NordenBladet — Minister for European Affairs Tytti Tuppurainen and German Minister of State for Europe Michael Roth met today in Helsinki. During their meeting, the ministers discussed topical EU matters, such as the rule of law and climate issues, as well as migration and the situation at the external border. Their discussion also touched on the ongoing Conference on the Future of Europe.During the visit, Minister Tuppurainen and Minister Roth visited the Helsinki German School, where they discussed the future of Europe with students. The ministers also visited the Helsinki Central Library Oodi.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nadia Murad will visit Finland at the invitation of Prime Minister Sanna Marin. Prime Minister Marin and Murad, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018, will meet at the Prime Minister’s official residence Kesäranta on Monday 22 November.At their meeting, Prime Minister Marin and Murad, who is known as an advocate for victims of sexual violence, will discuss issues related to promoting human rights, protecting the most vulnerable people and, in particular, defending the position and rights of women and girls in crises and violent conflicts.Nadia Murad will also meet with Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto and Minister of Equality Affairs Thomas Blomqvist, and with the Advisory Board for International Human Rights and its Chair, Member of Parliament Eva Biaudet. In addition, Murad will speak at the International Gender Equality Prize award ceremony on Monday 22 November in Tampere. Promoting the engagement of civil society and strengthening the position and rights of women, girls and minority groups are key elements of Finland’s foreign and development policy. Finland will also work to keep these goals on the agenda at the UN Human Rights Council. Finland’s three-year term on the council will begin in 2022.Nadia Murad was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 for her work to promote the rights of victims of sexual violence and survivors of genocides. 

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — At the initiative of the Ministry of the Interior, the Finnish Government commissioned a study examining the types of complementary pathways for legal migration available in different countries for use by people in need of international protection. The focus of the study was on labour-based and study-based complementary pathways. The results confirm that there is a need for legal pathways, as has been discussed in Finland, and they support the EU in seeking new solutions to migration.Examples of labour-based and study-based complementary pathways include recruitment channels and scholarship programmes, through which people in need of international protection can be admitted as workers and students, rather than as asylum seekers or quota refugees. The routes are referred to as complementary because they are not meant to substitute the refugee resettlement systems of different countries but rather complement them. Their purpose is to enable legal and safe admission. Complementary pathways combine humanitarian admission and competence-based migrationThe study shows that so far the labour-based or study-based complementary pathways in use in different countries are just isolated programmes and experiments. However, their number is growing rapidly, and complementary pathways have the potential of meeting the needs of both those qualifying for the arrangement and the host countries. In some cases, complementary pathways have helped countries address their shortage of healthcare labour.EU encourages Member States to develop complementary pathwaysThe European Commission issued a communication on a new pact on migration and asylum in 2020. It highlights the importance of developing complementary pathways to legal migration as part of the EU’s comprehensive approach to migration. The Commission also issued a separate recommendation on legal pathways to protection. It urges Member States to explore the possibilities of admitting those in need of international protection for labour purposes or for studies and encourages countries to share their experiences. Study supports joint EU effortsThe research team consisted of experts from the Rehabilitation Foundation, Oxford Research AB and the Migration Institute of Finland, along with an independent researcher, Dr Joanne van Selm, who specialises in migration and refugee matters. The steering group of the research project included representatives from the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.The research report was drawn up in English so that other countries, too, can make use of the information produced. Therefore, it will support the EU Member States’ joint efforts to find new solutions to migration.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has sent a circular to the regions that guides them in taking the action plan for the revised hybrid strategy into full use and in exercising the powers under the Communicable Diseases Act starting on 15 November.The action plan for the revised hybrid strategy will be taken into full use when the vaccination coverage for people aged 12 or over has reached the minimum of 80 per cent or all of them have had the opportunity to get vaccinated twice. According to the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, the national target of 80 per cent vaccination coverage was reached on 10 November 2021.The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health will guide the regions in monitoring the development of the epidemic and in deciding on the recommendations and restrictions needed to curb it.Instead of the earlier phase-based criteria, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health has drawn up epidemiological characteristics for areas in the community transmission phase that are better suited to the current epidemiological situation. They can be used by the regions as an indicative tool when assessing the need for measures. The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare will publish information on the areas that meet these epidemiological characteristics on its website starting on 15 November.The guiding principle for the new strategy is that the various functions of society should remain open. The strategy emphasises the importance of local and targeted measures in combating the epidemic.The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health stresses that the epidemic continues in Finland but it varies locally, having diverse effects. In addition, the epidemic continues to spread rapidly among unvaccinated people. Vaccination coverage alone is not enough to curb the epidemic, even though it slows down the spread of the epidemic. For this reason, it is necessary to take targeted and enhanced measures at the local level, if there are or it seems that there may be large local infection clusters where the spread of the disease among population groups poses an undeniable risk to the health and wellbeing of those susceptible to the disease and where, through its indirect effects, the spread of the disease may also cause large-scale societal harm. Circular issued by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health: Full application of the action plan implementing the revised hybrid strategy to control the COVID-19 epidemic (in Finnish and Swedish)Annex: Epidemiological characteristics for areas in the community transmission phase (in Finnish and Swedish)Action plan for implementing the hybrid strategy to control the COVID-19 epidemic 2021–22, description sheet in EnglishThe COVID-19 epidemic: regional situation, recommendations and restrictions (Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare)

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — EU foreign ministers will meet in Brussels on Monday 15 November. The main topics on the meeting agenda will be the Sahel, the Western Balkans and the Strategic Compass for security and defence cooperation in the EU. Topical issues on the agenda will include Belarus, the geopolitical dimensions of energy prices, Ethiopia, Sudan and the outcome of the COP26 summit. The meeting of foreign ministers on the Eastern Partnership (EaP) will discuss the future priorities of the cooperation and prepare for the Eastern Partnership summit, on 15 December.The Foreign Affairs Council will discuss the situation in the Sahel, especially recent events in Mali. Finland emphasises the inclusion of civilian activities, such as the provision of basic services and education, and peace-building, alongside the EU’s crisis management efforts among the key priorities of the EU. The ministers will also discuss the EU’s role in the Western Balkans. The discussion will explore opportunities for continued cooperation with the countries in the region. The situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the dialogue on the normalisation of relations between Serbia and Kosovo will also be on the agenda.In a joint discussion of the foreign and defence ministers, the High Representative Josep Borrell will present the first draft of the Strategic Compass, aimed to further define the direction of the EU’s security and defence cooperation. The aim of the Strategic Compass is to elaborate on the jointly agreed goals in respect of crisis management, support of partners, and protection of the European Union and its citizens. Finland’s objective is to reach a comprehensive, concrete Strategic Compass that develops and strengthens the EU’s Common Foreign, Security and Defence Policy.Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto will also attend a meeting of foreign ministers on the Eastern Partnership. The coming Eastern Partnership Work Programme is designed to support the recovery of partner countries’ economies and to strengthen social resilience and reforms.“Finland supports the Eastern Partnership, and the upcoming summit is important for strengthening our common commitments. Finland considers fundamental rights and common values and related reforms as important foundation for establishing social stability. It is positive that the EaP will also increasingly support the partner countries’ efforts to combat climate change,” says Minister for Foreign Affairs Haavisto.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi