NordenBladet — Mikko Heinikoski will begin as Special Adviser to Minister of Employment Tuula Haatainen on 1 June 2021.
Prior to his appointment, Heinikoski worked as Head of Education and Employment at the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) from 2017. He also has work experience from other trade unions, including RIA, which represents construction engineers and architects, as well as the Finnish Confederation of Professionals (STTK). Heinikoski will assist the Minister of Employment especially in matters relating to employment, employment services and the financial administration of companies. Heinikoski comes from Kuivaniemi in North Ostrobothnia and holds a Master’s degree in Social Sciences. Other Special Advisers to Minister Haatainen are Jenni Karjalainen and Timo Nevaranta. The State Secretary to Minister Haatainen is Ville Kopra.
NordenBladet — As part of a report conducted by the Swedish national council for crime prevention, only Sweden has recorded a significant rise in deaths caused by gun violence since 2000 compared to 22 European countries analyzed.
The report found that Sweden has leaped from having one of the lowest rates of gun violence in Europe to one of the highest in less than a decade due to organized crime.
“The rate in Sweden ranks very high in relation to other European countries, at approximately four deaths per million inhabitants per year. The average for Europe is approximately 1.6 deaths per million inhabitants,” stated the report.
Data between 2014 and 2017 showed that Sweden had the second-highest rate of gun violence, with Croatia taking the number one spot and Latvia coming in third.
Håkan Jarborg, a police chief in southern Sweden, commented, “The increase in gun violence in Sweden is unique compared to most other countries in Europe.”
During 2020, Sweden recorded over 360 incidents involving guns, including 47 deaths and 117 injuries.
NordenBladet — The Finnish Science Award 2021 was granted to Martti Koskenniemi, Professor of International Law at the University of Helsinki. In his research, Koskenniemi brings together in a unique way the practical understanding of international law, emanating from his diplomatic background, with wide-ranging theoretical thinking and critical examination. Over the past three decades, Koskenniemi has significantly influenced the theoretical discussion in the field of international law.
Martti Koskenniemi (born in 1953) is one of the founders and Director of the Eric Castrén Institute of International Law and Human Rights at the University of Helsinki (since 1997). Koskenniemi served as Academy Professor in 2005–2009 and 2013–2017.
“At a time when the principle of ‘might is right’ seems to prevail in international relations and world politics, it has become more imperative than ever before to resolve issues by means of international law. Since Koskenniemi’s work is broad-based, he has been able to focus on questions that have been overlooked within the traditional doctrine of international law. Koskenniemi’s examination shows that international law can easily limited to being an instrument of power politics or utopian idealism,” said Minister of Science and Culture Antti Kurvinen.
Minister Kurvinen presented the award at the Science Forum held on 1 June. The Finnish Science Award is granted to a Finland-based researcher or research group in recognition of significant scientific achievements. The award is granted by the Ministry of Education and Culture based on the proposal of the Board of the Academy of Finland.
The Science Award, which amounts to EUR 100,000, was established in 1987 and is granted every second year. This was the thirteenth time it was awarded, taking place during the Science Forum. This year, the Science Forum forms part of the national Year of Research-Based Knowledge.
Grounds for the awardAfter completing his law studies at the University of Turku, Koskenniemi made rapid headway in the diplomatic corps. His interest in international law, and especially in the critical theory of the researchers at the University of Harvard, led him to publish his doctoral thesis in 1989. In his dissertation, he showed how argumentation in international law invariably branches out into non-judicial directions. His research soon became a classic and reached a wide audience around the world.
For the professorship of international law at the University of Helsinki, Koskenniemi qualified with his research on international sanctions. The work was awarded with the K.G. Idman Prize. Koskenniemi concentrated on researching the idea of international law: how it has evolved and how it eventually lost credibility. By this second comprehensive international monograph, Koskenniemi ultimately became one of the leading researchers in the field worldwide.
Koskenniemi is widely published, including monographs, edited books and a substantial number of articles. Critical theory has made it possible for Koskenniemi to focus on questions that have been disregarded within the traditional doctrine of international law. Koskenniemi’s examination demonstrated that international law can be a delicate subject that easily remains an instrument of power politics or utopian idealism. International law is used to operate in an imperfect world.As a researcher, Koskenniemi has always also embarked on examining new issues boldly, such as his interest in the politics of international law and the early European roots of international law.
Over the past thirty years, he has contributed to the theoretical discussion within the framework of international law in many ways. His studies have inspired many researchers of the younger generation from across the world, and as a critical researcher by nature, Koskenniemi does not hesitate to take part in public debate.Koskenniemi’s influence is manifest in practical terms too. He is a member of the International Law Commission of the United Nations, and an eminent report on the fragmentation of international law was prepared under his leadership for the organisation in 2006.
Koskenniemi has held visiting or part-time professorships at the University of Cambridge, the Université libre de Bruxelles, New York University, the University of Melbourne and the Université de Paris I (Panthéon-Sorbonne). He holds an honorary doctorate at McGill University, the University of Uppsala and the University of Frankfurt and was invited to become a Corresponding Fellow at the British Academy and a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
NordenBladet — A new study shows that comprehensive management of climate migration requires the right approach to climate policy and support for adaptation to climate change in the form of humanitarian aid, civilian crisis management, development cooperation, education and research, but also migration policy.
Climate migration also concerns Finland
Climate change affects different regions, countries and groups of people in different and unequal ways. Prosperous and politically stable states are better equipped than poor and fragile states to plan and implement the measures needed to adapt to and prepare for climate change. With this in mind, Finland and the European Union should consider the climate and environmental perspective even more firmly and explicitly in development work and humanitarian aid.
Migration is a way of adapting to climate change. Most migration related to climate and environmental change takes place within countries, but climate migration also takes place across national borders. The migration routes of future climate migrants are likely to follow people’s current migration routes, including to the European Union and Finland. That said, climate change might affect the safety or attractiveness of certain routes.
The Sustainable Development Goals and the perspective of human security and human rights set the conditions for managing climate migration in migrants’ regions of origin, along transit routes and in host regions. Ordinary categories of residence permits present the most important opportunities to support the protection and adaptation of climate migrants, as the categories of international protection do not effectively respond to climate migrants’ need for protection.
New solutions must be sought at the national and international level. Alongside international cooperation and partnerships, there is a need to promote cooperation between the climate and migration sectors and between different administrative sectors in managing climate migration in Finland.The publication is part of the implementation of the Government’s plan for analysis, assessment and research for 2020.
NordenBladet — Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä will participate in a virtual Team Finland visit to China in June 2021. The aim is to strengthen relations between Finnish and Chinese companies, particularly within the low-carbon and circular economy, the bioeconomy and maritime industry.
The Minister of Economic Affairs will participate virtually in several events organised in China between 2 and 21 June, including an event of the Committee for Innovative Business Cooperation in Beijing and the Wood from Finland and Green and Smart Ships seminars in Shanghai. Dozens of Finnish and Chinese companies will attend the events. The coronavirus pandemic has caused changes to the business environment of companies. For example, the movement of people and goods has been restricted, which has made export promotion more difficult. The activities of the Team Finland network support the internationalisation of Finnish companies in a challenging situation, both in the target market and online.
Team Finland is a network of public sector operators providing internationalisation services to Finnish companies.
NordenBladet — Almost two thousand people took part in the process to create a Nordic perspective for the European Commission’s New European Bauhaus initiative. The participants considered that Nordic values such as sustainability, closeness to nature, equality and inclusion provide a good basis for housing and building. The final report on the outcomes of the Nordic co-design process has now been published and submitted to the European Commission.
“The Nordic countries wish to show how a carbon-neutral welfare society can be built. This is why I am happy that we got such large numbers of Nordic perspectives and ideas. We will pass them on to the New European Bauhaus team of the European Commission to be used in their future work,” says Matti Kuittinen, Senior Specialist at the Ministry of the Environment.
Finland holds the Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers this year, which is why it also coordinated the process to compile the Nordic views. The five events organised early this year brought together a broad spectrum of stakeholders: architects, designers, artists, students, scientists and public bodies. The themes raised included climate change, circular economy, biodiversity, use of wood in construction, digitalisation, children and the young, learning, equality and wellbeing.
“The quality of the environment we live is very important for us. When the participants of the first event where asked to propose themes for the next event, they wanted to talk about aesthetics. A high-quality environment is not just ecological and well-functioning but also pleasant and attractive,” says Petra Havu, Senior Ministerial Adviser at the Ministry of Education and Culture.
