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26.11.2025 | In 2024, the European Union adopted a directive amending the Directive on ship-source pollution. On 25 November 2025, the Ministry of Transport and Communications the Ministry of Transport and Communications decided to launch a project to start preparing the necessary legislative amendments.

4.5.2026 | The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) met in London from 27 April to 1 May 2026. As expected, the Committee’s 84th session again allowed more time for negotiations on measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships. 

29.2.2024 | On 15 February 2024, the Member States, Parliament and Commission of the European Union reached a preliminary agreement on amendments to the Directive on Ship-Source Pollution and on the Introduction of Penalties for Infringements. The aim of the amendments is to improve the protection of the marine environment. On 28 February, the provisional agreement was discussed in the Permanent Representatives Committee of the Member States (Coreper).

28.8.2024 | The status of the Baltic Sea remains predominantly poor. The effects of eutrophication in all sea areas disrupt biodiversity and the functioning of the food network. However, the harmful development may be reversing. Although the change is not substantial from the previous status assessment published in 2018, longer-term monitoring indicates a slight improvement.

MSC 108/20/Add.1 Annex 12, page 1 I:\MSC\108\MSC 108-20-Add.1.docx ANNEX 12 RESOLUTION MSC.560(108) (adopted on 23 May 2024) AMENDMENTS TO PART A OF THE SEAFARERS' TRAINING, CERTIFICATION AND WATCHKEEPING (STCW) CODE THE MARITIME SAFETY COMMITTEE,...

National strategic choices for research, development and innovation policy and activities The Multiannual Plan for the Use of Government Research and Development Funding states that Finland’s future success will be built on strategic choices in re...

4.5.2026 | Kansainvälisen merenkulkujärjestön (International Maritime Organization, IMO) meriympäristön suojelukomitea (Marine Environment Protection Committee, MEPC) kokoontui Lontoossa 27.4.–1.5.2026. Komitean 84. istunnossa päädyttiin odotetusti ottamaan jälleen lisäaikaa neuvotteluille toimista alusliikenteen kasvihuonekaasupäästöjen vähentämiseksi. 

4.5.2026 | Internationella sjöfartsorganisationens (International Maritime Organization, IMO) kommitté för skydd av den marina miljön (Marine Environment Protection Committee, MEPC) sammanträdde i London den 27.4–1.5.2026. Vid kommitténs 84:e session beslutade staterna som väntat att ta ytterligare tid på sig för förhandlingarna om åtgärder för att minska växthusgasutsläppen från fartygstrafiken. 

EN 1 EN SFC2021 INTERREG Programme CCI 2021TC16RFCB013 Title (Interreg VI-A) Finland-Estonia-Latvia-Sweden (Central Baltic) Version 3.0 First year 2021 Last year 2027 Eligible from 1 Jan 2021 Eligible until 31 Dec 2029 EC decision number C(2023)38...

21.5.2021 | On 17 May, the European Commission published a communication on promoting a sustainable blue economy in the EU. The Communication sets out a detailed agenda for the blue economy. A sustainable blue economy is a fundamental part of the broader European Green Deal, which is indispensable for the future of Europe. Sustainable blue economy is not possible without clean and healthy oceans and seas.

5.8.2025 | Representatives of UN Member States will negotiate on the Global Plastics Treaty in Geneva, Switzerland on 5–14 August. The negotiation situation is very challenging, and there is also an increasing political pressure to reach an agreement. The demanding foreign policy situation has also made the negotiations on the Global Plastics Treaty more difficult.

30.12.2024 | On 30 December 2024, the President of the Republic of Finland ratified amendments to the Act on Environmental Protection in Maritime Transport and the related acts. The amendments implement the Government Programme, EU regulations and regulations of the International Maritime Organisation IMO. 

RESOLUTION FAL.14(46) (adopted on 13 May 2022) AMENDMENTS TO THE ANNEX TO THE CONVENTION ON FACILITATION OF INTERNATIONAL MARITIME TRAFFIC, 1965 THE FACILITATION COMMITTEE, RECALLING article VII(2)(a) of the Convention on Facilitation of Internati...

22.11.2024 | Pressures to reach an understanding will be mounting when the representatives of the UN Member States convene in Busan, Republic of Korea, on 25 November–1 December for the last scheduled negotiations on the Global Plastics Treaty. Finland’s Chief Negotiator Tuulia Toikka from the Ministry of the Environment expects that the negotiations will be challenging.

7.3.2020 | Open lecture “The Climate Sustainable Welfare Society: Is it the Model of the Future?” by Prime Minister Sanna Marin at the Columbia University on 6 March 2020. Check against delivery:

Hallituksen esitys eduskunnalle SOLAS-yleissopimuksen liitteeseen, MARPOL- yleissopimuksen I pöytäkirjaan ja painolastivesiyleiss liitteeseen tehtyjen muutosten hyväksymiseksi ja voimaansaattamiseksi sekä laeiksi merilain 6 luvun 12 a §:n ja väylä...

19.10.2024 | Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's opening speech at the International Conference on Environmental Safety, Point 8 of the Ukraine's Peace Formula, Helsinki 19 October 2024. (Check against delivery).

Regeringens proposition till riksdagen om godkännande och sättande i kraft av ändringar i bilagan till SOLAS-konventionen, i protokoll I till MARPOL-konventionen och i bilagan till barlastvattenkonvent samt med förslag till lagar om ändring av 6 k...

24.8.2023 | On 24 August 2023, the Government submitted Union communications to Parliament on the European Commission's proposals for amendments to the so-called maritime transport package.

5.10.2023 | Last June, an Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction was adopted at the United Nations. The agreement is also known as the BBNJ Agreement (biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction) or, more poetically, as the High Seas Treaty. It is an important milestone in the protection of the oceans. The BBNJ Agreement was opened for signature in September during the high-level week of the UN General Assembly.