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30.1.2026 | The new European forest partnership project prepared under the lead of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry progresses. The final Grant Agreement related to the partnership is to be signed by the end of May 2026. The first call for applications for research funding should open in autumn 2026.

28.11.2025 | On 27 November 2025, the European Commission published a new Bioeconomy Strategy, which replaces the strategy from 2018. The strategy provides a framework for a competitive and sustainable EU bioeconomy, with the objective of reducing dependency on fossil raw materials and raising the degree of processing and value added of EU bio-based products. The core of the strategy is to boost the development of bio-based products and to accelerate their wide-spread introduction.

4.12.2025 | The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Ministry of the Environment have begun legislative drafting to ensure consistent and predictable application of the obligations under the Birds Directive. The need to amend the Forest Act and the Nature Conservation Act stems from a judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union on felling trees during the period of bird breeding and rearing.

23.3.2026 | Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah will visit Morocco from 24 to 27 March 2026. The purpose of the trip is to strengthen bilateral relations and promote trade with Morocco, especially in forest and water expertise. Minister Essayah will be accompanied by a business delegation focusing on these matters.

11.3.2025 | The webinar series of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization FAO that started on Tuesday 11 March is part of a global initiative aimed to develop forest-based bioeconomy worldwide. At the opening of the series, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah stressed the role of multilateral cooperation as we move towards sustainable forest-based bioeconomy.

7.11.2025 | The UN Climate Change Conference COP30 will be held on 10–21 November in Belém, Brazil. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is organising four side events, where the focus will be on the circular bioeconomy, climate change adaptation and resilient food systems. Two of the events will be held at the Finland Pavilion and two at the Nordic Pavilion. Besides these, the Ministry will participate...

10.11.2025 | On the opening day of COP30 in Belém, the Nordic Ministers for Fisheries, Aquaculture, Agriculture, Food, and Forestry present a ministerial declaration that underlines the potential of food systems and bioeconomy to address climate change through both mitigation and adaptation.

25.11.2024 | Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah visits Canada with a delegation of the Finnish forestry and bioeconomy actors on 24–28 November. Minister Essayah will deliver the keynote speech at the Scaling Up Bioeconomy Conference 2024 in Ottawa. Finland is the Feature Country of this year’s conference. In addition, the Minister and the business delegation will visit the province of Quebec.

21.3.2025 | Work to ensure the security of supply and growth in food exports and the forest-based bioeconomy is making good progress. A growth package of EUR 10 million was introduced last spring, and EUR 5.7 million of this will be targeted to promoting food exports and developing value chains in the food sector in 2025.

9.12.2025 | For the first time, biotechnology is among the proposed themes of IPCEIs. The EU Member States want to promote biotechnology projects by including biotechnology in Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs). Together with Germany and Estonia, Finland has been preparing three thematic IPCEI proposals for biotechnology since November 2024.

2.10.2024 | Ministers responsible for forest affairs in Europe signed a declaration on the development of sustainable forest management and decided to set up a facility that will focus on anticipating and managing the risks to forests. The declaration was signed by 35 Member States and supported by more than 20 observer organisations. Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah represented Finland at the Conference, held in Bonn, Germany on 1–2 October 2024.

21.8.2024 | For Forest+ is a group dedicated to advocating for the interests of the forested Member States within the EU. Ministers from the group’s member states – Austria, France, Slovenia and Sweden – and their representatives visited Finland on the invitation of the Finnish Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah between 20 and 21 August 2024. During their visit, the ministers discussed next st...

17.12.2025 | The organisation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will be reformed, with the new organisational structure taking effect in the beginning of 2026. The reform was based on the Ministry’s strategy, where the aim is that Finland will be a leading country in a sustainable bioeconomy by 2035.

5.2.2024 | Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio will lead a trade mission to the province of Nova Scotia in Canada and visit the country’s capital, Ottawa, on 5–8 February.

6.6.2023 | Boosting the value added of the bioeconomy in general and from the perspective of different sectors was the focus of a seminar held in Helsinki on 6 June 2023, where the main guest was Magda Kopczynska, Deputy Director General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development. More than 130 invited guests followed the event on location and online. The seminar ...

30.3.2026 | Jord- och skogsbruksminister Sari Essayah deltar i de skogsrika EU-ländernas (For Forest+) möte i Sverige den 31 mars–1 april 2026. Under mötet diskuteras aktuella EU-frågor samt hållbar skötsel och användning av skog. I dag deltar ministern i jordbruks- och fiskerådets möte i Bryssel.

1.4.2026 | De skogsrika EU-ländernas grupp For Forest+ har igen fått förstärkning när Tyskland gick med i gruppen på mötet i Sverige den 31 mars − den 1 april 2026. På mötesagendan stod diskussion om bland annat EU:s avskogningsförordningen, LULUCF-förordningen, fågeldirektiv och utvecklingen av kriterierna och indikatorerna för en hållbar skogsvård och skogsanvändning.

29.4.2025 | FINNISH GOVERNMENT PO Box 23, FI-00023 Government, Finland vn.fi/en Tel. +358 295 16001 VALTIONEUVOSTO PL 23, 00023 Valtioneuvosto vn.fi p. 0295 16001 1(11) Government discussions on the General Government Fiscal Plan 22–23 April 2025 Entries in t...

12.6.2025 | Nordic Council of Ministers for Fisheries, Aquaculture, Agriculture, Food and Forestry convened at its annual ministerial meeting in Kuopio on 11–12 June 2025. Among the topics discussed were security of supply and opportunities related to the bioeconomy, and the ministers also met young farmers. Ministers from Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark as well as the autonomous regions of Åland, the Faroe Islands and Greenland attended the meeting. Iceland was represented by the State Secretary.

12.3.2025 | The last projects of the Catch the Carbon package of climate measures ended at the end of 2024. The implementation of the knowledge and climate change resilient solutions produced in the package of 180 measures will continue and be further intensified through cooperation in different parts of the country. The processes to support this include the activities of the National Climate Unit of the Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centres).