NordenBladet — In their meeting on Friday 18 June, the President of the Republic and the Ministerial Committee on Foreign and Security Policy discussed current issues concerning Russia.
The President and the Ministerial Committee also discussed the preparation of the Government’s Defence Report.
NordenBladet — According to Vísir, Iceland’s rate of unemployment has seen the largest drop within the country since 1994, where the rate dropped from 10.4% to 9.1% between April and May of 2021.
The number of people dropping off the unemployment register was around 2400, with tourism-related sectors seeing the most significant decrease during this period.
Ásmundur Einar Daðason, Iceland’s Minister of Social Affairs, noted that this change happened faster than expected, pointing to an employment initiative set up by the government that aimed to create a minimum of 7000 jobs through financial support to both private and public institutions that hired new employees. In total, the initiative created around 10,400 jobs.
Daðason noted that the goal is to create even more jobs in the near future in partnership with Iceland’s business community.
In June, unemployment is expected to fall to 7.3-7.7%, according to projections set by Iceland’s Directorate of Labour. This would mean that the number of people registered as unemployed would drop from 20,000 to 14,00 by the end of June.
NordenBladet — EU Foreign Ministers will convene in Luxembourg on Monday 21 June. Finland’s representative at the meeting will be Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto. The main topics on the agenda are Belarus, Iraq and Latin America. The Foreign Ministers will also exchange views with Minister Fuad Hussein, the Foreign Minister of Iraq, and the Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. The current affairs to be discussed include Russia, Yemen, the Middle East Peace Process and relations between the EU and Turkey.
The Foreign Ministers will exchange views on the deteriorating situation in Belarus and how the EU should respond to it. Finland is deeply worried about the situation in the country and supports a gradual expansion of the sanctions against Belarus. At the same time, Finland supports the Commission’s support package that could be deployed if progress is made in the country’s democratic transition.
The Foreign Ministers will also discuss the current situation in Iraq and have an informal exchange with the Foreign Minister of Iraq Fuad Hussein during a working lunch. The topics likely to be raised include the parliamentary elections in Iraq in October, fragile security situation in the country, slow progress in rebuilding and weak economic situation, and regional tensions. Finland considers that the stability and democratic development of Iraq is in the interest of the whole Europe, which is why the EU must be an active player in the country. One way to do this would be to participate in the observation of the parliamentary elections in October. With respect to Latin America, Finland stresses the importance of solidarity in view of the COVID-19 situation; the pandemic has hit the countries in the region very hard, which is why it is important, for example, to supply vaccines to them. In cooperation with Latin American countries it is important to stress human rights, the rule of law, good governance and gender equality. The current affairs to be discussed by the Foreign Ministers include Russia, relations between the EU and Turkey, Yemen and the progress of the Middle East Peace Process.
NordenBladet — Finland must influence and assume more responsibility for reinforcing global food security and the food system. Particular attention must be paid to improving the position of the poorest countries and people and groups living in the most vulnerable situations.
This is the view of the Development Policy Committee expert group, whose analysis of the future of food security and food systems was published on Friday.According to the analysis, Finland should distinguish itself as a country promoting global food security and emphasise the links between themes related to food security as well as new approaches.A good opportunity to promote “food security diplomacy” is the UN Food System Summit, which will take place in September in connection with the UN General Assembly in New York.
“Finland must play an active role in the summit, so that its end result will stimulate sustainable change and close the inequality gap between food systems. Finland must also commit to implementing the action agenda of the summit nationally and internationally,” the Development Policy Committee expert group recommends.
Finland can also actively influence international organisations and negotiation processes in order to strengthen the role of agriculture in adapting to and mitigating climate change, and to increase awareness and consideration of the importance of biodiversity for food security.
Finland’s development policy aims to strengthen the opportunities of people in developing countries to produce and obtain safe, healthy and nutritious food. According to the Development Policy Committee’s analysis, this should also be reflected in funding.In development cooperation, however, funding for the food security, agriculture and rural development sectors has decreased considerably in recent years. According to the analysis, Finland needs a credible and concrete plan to raise development cooperation funds to the level recommended by the UN. At the same time, funding for the food security, agriculture and rural development sectors must be increased.
The world’s food systems must guarantee food security and good nutrition for the growing global population in such a way that the ecological preconditions for food production are not impaired and susceptibility to food crises is reduced. Globally, food production in terms of calories has remained approximately in phase with demographic development, but nearly 700 million people still do not have enough food. In addition, nearly two billion people eat nutritionally poor-quality food. People in different vulnerable groups are at greater risk of experiencing food insecurity, which is increased by disasters, conflicts and other crises. Food production depends on the surrounding nature. At the same time, today’s food production is a serious threat to the preservation of biodiversity, the preservation of ecosystems and climate stability. From a global perspective, food production is the single largest factor affecting environmental degradation and exceeding planetary sustainability limits.
