NordenBladet — On 14 June, EU development ministers will discuss the EU’s cooperation with middle income countries and exchange views on human development. On Finland’s proposal, the ministers will receive an overview of promoting school meals in the partner countries for development cooperation. Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will represent Finland in the informal video conference.With middle income countries, the EU aims to move away from traditional development cooperation to new forms of cooperation. A new financial instrument for EU’s external action, NDICI-Global Europe, enables more versatile cooperation with partner countries.“Finland emphasises that the EU need to make greater use of the opportunities presented by investments and trade policy and the efforts to promote good governance when cooperating with middle income countries. We need to strengthen the partner countries’ own taxation capacity so that they can use the increased tax revenue to reinforce their economic foundations and generate better public services for all,” says Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari.The EU development ministers will have an extensive exchange of views on human development from the viewpoints of better education, stronger healthcare systems and better sharing of COVID-19 vaccines. The aim is to provide an overview of future education summits.“Support for school systems must be targeted at increasing the participation of girls and children with disabilities, improving learning outcomes, developing teacher training and adopting digital solutions available to all. The EU Vaccine Sharing Mechanism plays an important role in improving vaccine solidarity,” says Minister Skinnari. Finland hopes that the cooperation ministers will discuss ways to promote school meals in the EU’s development cooperation. It is important for Finland that more EU Member States join the coalition the World Food Programme (WFP) is building to support school feeding worldwide. Minister Skinnari started as the WFP School Meals Ambassador in March. 

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — Finland will support the World Trade Organisation’s trade-related technical assistance (TRTA) activities by slightly more than EUR one million in 2021–2022. The support is aimed to strengthen least-developed countries’ trading capacity. The agreement on the support was signed on 10 June 2021 in Geneva.Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari says that developing countries’ participation in the rules-based trade system and their capacity to fully engage in international trade benefits Finland, too.“The significance of trade for poverty reduction and economic development is indisputable, and its importance will grow when the pandemic is over. Finland’s support will be used to strengthen developing countries’ capacity to make use of the global rules-based system and their participation in international trade,” Minister Skinnari says. Finland supports three funds. The Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund (DDAGTF) supports training of politicians and public officials specialising on trade matters. The aim is to strengthen developing countries’ opportunities to negotiate and implement WTO agreements and to benefit from them. The Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF), for its part, supports developing countries in building their knowledge of international sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards and helps them in improving the safety and quality of export products. The LDC Ministerial Conference Trust Fund (LDC-MC12) supports least-developed countries’ opportunities to participate in the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) of the WTO.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — Kimmo Peltonen will continue as Director General of the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes) from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2026. The Government decided on the appointment on 10 June 2021.The Director General directs the Agency’s operations and is responsible for their development and effectiveness as well as the achievement of the Agency’s objectives.Peltonen holds the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. He has served as Director General of Tukes since 2014. Prior to that, he worked as Head of Department, Professor and Head of Research Unit at the Finnish Food Safety Authority (Evira) in 2006–2014. He was previously Head of Department and Professor at the National Veterinary and Food Research Institute (EELA) in 2002–2006. In addition, Peltonen has significant research experience from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.Tukes monitors and promotes the safety, conformity and reliability of products, services and production systems, as well as consumer and chemical safety. In addition to safety, Tukes promotes energy efficiency and technical harmonisation and ensures the free movement of goods and services that meet the standards. Other core activities of the Agency include safety communications, research and development, and influencing the national and EU regulations in the sector.  The position became available following the end of the current office holder’s seven-year term on 30 June 2021. Six applications were received for the position.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — The Government has amended the decree restricting the activities of restaurants and other food and beverage service businesses due to the COVID-19 epidemic. As a result, Pirkanmaa and Kymenlaakso will move to baseline restrictions. The restrictions in place in other areas will remain unchanged. The decree will enter into force on 11 June at 00.00.Restrictions on food and beverage service businesses in baseline areas in the regions of Åland, South Ostrobothnia, Kainuu, North Ostrobothnia, North Savo, North Karelia, Central Finland, South Savo, Ostrobothnia, Satakunta, South Karelia, Pirkanmaa, Kymenlaakso and Lapland from 11 JuneFood and beverage service businesses may serve alcoholic beverages between 7.00 and 1.00 and be open to customers between 5.00 and 2.00.Restaurants that primarily serve alcoholic beverages may have in use half the normal number of customer seats in indoor premises. Other restaurants may seat 75 per cent of their normal number of customers inside their establishments.Restrictions on food and beverage service businesses in areas in the acceleration phase in the regions of Southwest Finland and Central Ostrobothnia from 9 JuneFood and beverage service businesses may serve alcoholic beverages between 7.00 and 22.00 and be open between 5.00 and 23.00. Restaurants that primarily serve alcoholic beverages may have in use half the normal number of customer seats in indoor premises. Other restaurants may seat 75 per cent of their normal number of customers inside their establishments.On outdoor terraces, each customer must have a seat, and everyone must take care of safe distances. The customer seating restrictions do not apply to outdoor terraces.Restrictions on food and beverage service businesses in areas in the community transmission phase in the regions of Päijät-Häme, Uusimaa and Kanta-Häme from 9 JuneRestaurants that primarily serve alcoholic beverages may serve alcohol between 7.00 and 18.00 and be open to customers between 5.00 and 19.00. They may have in use half the normal number of customer seats in indoor premises. Other restaurants may serve alcoholic beverages between 7.00 and 20.00 and be open between 5.00 and 21.00. They may have in use 75 per cent of their normal number of customer seats in indoor premises. In these areas, restaurants must instruct customers to stay seated in indoor premises. This means that dancing and karaoke, for example, are prohibited.On outdoor terraces, each customer must have a seat, and everyone must take care of safe distances. The above-mentioned customer seating restrictions and dance ban do not apply to outdoor terraces.Exceptions to restrictions remain unchangedThe restrictions laid down in the decree do not apply to the activities of staff restaurants or to takeaway sales of food to customers.The restrictions on opening hours do not apply to food and beverage service businesses on vessels and aircraft that operate between Finland and other countries or abroad or to food and beverage service businesses that operate at distribution stations for liquid fuels.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — Preliminary results of the municipal elections to be conducted on Sunday 13 June 2021 will be published online in the Result Service of the Ministry of Justice starting at 20.00 on election day.The preliminary results will contain information about the number and percentage of votes received by each political party in the entire country and in each municipality and voting district, and they will be updated as the vote count progresses. Once all the votes cast in a voting district have been counted, the number of votes received by each candidate in that district will be published. The names of the elected councillors will be published after the preliminary vote count is complete in each municipality.The final results will also be made available as downloadable files. The constituency electoral committees will confirm the final results of the elections in their meetings that will begin at 18.00 on Wednesday 16 June at the latest, after which the confirmed results will be published in the Result Service.Result Service for the 2021 municipal elections online

