges.