NordenBladet — The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland has appointed Timo Sysiö to the post of Press Counsellor at the Embassy of Finland in Beijing. The three-year term will start on 1 August 2021.

Sysiö will move to Beijing from the Embassy of Finland in Ankara, where he is currently Second Secretary responsible for communication, country branding and Team Finland coordination. Sysiö has studied and worked in East Asia and Southeast Asia for over ten years. In 2017, he worked as Event Coordinator for the Suomi Finland 100 Singapore (SF100SG) programme and as Consular Services Coordinator at the Embassy Beijing. Sysiö has graduated with a Master of Arts degree at the University of Hong Kong.

“I’m looking forward to being able to use my professional skills in the geographical area that is close to my heart. As part of the strong Team Finland network in China, I will work to increase our visibility especially in sectors which have an influence also on Finland’s economy and society,” Sysiö says.

The Press Counsellor is responsible for communications and tasks related to country image. The Press Counsellor also takes part in Team Finland activities and works in close cooperation with the Consulates General of Finland in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

NordenBladet — The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (MFA) opens a call for proposals for international non-governmental organisations (INGOs). The application round will run from 15 February to 26 March 2021.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs allocates development cooperation funds for use by INGOs. To be eligible for support, the organisations’ development cooperation activities must promote the attainment of Finland’s development policy priorities, the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the realisation of human rights. Additionally, development cooperation projects carried out by INGOs must take into account the human rights-based approach to development.

Human rights are an important part of Finland’s foreign and development policy; Finland is committed to promoting them. The call for proposals includes many themes that advance the realisation of human rights.

Applications should focus on the following themes: promoting sexual and reproductive health and rightspromoting tax justice and transparency in Sub-Saharan Africaending impunity for human rights violationssupporting human rights defendersstrengthening the implementation of economic, social and cultural rightsbusiness and human rightspromoting sexual and reproductive health and rights in Afghanistan to reduce maternal mortality.

Applications will be accepted from 15 February until 26 March 2021. Applications together with their attachments should be received by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs no later than at 16.15 (Finnish time/EET) on Friday 26 March 2021. Applications that arrive after the due date and time will not be considered.

The call for proposals, the application form, the terms and conditions of the call, and further information can be accessed at Support for International Non-governmental Organisations (in English). A joint call for applications for INGOs is announced approximately once every two years. The amount of funding available and the themes of the calls are decided separately each time. Different units at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs may additionally organise more limited application rounds for INGOs when necessary. The 2021 Call for Proposals for International Non-governmental Organisations (INGOs)

NordenBladet — Finland is seeking membership of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) as the Nordic representative in the Group of Western European and other States in 2022–2024. The membership campaign slogan: ”A Diverse World, Universal Human Rights”, underscores the universal nature of human rights. The election will take place at the UN General Assembly in October 2021.Finland has been dedicated to promoting human rights for decades. By standing for candidacy in the HRC, Finland is demonstrating its continuing commitment to human rights-based foreign and security policy.  The candidacy for membership of the HRC is mentioned in the Government Programme of Prime Minister Marin’s Government, too.The themes of the Finnish campaign are the rights of women and girls, new technologies and the digital transformation, climate change, and education as a human right. In its campaign, Finland also emphasises efforts to defend multilateralism from increasing attempts to undermine it and the need to promote civil societies’ engagement and participation in the UN’s activities. ”As a member of the Human Rights Council, Finland wants to stand in a common front with countries defending human rights, aiming to find sustainable solutions for global challenges. Climate change and pandemics are further increasing inequality and global interdependency. The importance of defending human rights will grow in global contexts,” says Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto.The HRC, established in 2006, is the most central UN body that promotes human rights. The Council is made up of 47 Member States elected for three years at a time, based on an equitable geographical distribution of seats. Finland served as a member of the HRC in 2006–2007. At present, Finland has an observer status in the HRC.  More information:Paula Parviainen, Chief Specialist, tel. +358 295 350 425. The Foreign Ministry’s email addresses are in the format [email protected]Campaign video (Youtube)Campaign website (um.fi)Follow on Twitter #FIforHRC

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — On 11 February 2021, the European Commission requested that Finnish authorities provide further information on the regulation of retail sales of beverages containing up to 5.5% alcohol by volume. The request is related to the so-called EU Pilot mechanism between the Commission and a Member State.

The request for information is based on complaints received by the Commission. In particular, these complaints concern the principle of free movement of goods in connection with distance selling of alcohol online.

Finnish authorities will respond to the Commission’s request by 14 April 2021.Among other things, the Commission has requested Finland to explain whether retail sale licenses are available to retailers in other Member States wishing to conduct distance sales of alcoholic beverages containing up to 5.5% alcohol by volume. In addition, the Commission has asked Finland to provide clarification on the Finnish system of retail sales of alcohol. The Commission also requests information about Finland’s plans to implement the proposals made by a working group of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health in April 2018 to develop the regulation of cross-border sales of alcoholic beverages. According to the working group’s proposal, both domestic and foreign operators could sell alcoholic beverages online as long as the alcohol content by volume did not exceed 5.5%. Such alcoholic beverages would be distributed from retail premises in Finland, not by post or a transport operator.

The Commission also requests further information on the processing of tenders submitted to Alko. EU Pilot is a dialogue mechanism for the Commission and Member States

The European Commission monitors the Member States’ compliance with EU law. The request for information received by Finland is part of the informal EU Pilot mechanism between the Commission and a Member State. The mechanism enables the Commission to obtain information from a Member State on, for example, national provisions and their practical application. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health publishes the Commission’s request, because misleading information concerning the issues in the Pilot mechanism has been presented in public. The Commission has agreed to make the request public.

NordenBladet — The Ministry of the Interior has prepared legislative amendments to implement the EU directive on access to financial information at national level. The directive contains rules to facilitate the use of information held in bank account registries by the authorities for the purpose of preventing, detecting, investigating or prosecuting certain offences.

Work on the legislative project has progressed and a consultation on the national implementation of the directive will now be launched. Powers will be granted to authorities responsible for detecting and investigating serious offences According to the directive, each Member State must designate the competent authorities empowered to access and search its national centralised bank account registry. Under the directive, access to bank and payment account registries may be granted to authorities competent for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of serious offences.

The government proposal not only designates the authorities that would have direct access to the bank and payment accounts control system as set out in the directive, but it also proposes that the current number of authorities authorised to use the bank and payment accounts control system should be extended. Within the meaning of the directive, access would be granted to the police, the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service, Customs, the Border Guard and prosecutors. In addition, provisions are now proposed in national legislation under which the number of authorities accessing the system be extended to those authorities that already have the right to access information held in the system on the basis of the existing regulation, but which still partly obtain the information even manually. At present, only the competent authorities under the Act on Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing are allowed to access the bank and payment accounts control system when they perform tasks related to money laundering.

Centralised bank account registries mean the centralised automated mechanisms, such as central registries or central electronic data retrieval systems. They allow competent authorities to search electronically information on bank and payment accounts as well as on their holders and beneficial owners.

In addition to extending the number of competent authorities, the government proposal suggests adding technical solutions, such as the development of an application that would facilitate the implementation of the extension to be integrated in the bank and payment accounts control system.

The directive also lays down provisions on the exchange of information between Financial Intelligence Units and with Europol. As required by the implementation of the directive, it is also proposed that the powers of the Financial Intelligence Unit be extended to cover offences under the Europol Regulation. In Finland, the Financial Intelligence Unit operates under the National Bureau of Investigation.In the work, particular attention has been paid to the right to privacy and the protection of personal data guaranteed by the Constitution and the requirements of data protection provisions.

The directive must be implemented into national law by August 2021The directive relates to the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which requires Member States to put in place centralised bank account registries or data retrieval systems allowing the timely identification of the persons holding bank and payment accounts and safe-deposit boxes. In Finland, the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive was implemented, among other things, by means of the Act on the Bank and Payment Accounts Control System, which entered into force on 1 May 2019. Its provisions on the bank and payment account data retrieval system and on the bank and payment account registry have been applied since 1 September 2020.

The directive was adopted on 20 June 2019 and Member States must bring into force the acts, decrees and administrative regulations necessary for ensuring compliance with the directive no later than 1 August 2021. The proposed acts are intended to enter into force as soon as possible, with the exception of the provisions necessary for the technical development of the system proposed for the Act on the Bank and Payment Accounts Control System, which are intended to enter into force on 1 March 2022.

NordenBladet — The minimum school leaving age will be raised to 18 years. This first applies to those school-leavers who finish comprehensive school this spring. The Ministry of Education and Culture provides information on the reform to young people in the social media. School-leavers finishing comprehensive school will also be sent information on the reform to their home address.

The Act on Compulsory Education will enter into force on 1 August 2021, but the provisions related to the obligation to apply already entered into force on 1 January 2021. The obligation to apply means that all 9th graders in comprehensive school will apply for upper secondary education in the joint application procedure between 23 February and 23 March 2021, or in some other way.

Minister of Education Jussi Saramo will be visiting schools online through Teams in the spring and will answer students’ questions. One Q&A that will be held at Kaukovainio school in Oulu on 15 February at 10 –10.45 will be live-streamed on the YouTube channel of the Ministry of Education and Culture.

Saramo will also hold Q&As for young people on the Ministry’s Instagram account. The first Q&A will be held on 22 February. You can submit questions in advance via the Instagram account the day before.The Ministry will also be sending 9th graders and their parents and guardians information about the reform to their home address.

Read more:
Ministry of Education and Culture
Finnish National Agency for Education

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — The turnover and staff numbers of companies in the tourism sector have increased during 2015–2019. After four consecutive years of growth, the coronavirus pandemic brought tourism to a halt in spring 2020. According to estimates, the recovery of tourism will take a few years, with sustainability and security among Finland’s key assets in future.

These are the conclusions of the sector report on the tourism industry published by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment on 10 February 2021. In 2019, the number of companies in the sector was about 29,000 and they employed directly about 119,000 persons. The total turnover of companies in the sector was EUR 21 billion.

“The figures in the report describe the situation before the coronavirus pandemic and show that there is a demand for tourism in Finland. As we all know, the pandemic has had a dramatic impact on tourism, but Finland has several strengths in the sector. We are a safe country and we can also stand out due to our sustainability,” says Lea Marski, Sector Manager from the North Ostrobothnia ELY Centre, who compiled the report.

In 2019, passenger transport and its services had the largest turnover among the tourism industry groups, while food and beverage services were the largest employer. Over the past few years, the number of new companies in the tourism sector has increased moderately.

Tourism sector accounts for about 2.7% of Finland’s GDP. Tourism supports the development of regions, especially outside growth centres, thereby strengthening a balanced regional structure.

Coronavirus pandemic has dealt a blow to tourism sector
In spring 2020 the tourism sector collapsed due to the coronavirus pandemic and the travel restrictions imposed to prevent its spread. The restrictions have successfully reduced the spread of the disease, but also driven the tourism sector, in particular, to serious financial difficulties.  The turnover of tourism companies has decreased dramatically and the number of people laid off has multiplied from the years before. The State has introduced different kinds of support instruments to address the harm caused by the coronavirus crisis.

It is estimated that the demand for tourism may recover from the pandemic in a few years’ time, but its impact on the industry may be extensive and long-lasting in many ways. It may take a long time before the financial situation of tourism companies improves, which may slow down investments for growth. The pandemic has also affected the consumer demand and behaviour of tourists, which should be taken into account in service production and its development.

Investing in Finland’s competitiveness a key issue after pandemic
Finland’s country image as a safe and stable country provides a solid foundation for the development and growth of tourism industry after the pandemic. Finland’s aim is still to achieve the most sustainable growth as a destination for tourism among the Nordic countries.

This is achievable if Finland responds to the digital transformation, makes use of innovations, improves access, invests in the development of sustainable and responsible tourism and strengthens the competitiveness of the sector’s business environment. This requires long-term and close cooperation between tourism operators, sponsors, political decision-makers and public authorities.The sector report on tourism was published at Visit Finland’s ValoOn seminar on 10 February 2021. The report describes the tourism sector based on the statistics of 2019, the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and the prospects for the future.

NordenBladet — Finland and Sweden will strengthen their cooperation and exchange of information in the field of civil preparedness and rescue services. On 10 February, Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo and Swedish Minister for Home Affairs Mikael Damberg signed a letter of intent on closer cooperation between Finland and Sweden.

“Sweden and Finland have been close partners for long, which provides a solid foundation for closer cooperation.  Common challenges to our security include changes in the security policy situation in our neighbouring areas, climate change and the vulnerability of an interdependent society. Our common goal is to further strengthen cooperation between our countries in the field of civil preparedness and rescue services, so that we can together respond to a wide range of threats that we face,” say Ohisalo and Damberg.

Civil preparedness refers to measures taken to safeguard the functions vital to society, basic supply for the population and the State’s capacity to act in a crisis situation. The Ministry of the Interior’s sphere of responsibility includes, in particular, rescue services and civil defence. The Ministry of the Interior takes part in measures relating to security of supply and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats (CBRN ), for example.

Closer cooperation between neighbouring countries will build up skills and bring synergies
Finland and Sweden have similar experiences of threats, risks and vulnerabilities. The resilience of society is the responsibility of each country, but deeper cooperation between neighbouring countries will build up skills, bring synergies and provide better opportunities to plan, practise and be prepared for different crisis situations. Closer cooperation will also help the countries to provide and receive bilateral assistance and support more effectively. The purpose is to strengthen cooperation also in material preparedness and security of supply as well as in the development of resources for CBRNE incidents.

There is already a great deal of cooperation between the countries on civil preparedness and rescue services. A good example of Nordic cooperation is the Haga cooperation in the field of rescue services and preparedness, which Finland will chair this year. Bilateral cooperation in the field of rescue services is also ongoing and, for example it takes place on a daily basis in the Tornionjoki river valley.

However, in many areas of civil preparedness, cooperation between Finland and Sweden has a great deal of development potential and stronger cooperation is needed. Together, Finland and Sweden can exercise influence and act more effectively both in the European Union (e.g. EU civil protection cooperation) and in other international contexts (e.g. NATO Partnership for Peace programme).

NordenBladet — On 10 February 2021, the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) submitted a letter to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment limiting its application of 2017 to decommission the FiR 1 research reactor in Otaniemi. The limitation concerns the return of the reactor’s spent fuel to the United States according to a programme agreed by Finland and the US in the 1960s.

“I am pleased that the fuel partly used in the Otaniemi reactor can be utilised in the same type of research reactor in the US. The correspondence and negotiations held in autumn 2020 will ensure the safe use and care of the fuel in future,” said Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä.

VTT is responsible for the decommissioning and dismantling of the Otaniemi research reactor. This is the first dismantling project undertaken in Finland, and any lessons learned from it can be applied to similar projects and application procedures in future. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment will submit VTT’s application to the Government for consideration in spring 2021. After the Government has granted authorisation, VTT can proceed with the dismantling of the reactor structures in Espoo’s Otaniemi campus area. VTT has already concluded an agreement under which Fortum Power and Heat Oy will manage the dismantling waste at its power plant in Loviisa.

Fuel transferred to US Geological SurveyThe Finnish Government acquired a research reactor from the United States for research and education purposes in 1960. Since 1962, it has been used for education, research, isotope production and other service provision. It was also used for radiation therapy in 1999–2012. VTT shut down the reactor permanently in 2015. Since then, VTT has prepared the decommissioning and dismantling of the reactor and arranged for a safe storage and final disposal of the fuel and waste generated in the dismantling. VTT’s first option has been to return the fuel to the United States. The return of the fuel has been prepared for years in accordance with a US Department of Energy programme. On 30 November 2020, VTT concluded an agreement with the US Geological Survey (USGS) and the spent fuel was sent to the USGS in December 2020. The USGS received the fuel in January and is responsible for its management until it is transferred to the US Department of Energy for final disposal. The USGS is located in Denver and has a similar TRIGA research reactor as the Otaniemi FiR 1 reactor. The transport of fuel was supervised by Radiation Safety Agency (STUK), and in the US, by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the US Department of Transport (DOT). For more than 30 years, the USGS has carried out research aimed at the final disposal of radioactive waste and its long-term safety. This geological and hydrological research aims to ensure that the radioactive isotopes in the waste do not leak from the final repository to the biosphere and the human habitat.