NordenBladet — The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health invites comments on a draft paper describing the enterprise architecture for the promotion of health and wellbeing. The aim is to publish the enterprise architecture in autumn 2021.
Responsibility for managing the enterprise architecture for the promotion of health and wellbeing rests with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. The purpose of the enterprise architecture is to support the efforts to coordinate the development of information management and digital services at the national, regional and local levels and at the interfaces between different sectors. It also aims to support the interoperability of services. The interoperability of services will be realised when operators, processes and information systems are able to communicate with each other and understand each other’s information in a consistent manner. The benefits should be visible to people as better opportunities for promoting their own health and wellbeing and those of their loved ones through digital services that are easily available, accessible and effective.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health invites comments on the draft enterprise architecture by 4 August 2021. The comments can be submitted using the otakantaa.fi service. The comments are public, and they will be taken into account when preparing a description of the enterprise architecture.Comment the draft (otakantaa.fi) (in Finnish)
The comments can also be submitted in writing to the following address: Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, PO Box 33, FI-00023 Government, Finland.
NordenBladet — On Thursday 17 June, the Government proposed the appointment of a new non-resident ambassador.
The Government proposed that the President of the Republic appoint Ambassador Outi Holopainen, Head of Mission at the Finnish Embassy in Addis Ababa, to serve as a non-resident Ambassador to Djibouti.
NordenBladet — The importance of successful integration is growing in Finland as the working-age population is ageing and the number of people with an immigrant background is increasing. A Government report on integration proposes an extensive programme to better support immigrants in their integration. The Government report on the need for a reform in integration promotion services is related to a report the parliamentary Audit Committee prepared during the last parliamentary term, urging a reform of integration promotion.
The Government report presents a broad range of measures that aim to:
• Accelerate immigrants’ paths to work and education.
• Promote the inclusion of immigrants in working life and more broadly in society.
• Support especially immigrant women, and thereby their families, in settling in Finland.
• Increase receptiveness in the workplace and prevent polarisation in society.
– In their current form, integration measures do not reach all immigrants well enough. We need a broad range of inputs and changes to promote the integration of immigrants outside the labour force. The employment rate of immigrants does grow over time, but it takes too long, Minister of Employment Tuula Haatainen says.Finland ranked second in the 2020 Migration Integration Policy Index. Finland did particularly well in terms of labour market mobility, education, political participation, permanent residence and access to nationality. Finland has a lower foreign-born employment rate than the other Nordic countries. However, the difference to the native-born employment rate is smaller in Finland than in Sweden and Denmark.
Strengthening women’s inclusion is the key to change
The main integration challenges are reflected in the inclusion of women and the employment rate of immigrants, which is lower than that of the general population. One of the key ways to address these challenges is the integration programme proposed in the report that would introduce measures that are more efficient at the early stages of integration and reinforce the means of helping immigrants to find work and access education and training. The programme would also create a framework for promoting the integration of immigrants who are outside the labour force. This will improve the integration opportunities of immigrant women, especially of stay-at-home mothers.
– Women with immigrant backgrounds are an important resource that should be better tapped for the benefit of society. Many of them have extensive skills and training that would go to waste if they stayed outside working life. Women’s inclusion leads to permanent, intergenerational changes. If we succeed in strengthening the inclusion of women, it will resolve many other issues, too, says Minister Haatainen.
Service system must better cater for immigrants’ needsIt is important to develop the service and education system in ways that take better account of the needs of immigrants. It will facilitate the immigration of families and children.
– We see it too often in families with immigrant backgrounds that children inherit their parents’ income and education levels. We must help disadvantaged families to break this cycle so that they can put down roots in their new home country and complete the long cycle of integration. Many of the Government’s employment-boosting reforms aim to improve the employment of immigrants, too. In addition to these reforms, the Government report on integration presents a number of measures to accelerate the employment of immigrants and improve the receptiveness of working life.
– We must find ways to help immigrants learn the language, and we must introduce new elements into workplace and vocational education and training and upgrading of qualifications to facilitate employment so that as many as possible will find work sooner than at present, says Minister Haatainen. Social attitudes hinder the employment of immigrants While it is important for successful integration that immigrants themselves are active, it is even more essential that attitudes in society facilitate integration instead of complicating it. The public, private and third sectors must cooperate to eliminate discrimination during recruitment and other negative attitudes in the labour market.
– Studies show that job applicants, whose name or mother tongue suggest they might have a foreign background, are less often invited to interviews. This happens even when their qualifications, work experience and sometimes even language skills match those of other applications, Minister Haatainen says.
Stronger integration role needed for third sector operators
The contribution of many organisations and clubs is already now significant in promoting integration. In the future, this role should be even stronger, according to the Government report.