Highlights of the Nordic views
One of the key elements of Nordic design raised in the discussions was equality. Art, design and architecture have had an important role in creating and developing the Nordic welfare society. This should be the case in future as well.
There was a strong focus on sustainable building, and the participants preferred adaptable buildings and renovation to demolition. Transition into a circular economy won strong support as well, especially with respect to construction materials. Wood architecture and nature-based solutions were considered an important part of carbon-neutral construction.
Natural environment and our relationship with nature were considered an important part of human life and the environment we live in. Nature is an important element of the built environment, both for the people and other living organisms. Nature was seen as a source of health and wellbeing, and everyone must have the right to have access to it. Nature was also recognised as a source of innovation in sustainable construction.
One of the topics discussed was the warming climate, which will cause inevitable changes especially in Arctic nature. Arctic environments and landscapes have influenced the Nordic perception of aesthetics, which is also going to change due to the changing climate.
Building of the New European Bauhaus
The New European Bauhaus is a European Commission initiative to promote sustainability, inclusion and aesthetics in the built environment and housing. The aim is to find better ways of living and housing through co-design and co-development – and harness not only science and technology but also creativity, culture and design to solve the great challenges of our time, including climate change.
The content and form of the initiative will be constructed around the European ideas, examples and wishes. Everybody is welcome to participate in the co-design process, including, architects, designers, artists, scientists, companies, civil society organisations, students, children and the young.
The initiative implements the European Green Deal.In autumn 2021 the European Commission will launch a number of pilot projects on themes to be based on the outcomes of the initial co-design process.The Nordic co-design and co-development will also continue in the autumn e.g. with an online event on digitalisation in the built environment.
NordenBladet — The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has launched a study to assess the benefits of Finland’s possible participation in the European Space Agency’s (ESA) human spaceflight and space exploration programme.Joining the programme would give Finland access to projects on the International Space Station, missions to the moon, the planned space station in orbit around the moon, and spaceflights to Mars.“Until now, Finland has not participated in the ESA’s optional programme for human spaceflights and space exploration. Instead, Finland has allocated funding to other programmes based on national strengths and strategic priorities. However, the Finnish space sector has developed in many ways in recent years. For example, a number of innovative products, applications and services developed here could be relevant to manned spaceflights, robotic missions and other space exploration,” says Maija Lönnqvist, Finnish member of the ESA Council.Study to focus on benefits of participationIn order for Finland to take part in the programme, it would have to offer Finnish companies and research organisations opportunities not available through other ESA programmes.The study will assess the following:How would Finnish businesses, research and education benefit financially and socially from Finland’s participation in the ESA’s optional programme for human spaceflights and space exploration in the programming period 2023–2025 and beyond?What expertise, products and services relevant to the programme do Finnish companies and research organisations possess?Which objectives, projects and measures of the programme would be of interest to Finland, taking into account the aims of its national space strategy and the capabilities and strengths of the Finnish space sector? What new scientific and research opportunities would the programme offer?How have reference countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Austria) benefited from joining the programme?In practice, participation in the programme would mean an increased funding contribution to the ESA by Finland. Finland’s total annual budget for the ESA’s mandatory and optional programmes is currently around EUR 28 million.Finland will consider the results of the study when it decides in 2022 in which ESA programmes to participate in the next programming period. The project was competitively tendered and it will be carried out by KPMG Oy and 4Front Oy. At the moment, Finland and Estonia are the only ESA Member States that do not take part in the human spaceflight and space exploration programme.
NordenBladet — Chile will host two major virtual meetings on the energy sector on 31 May and 3 June 2021. The annual Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) and the Mission Innovation (MI) technology meeting will bring together representatives from 25 major economies and the Nordic countries as well as the EU, the UN and international energy organisations to discuss how to accelerate the transition to clean energy solutions globally. Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä will represent Finland at the meetings.CEM12 to consider the role of clean energy for society and economyThe CEM meeting will discuss the solutions, opportunities and priorities that advance the transition to clean energy. Finland’s address will deal with the opportunities to promote clean energy in all sectors and policy areas. “For Finland, the Clean Energy Ministerial is a key forum of global cooperation in the field of energy. We will highlight important themes in the transformation of the energy sector, such as integration of energy systems and electrification of transport,” says Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä. The theme of the CEM meeting on 3 June will be ’Ambition into Action’ and it will discuss the clean energy transition in this decade from three different perspectives. It aims to identify solutions that expand the use of clean energy to all sectors of society in the 2020s and that ensure this transition is inclusive and takes into account the whole of society.The future of clean energy meetings will also be considered during the meeting. The meeting is expected to extend the CEM’s mandate for another five years until 2026, to strengthen its activities and to secure the secretariat’s funding for 2022-2025. Mission Innovation to discuss the importance of energy innovationThe Mission Innovation meeting will issue a statement, in which the States set themselves the objective of increasing the common level of ambition and cooperation needed for the launch of MI 2.0. According to the statement, this decade will see the launch of clean energy innovations that will mobilise and link global R&D efforts to accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement, including paths to zero emissions. By working together, the MI countries will maximise the impact of investment in research, development and demonstration projects. The countries also recognise that taking into account the different needs of communities and enabling gender equality is an important part of innovation. “The objectives of Mission Innovation correspond with Finland’s efforts to develop new solutions to reform the economy and enable a green transition. In recent years, Finland has increased its investments in clean energy solutions and this will continue in the future too,” Lintilä says.According to Lintilä, the Government aims to raise R&D funding to 4% of GDP by 2030. In Finland, at least 50% of the EU’s Resilience and Recovery Plan funding will be allocated to climate solutions, with a particular focus on promoting new technologies and solutions.CEM/MI meetings can be watched onlineThe CEM12 and MI-6 meetings will be held from 31 May to 6 June 2021. In addition to the ministerial discussions, there will be a number of events on various energy issues. To register for the events, please go to https://cem12mi6chile.com/ The meetings provide governments, leading cleantech organisations, innovators, financiers and civil society organisations with an opportunity to engage in high-level dialogue and share best practices for accelerating the transition to a low-carbon future. Public and private sector commitment builds cooperation between the industry sector, governments and civil society, and helps to scale clean energy solutions for global application.Created in 2010, the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) is a global forum where 25 major economies (G20+) and the Nordic countries work together to share best practices and promote policies and programs that encourage and facilitate the transition to a global clean energy economy. CEM members account for approximately 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 90% of global clean energy investments.Mission Innovation (MI) is a global initiative to accelerate global clean energy innovation and projects to make clean energy readily available.
NordenBladet — On 31 May, the Prime Minister’s Office opened a call for applications for EUR 1,810,000 in funding for analysis, assessment and research activities. Funding is available for research on eleven different themes that support the Government in cross-sectoral preparation and decision-making.The call for applications is based on the Government’s plan for analysis, assessment and research activities in support of decision-making for 2021.The call for applications is intended for bodies such as higher education institutions, research institutes, companies and organisations or consortia formed by them. Decisions on the procurement of analysis, assessment and research activities will be made as soon as possible after the application deadline.The call for applications, related instructions and documents, and additional information are available on the Government’s analysis, assessment and research activities website. All applications and their appendices must be submitted using the vnteas-asiointi.fi electronic application and service system by 16.00 on 30 June 2021.
NordenBladet — World Bank Group President David Malpass will attend the meeting of Nordic and Baltic ministers in Vantaa on 1 June. Matters on the agenda of the meeting will include, for example, climate change, COVID-19 measures and vaccine solidarity.President Malpass will arrive in Finland on Monday 31 May. On the same day, he will have a meeting with President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö.On Tuesday 1 June, Malpass will attend the meeting of ministers of the World Bank Group’s Nordic–Baltic Constituency (NBC), who are the Nordic and Baltic Governors in the World Bank’s Board of Governors. In the Vantaa meeting, Finland will be represented by Minister of Finance Annika Saarikko and Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari. Ministers or their deputies representing the other countries of the NBC will attend the meeting via remote connection.“I welcome the World Bank’s new Climate Change Action Plan. It is important that the World Bank help its member countries in maximising the impact of climate finance. This work also supports the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action, participated by over 60 countries, which I am co-chairing with the Minister of Finance of Indonesia,” says Minister Saarikko. Other topics on the agenda of the ministerial meeting include education, digitalisation, debt sustainability, and human rights and non-discrimination.“In order to get back on track to sustainable development after the COVID-19 crisis, it is of vital importance that we increase funding directed to human development, health and high-quality education, especially in the poorest and most fragile countries. By contributing to matters that strengthen health and education systems, we promote equality, non-discrimination, stability and economic growth,” says Minister Skinnari.