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — The Ministry of Finance has set the base rate to −0.50 per cent as of 1 July 2021 until the end of December 2021. The base rate has been at −0.50 per cent since 1 January 2021.The base rate, calculated twice a year, is determined based on the average for the 12-month market interest rate quoted over the three months prior to the rate being set. The Ministry of Finance sets the base rate to the nearest one quarter of a percentage point.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — According to preliminary data, more than 1,470,000 votes were cast in advance in the 2021 municipal elections. This means that approximately 33 per cent of all eligible voters voted in advance.These figures will be specified once the advance votes cast abroad have been added to the register.In the previous municipal elections in 2017, the corresponding figure at the end of the advance voting period was approximately 26.3 per cent and the final advance voter turnout was 26.6 per cent.Numbers of advance voters in the Result Service 

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — Minister of Defence Antti Kaikkonen will take part in a video conference of the Northern Group’s defence ministers on 9 June 2021. Northern Group is a forum for addressing security in Northern Europe. Apart from the Nordic countries and the Baltic States, the Northern Group consists of the Netherlands, Great Britain, Poland and Germany.
The agenda for this week’s meeting includes the regional security situation, sustainable development in the defence sector and Green Defence. The ministers will also discuss military mobility.
The meeting will be hosted by Estonia. After the meeting, Finland will take over as Chair of the Northern Group for the rest of the year.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — The Government has amended the decree restricting the activities of restaurants and other food and beverage service businesses due to the COVID-19 epidemic. The restrictions will be eased as proposed by the Ministerial Working Group on Health and Social Services last week. In addition, Central Ostrobothnia will move from the community transmission phase to the acceleration phase.In areas where the epidemic is in the baseline or acceleration phase, the specific ban on dancing and karaoke will be lifted. In areas in the baseline phase, customers will no longer need to be seated at a table when served outdoors. This will make it possible for food and beverage service businesses to operate particularly at public events. The restrictions on opening and licensing hours will also be eased in areas where the epidemic is in the baseline or community transmission phase.Restrictions on food and beverage service businesses in baseline areas in the regions of Åland, South Ostrobothnia, Kainuu, North Ostrobothnia, North Savo, North Karelia, Central Finland, South Savo, Ostrobothnia, Satakunta, South Karelia and Lapland from 9 JuneFood and beverage service businesses may serve alcoholic beverages between 7.00 and 1.00 and be open to customers between 5.00 and 2.00.Restrictions on food and beverage service businesses in areas in the acceleration phase in the regions of Southwest Finland, Kymenlaakso, Pirkanmaa and Central Ostrobothnia from 9 JuneFood and beverage service businesses may serve alcoholic beverages between 7.00 and 22.00 and be open between 5.00 and 23.00. Restrictions on food and beverage service businesses in areas in the community transmission phase in the regions of Päijät-Häme, Uusimaa and Kanta-Häme from 9 JuneRestaurants that primarily serve alcoholic beverages may serve alcohol between 7.00 and 18.00 and be open to customers between 5.00 and 19.00. They may have in use half the normal number of customer seats in indoor premises. Exceptions to restrictions remain unchangedThe restrictions laid down in the decree do not apply to the activities of staff restaurants or to takeaway sales of food to customers.
The restrictions on opening hours do not apply to food and beverage service businesses on vessels and aircraft that operate between Finland and other countries or abroad or to food and beverage service businesses that operate at distribution stations for liquid fuels.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi