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1.3.2023 | The reform of continuous learning, launched under the Government Programme, has promoted the opportunities of working-age people to improve their knowledge and skills, and increased the availability of skilled labour. The final report on the reform implementation and on the next steps was submitted on 1 March 2023 to the Members of Parliament who participated in the drafting of the parliamentary policy approaches for continuous learning. 

17.6.2022 | Accelerating inflation is slowing economic growth. Finland’s gross domestic product will grow by 1.4% this year, estimates the Ministry of Finance in the Economic Survey published on 17 June.

11.5.2022 | On Wednesday 11 May, Prime Minister Sanna Marin will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo. Her programme for the day also includes a discussion with Speaker of the House of Representatives Hiroyuki Hosoda.

19.9.2022 | Accelerating inflation is slowing economic growth. Finland’s gross domestic product will grow by 0.5% next year, according to the Economic Survey published by the Ministry of Finance on 19 September. 

11.3.2022 | By the deadline of 4 March 2022, 86 applications were received in the first application round for energy investment aid under Finland’s Recovery and Resilience Plan. The investment aid is intended for energy solutions of the future that aim to achieve carbon neutrality and improve competitiveness, among other things. The total amount of aid applied for was EUR 1.65 billion.

28.1.2022 | Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will visit Saudi Arabia and Oman from 30 January to 3 February 2022. During his visit, the Minister will meet Saudi Arabian and Omani ministers and representatives of business life. He will also participate in LEAP, a global technology and innovation event, held in Riyadh from 1 to 3 February 2022.

20.4.2022 | The member countries of the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action discussed climate and economic policy at the ministerial meeting held on 19 April. Finland and Indonesia co-chair the Coalition.

19.9.2022 | Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä will attend the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) at the Global Clean Energy Action Forum hosted by the United States in Pittsburgh this week. At the conference, the ministers will discuss current global energy challenges and aim to find shared solutions for them.

31.1.2022 | The EU ministers responsible for the internal market and industrial policy will meet to discuss the Union’s measures to develop its crisis resilience. The meeting will be organised by France, which currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU. 

26.1.2022 | The Ministerial Working Group on Developing the Digital Transformation, the Data Economy and Public Administration decided to circulate for comments a resolution on technology policy. The goal of the Government resolution is that in 2030 Finland will be the most successful and best known country for generating wellbeing from the development and utilisation of technology.

2.9.2022 | A working group of State Secretaries was tasked to examine how Russia’s attack on Ukraine has affected the economy of eastern Finland and what measures are needed to strengthen the region’s vitality. The working group has proposed to the Government short-term measures for the 2023 budget proposal, reallocation of funding using existing funding sources, and long-term measures. The measures focus...

24.11.2022 | Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin spoke at the New European Bauhaus Goes Into the Woods event in Espoo, Finland, on 24 November 2022. Check against delivery.

11.3.2022 | Minister of Finance Annika Saarikko will represent Finland in the meeting of EU and euro area finance ministers on 14–15 March.

28.10.2021 | In a video conference held on Thursday 28 October, the EU finance ministers welcomed the assessment of Finland’s Recovery and Resilience Plan. Minister of Finance Annika Saarikko represented Finland in the conference.

15.3.2021 | The Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland will boost investment in emissions reducing solutions, accelerate sustainable growth in the economy, and create long-term growth potential. Half of the funding involved will be for promoting a green transition, and about a quarter will be for digitalisation. The Programme will also boost public investment in research, development and innovation by approximately EUR 700 million.

26.1.2023 | The Central Asian countries are rich in extractives and renewable energy sources. Sustainable and responsible use of these resources is one of the key factors determining the future of these countries, according to Ilkka Räisänen, Finland’s Roving Ambassador for Central Asia.

16.3.2022 | On Tuesday 15 March, the EU’s finance ministers reached an agreement in the Economic and Financial Affairs Council on establishing a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. Minister of Finance Annika Saarikko represented Finland at the meeting in Brussels.

30.6.2022 | On 30 June 2022, the Government submitted its national climate and energy strategy to Parliament as a report. The strategy is a comprehensive action plan for the medium term, which Finland will use to meet the EU’s obligations for 2030 and to achieve the national climate target for 2035. The strategy covers all greenhouse gas emissions in the emissions trading, effort sharing and land use sectors as well as the carbon sinks of land use and other sectors.

25.5.2022 | Prime Minister Sanna Marin and President of the European Council Charles Michel met in Helsinki on Wednesday 25 May.

14.10.2021 | The Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) will meet in Luxembourg on Friday 15 October. Finland’s representatives at the meeting will be Minister of Employment Tuula Haatainen and Minister of Social Affairs and Health Hanna Sarkkinen.

25.6.2021 | On the second day of their meeting in Brussels on 25 June, the EU leaders focused on economic issues. Economic stimulus measures and the completion of the Banking Union were on the agenda.

25.5.2021 | The third supplementary budget proposal for 2021 will boost growth, bring forward investment, respond to spending requirements caused by the coronavirus, and alleviate harm that the virus has caused to businesses and to children and young adults. The supplementary budget will initiate reforms and investment under the European Union recovery instrument.

10.1.2022 | The European Commission has published the Single Market scoreboard that measures the implementation of the Single Market rules in the Union during 2020. The Single Market refers to the free movement of people, goods, services and capital in the EU. The Commission has extended the scope of the scoreboard to include three new policy areas: business environment for SMEs, greening of the industry, and market surveillance.

28.6.2021 | Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will visit the United States on 28 June–2 July 2021.

24.11.2021 | Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä proposes that Finland and Sweden prepare a joint industrial strategy to promote a green transition. According to Lintilä, the discussions could start at a summit next year, which would bring together the countries’ top politicians and industrial and business leaders.

1.6.2022 | Minister of Finance Annika Saarikko gave a speech at the conference on the theme of ecologically sustainable economic policy in the 2020s on 1 June 2022.

14.12.2021 | Finland is preparing a national digital compass during spring 2022. The objective is to formulate a shared national vision and targets for digital transformation and the data economy for 2030. In its second meeting on 14 December 2021, the Ministerial Working Group on Developing the Digital Transformation, the Data Economy and Public Administration outlined the content themes that guide the preparation of the digital compass.

26.1.2022 | Prime Minister Sanna Marin and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez met in Madrid on Wednesday 26 January. The two prime ministers discussed strengthening their countries’ economic relations and cooperation on a number of EU issues. The security situation in Europe also came up in the discussion.

24.9.2021 | First Deputy Prime Minister of Spain, Minister for Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation Nadia Calviño will visit Finland on Monday, 27 September 2021. First Deputy Prime Minister Calviño will be accompanied by Secretary of State for Digitization and Artificial Intelligence Carme Artigas and Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure Roberto Sánchez. Deputy Prime Minis...

23.8.2022 | Prime Minister Sanna Marin's speech at the annual meeting of Heads of Mission, hosted by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland on 23 August 2022.

7.3.2022 | Prime Minister Sanna Marin and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas met in Tallinn on Monday 7 March. In their meeting, the prime ministers discussed the security situation in Europe, cooperation on topical EU matters and bilateral relations between Finland and Estonia. A report on opportunities for developing Finnish-Estonian cooperation was published in connection with the visit.

23.8.2022 | Prime Minister Sanna Marin's speech at the annual meeting of Heads of Mission, hosted by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland on 23 August 2022.

24.2.2021 | At their video conference on 25 February 2021, the EU ministers responsible for the internal market and industry will discuss national recovery plans, the New Consumer Agenda of the EU and public country-by-country tax reporting. A declaration prepared by the group of ministers from digitally advanced EU countries (D9+) will moreover be presented by Finland.

25.2.2021 | The Finnish Government approved the content of REACT-EU funding on 25 February as part of the ongoing Sustainable growth and jobs structural funds programme. Allocation of recovery funds to regions will begin in spring 2021. This funding will particularly support SMEs from the perspective of digitalisation and a green economy.

19.4.2022 | The Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action will hold its spring meeting on Tuesday 19 April. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting will be held virtually in connection with the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Finland has served as the one of the chairs of the Coalition since 2019, and the meeting is due to decide on extending the term by one more year until spring 2023.

24.9.2021 | First Deputy Prime Minister of Spain, Minister for Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation Nadia Calviño will visit Finland on Monday, 27 September 2021. First Deputy Prime Minister Calviño will be accompanied by Secretary of State for Digitization and Artificial Intelligence Carme Artigas and Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure Roberto Sánchez. Deputy Prime Minis...

13.5.2021 | Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will visit Kazakhstan on 12–14 May.

13.12.2021 | According the OECD’s review, the development of Finland’s environmental policy has been positive in recent years. The OECD considers the carbon neutrality target and targets related to promoting biodiversity and a circular economy as highly relevant. However, the current measures will not be enough to reach the targets that have been set and, according to the OECD, this will be a challenge for Finland in the coming decade.

25.5.2021 | The third supplementary budget proposal for 2021 will boost growth, bring forward investment, respond to spending requirements caused by the coronavirus, and alleviate harm that the virus has caused to businesses and to children and young adults. The supplementary budget will initiate reforms and investment under the European Union recovery instrument.

17.3.2022 | At the beginning of February, the European Commission adopted a new EU standardisation strategy and simultaneously issued a proposal for amending the regulation on standardisation. On 17 March, the Government submitted to Parliament information on the strategy, amendments to the regulation on standardisation and Finland’s position on them.

8.5.2021 | On Saturday 8 May, Prime Minister Sanna Marin and the other European Council members took part in an informal social summit. At the meeting hosted by the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU, the leaders adopted the Porto Declaration emphasising the importance of social issues for the economic recovery of the Union. The EU leaders also had a discussion via videoconference with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

9.9.2021 | The budget proposal of Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s Government for 2022 builds sustainable growth for the future in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. The budget proposal aims to support post-pandemic recovery, accelerate investments, enable environmentally sustainable growth and increase the availability of skilled labour. The goal is to safeguard people’s wellbeing and to ensure favourable conditions for sustainable economic growth in the long term.

9.2.2022 | Finland and Morocco have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on energy. The aim of the document is to develop technical and economic cooperation between the two countries in the energy sector and promote the access of Finnish companies to the Moroccan market.

16.3.2022 | The EU ministers responsible for the environment and climate change issues will meet in Brussels on 17 March to discuss the EU’s Fit for 55 package, the Battery Regulation and the Deforestation Regulation. Finland’s representative at the meeting will be Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Emma Kari.

11.10.2021 | The Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action will hold its annual meeting on Tuesday 11 October. Finland will have an important role in the meeting, as Minister of Finance Annika Saarikko will chair the meeting jointly with Indonesia’s Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani.

29.10.2021 | The European Commission’s Executive Vice-President and Commissioner in charge of competition and digital policy Margrethe Vestager will visit Helsinki on Friday 29 October. She will discuss current issues related to competition and state aid, the implementation of EU industrial strategy and digitalisation with Minister of Employment Tuula Haatainen and Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä. 

6.5.2021 | Prime Minister Sanna Marin met with Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa on Thursday 6 May in Porto. The main themes of their bilateral meeting were increasing economic cooperation between the countries and topical EU issues. Finland and Portugal have traditionally had good relations, which have been further deepened by EU partnership.

26.5.2021 | Finland will begin the first reforms and investments of its Sustainable Growth Programme already this year, but most of the funding will be used in 2022–2023. In its third supplementary budget, the Government proposes investments in research, continuous learning, quicker access to care and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The proposal includes EUR 238 million in funding for the Sustainable Growth Programme.

17.5.2023 | Prime Minister Sanna Marin spoke at the New York University commencement in New York City on 17 May 2023.

9.9.2021 | The budget proposal of Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s Government for 2022 builds sustainable growth for the future in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. The budget proposal aims to support post-pandemic recovery, accelerate investments, enable environmentally sustainable growth and increase the availability of skilled labour. The goal is to safeguard people’s wellbeing and to ensure favourable conditions for sustainable economic growth in the long term.

3.2.2022 | The Ministry of Education and Culture has entrusted Archinfo Finland as Finland’s contact point for the New European Bauhaus initiative. The contact point participates in an EU-wide informal network for exchange of information and experience and communicates nationally on opportunities for participation and funding possibilities.

21.12.2022 | “Even though this year will go down in the history books for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we have still been fortunate enough to record some favourable developments,” writes Pekka Haavisto, Minister for Foreign Affairs, in relation to the 2022 year in foreign policy.

25.1.2022 | The new growth portfolio operating model of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment provides a tool for Finnish companies to strengthen their ability to anticipate and concretise future trends and to understand global market opportunities and competitive strengths. The growth portfolio work will create a better knowledge base and intensify cooperation between the private and public sectors.

24.11.2021 | Finland joined the Export Finance for Future coalition (E3F) at its meeting on 24 November 2021. The E3F is part of the strategy work to combat global warming. It allocates funding to sustainable projects and defines the most suitable measures for phasing out export finance in projects that are not in line with sustainable development.

30.9.2021 | On Monday 4 October, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Sanna Marin will meet in Helsinki to discuss topical EU matters. In connection with the visit, the Commission will publish its assessment of Finland’s Recovery and Resilience Plan and will present a proposal for the Council of the European Union’s decision on the plan.

8.1.2021 | In a telephone conversation on 8 January, Prime Minister Sanna Marin and Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė discussed bilateral relations between Finland and Lithuania, EU affairs and international issues. Prime Minister Marin congratulated Šimonytė on her recent appointment as Prime Minister. The Prime Ministers have not yet met in person, but they talked via video connection.

1.6.2021 | Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will visit St Petersburg on 2–5 June. Minister Skinnari will attend the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). The International Economic Forum will bring together influential leaders from the world of business and economics from various parts of the globe, offering an excellent platform for exchange of views with representatives of business and political life.

1.2.2022 | The Government and regional councils will hold discussions on regional development on 1–17 February 2022. The discussions will strengthen the dialogue and cooperation between the Government and regions in order to achieve the regional development goals. After the discussions, cooperation documents will be drawn up, based on which the Government will grant regional councils a total of EUR 16 million in national regional development appropriations for the agreed measures.

28.4.2021 | Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will attend the EU development ministers’ informal video conference on 29 April 2021.

13.9.2022 | Prime Minister Sanna Marin spoke at the plenary session of the European Parliament on Tuesday 13 September. Her visit was part of the “This is Europe” series of debates. Check against delivery.