– The report proposes to strengthen the role of organisations alongside the official integration measures. Genuine integration often takes place at playing fields and in associations and parishes – in all the places where Finns, too, spend their time, says Minister of Employment Tuula Haatainen.
NordenBladet — The amendments to the Competition Act are based mainly on the EU Directive. It strengthens and harmonises the abilities of the competition authorities in the Member States to implement EU competition rules. The aim is to ensure effective competition between undertakings in the EU’s internal market. In Finland, the amendments extend the powers of the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority concerning restrictions of competition.
On 17 June 2021, the Government discussed parliamentary reply to the government proposal submitted to Parliament on 5 November 2020. The Act is scheduled to enter into force on 24 June 2021 after the President of the Republic has approved it.
Act to give Competition and Consumer Authority more powers to investigate and propose sanctions for restricting competition
The key amendments to the Competition Act based on the EU Directive include:The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority can propose and a court can impose a penalty payment on an undertaking not only for restriction of competition but also for breaches of procedural rules and non-compliance with certain decisions.
In order to end restriction of competition, the Authority could also impose structural remedies under strict conditions. Structural remedies include, for example, the divestment of a business unit or a stake in the competitor’s share capital.
When assessing the amount of penalty payments imposed on associations of undertakings, the turnover of the members of the association will also be taken into account under certain conditions. In addition, members of an association of undertakings may be liable to pay the penalty imposed on the association if the association is unable to pay it and if certain other conditions are met.
Cooperation between the EU’s national competition authorities will improve. Among other things, the new rules will enable EU Member States to notify and enforce cross-border decisions on fines and conditional fines and to carry out inspections at the request of another Member State. The rules on exemptions from penalty payments and on reduced penalty payments (so-called leniency) will be updated so that the system will work in a uniform and efficient manner across the EU.
In addition to the amendments required by the Directive, the Act will amend provisions for assessing the amount of penalty payments. The amendments will help undertakings to assess in advance the amount of penalty payment that they or an association of undertakings could be subject to for restricting competition. This amendment is based on an identified need in Finland, not on the EU directive.
The legal protection of undertakings has been acknowledged by, among other things, increasing the consultation of interested parties before decision-making. The Act also provides for the right of appeal and the enforcement of penalty payments only after the final decision.
NordenBladet — The Government has appointed Kimmo Levä, (MA), as Director General of the Finnish National Gallery. Levä has held various leadership positions in the museum sector since 1994. The new position runs from 1 September 2021 to 31 August 2026.
Kimmo Levä became head of the Finnish Museums Association in February 2020. He has also served as Secretary General of the Finnish Museums Association, Managing Director of FMA Creations Oy, Managing Director of Oy Chronicon Ltd and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Joint Heritage Oy. Earlier positions include Director of Museum Services of the City of Turku, Museum Director at the Mobilia national automobile and road museum foundation, and Editor-in-Chief.
The Finnish National Gallery (www.kansallisgalleria.fi) is an independent foundation governed by public law that operates under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and Culture. The Gallery maintains and accumulates the Finnish National Gallery’s collection, which is owned by the State. The Gallery stages exhibitions and provides other activities related to an art museum, and participates as an expert in developing the museum sector. Museums belonging to the Finnish National Gallery include the Ateneum Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma and Sinebrychoff Art Museum. The Finnish National Gallery has a staff of about 300 people.The Director General is mainly responsible for directing and developing the activities of the Finnish National Gallery and for ensuring that it executes its purpose and tasks effectively. Altogether 11 candidates applied for the position.
NordenBladet — The Government made a resolution on Finland’s Arctic policy strategy in its plenary session on Thursday, 17 June. The Arctic policy strategy defines Finland’s key objectives in the Arctic region and outlines the main priorities for achieving them. All activities in the Arctic must be based on the carrying capacity of the natural environment, the protection of the climate, sustainable development principles and respect for the rights of indigenous populations. From these starting points, the targets relating to economic operations and Finland’s economic interests can also be assessed.
“The objective of the strategy is to highlight Finland as an Arctic country. According to the strategy, the whole of Finland is an Arctic country. Finland’s Arctic interests and Arctic expertise affect the whole country. Additionally, Finland’s arcticness supports and strengthens Finland’s international Arctic country brand in international contexts”, says Henrik Haapajärvi, State Secretary to the Prime Minister.
Since the previous Arctic Strategy published in 2013, climate change has progressed more rapidly globally and in the Arctic region than expected. Changes have also taken place in the international environment. In addition, the direct and indirect impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic also have an effect on Arctic cooperation and the Arctic region itself. The preparation of the Arctic policy strategy is a key element of Finland’s Arctic policy. The strategy has been drawn up in line with Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s Government Programme. The strategy covers approximately two parliamentary terms and extends until 2030.
