NordenBladet — On 4 February 2021, the Government allocated EUR 8 million to regional councils for regional development and EUR 5 million for the launch of ecosystem agreements between the State and cities. In addition, EUR 400,000 was granted to the Regional Council of Päijät-Häme for the sudden structural change caused by the closure of a bus body manufacturing plant by Scania’s subsidiary SOE Busproduction Finland Oy in Lahti.

EUR 8 million for development of regionsThe appropriation for the development of regions will be allocated to various measures supporting the implementation of the Government’s decision on regional development and regional programmes, in accordance with the regions’ needs and consideration. Of the EUR 8 million appropriation, 70% has been distributed equally among all regions and 30% on the basis of population.

“The funding aims to strengthen the economic and social vitality of the regions. In addition to the coronavirus recovery measures, it is important that regions can continue their long-term development work in line with the priorities of the regional programmes,” says Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä.

Regions can use this appropriation to develop projects based on regional strengths and specialisation and to start development processes and multilateral research and development projects that require a rapid response and where other funding instruments are unsuitable.

EUR 5 million to launch ecosystem agreements between State and cities
In accordance with Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s Government Programme, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has prepared ecosystem agreements for innovation with 16 urban regions. The agreements between the State and university towns will address the priorities for strategic growth and innovation in the near future. “The agreements are based on the views of urban regions and the State on the effective use of innovation clusters. The State and urban regions have also agreed on the allocation of resources to achieve common goals, including a reduction in carbon emissions,” Lintilä says.

The purpose of the ecosystem agreements is to strengthen the creation of attractive innovation and competence clusters, and to build connections between Finland and international research, development and innovation networks and value chains. The agreements are letters of intent, which determine the vision, objectives and priorities of the parties. The content of the agreements is close to completion. The EUR 5 million to be distributed now is intended for the launch of the agreements. The main funding for the implementation of the agreements will come from the EU’s Structural Funds programme. The Government will decide later how to allocate these funds to regions. EUR 400,000 granted to Lahti region for sudden structural change

The Government has granted EUR 400,000 to the Regional Council of Päijät-Häme for the sudden structural change caused by the closure of a bus body manufacturing plant by Scania’s subsidiary SOE Busproduction Finland Oy in Lahti. This appropriation is part of the additional funding of EUR 1.065 million allocated by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment to Lahti to manage the structural changes in the area.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — The European Commission has submitted two legislative proposals aimed at making the digital environment safer and fairer for consumers and businesses. One of the proposed regulations concerns digital services and the other concerns the digital market. Finland supports the objectives of the proposed regulations and suggests some clarifications for further preparation.On 4 February 2021, the Government issued Union Communications to Parliament outlining the content and impact of the Commission’s proposals and Finland’s positions on the proposals.

The aim of the Digital Services Act is to promote the functioning of the digital single market and in particular the services offered by so-called intermediaries. These include cloud services, online platforms and content-sharing networks, among others.

The aim of the proposal is to set EU-wide rules for different online services, ranging from small service providers to global digital platforms. Providers would be subject to due diligence obligations proportionate to their services and their size, with the aim of a safe, predictable and accountable digital environment.

The Government considers that illegal online content should be addressed effectively so that the online environment is not used for illegal purposes. In such a case, regulation must be proportionate to the objective pursued and it must safeguard the freedom of expression and other fundamental rights of users as well as a high level of consumer protection.

The Government supports the objective of combating disinformation and other information influence activities. The proposed regulation contains a number of obligations and measures for service providers, which support this objective and which are, in principle, supported by the Government.

The Government supports the strengthening of the position of consumers, for example through rules that allow businesses on online marketplaces to be tracked and rules on transparency of advertising shown to users. At the same time, the protection of legitimate business secrets of companies should be taken into account. New obligations of gatekeeper platforms to promote market access for smaller companies

The Digital Markets Act will regulate the 10–15 largest companies that provide core platform services in the EU. The core platform services described in the Act include for example search engines, operating systems and online intermediation services. The regulation would address unfair practices that companies and consumers encounter on digital platforms. This would increase the transparency of digital services and promote the competitiveness and market access of smaller digital companies. Consumers’ choices would increase as companies could offer their services on more than one platform at the same time.

The company would be designated a gatekeeper if it:
provides at least one core platform service,has a significant impact on the internal market,offers its business users an important gateway to end users,has, or is likely to have in future, an entrenched and durable position in the market.

The legislative proposal also defines quantitative thresholds. If a company meets these thresholds, it is presumed to be a gatekeeper. However, a company would have the opportunity to challenge this presumption. Gatekeeper companies should, among other things, make the data generated by the activities of business users and their customers available to the business users and promote the interoperability of services between different platforms.

The Government supports the objectives of the proposal and considers it justified, as it is not possible to address effectively the problems faced by businesses and consumers by means of the current regulation. However, the obligations must be justified, proportionate and clear. Unnecessary administrative burden should be avoided. In further preparation, particular attention must also be paid to the protection of personal data and the legal protection of gatekeeper companies.

Next steps
The Speaker of Parliament will refer the Government’s Union Communication to the Grand Committee and at the same time determine which specialised committee or committees will provide statements on the matter to the Grand Committee. The referral of the Communication to the committees will be announced in plenary session.

The Council preparatory body on Competitiveness and the European Parliament’s Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection have also begun to discuss the proposals. Once the Council and the European Parliament have established their positions, they will start tripartite negotiations with the Commission. The institutions will come to a preliminary agreement on the regulatory text during the negotiations, after which the text will have to be approved by each institution again.

NordenBladet — The Government proposes that employers would have the right to conduct criminal record checks on people who work with children in short-term positions. The proposal aims to promote the protection of minors. Currently, employers are only authorised to investigate the backgrounds of people who work with children longer than three months during a one-year period.

“Background checks have not been possible in employment relationships lasting less than three months, which has raised concerns in daycare centres, for example. We need to take such concerns seriously. The best interests of the child should outweigh everything else,” says Minister of Employment Tuula Haatainen.

Request for an extract from criminal records to be at employer’s discretionAfter the legislative amendments, employers would have the right to request that an employee provide an extract from the criminal record even for positions lasting no more than three months. This would not constitute a new obligation; instead, the request would be based on the employer’s own judgment and risk assessment. In this way, the new legislation would take into consideration the different needs of employers and the situations in which work is carried out. The right to conduct criminal record checks for short-term positions would also apply to other authorities required to investigate criminal backgrounds, including the Centre for Non-Military Service, TE Offices, licensing and supervisory authorities, municipalities and joint municipal authorities. In addition to employment relationships, people who work with minors as part of their non-military service or work trial would be required to provide an extract from criminal records before the start of the work. This requirement would also apply to commission agreements on family care.

The legislative amendments would improve not only the protection of minors but also the implementation of Finland’s international obligations. Finland has adopted the Council of Europe Convention to protect children against sexual exploitation and abuse. The Convention contains provisions on the recruitment of persons working with children.

Finnish legislation fulfils the main obligations of the Convention concerning the investigation of the criminal background of those working with minors. The proposed legislative amendments would acknowledge the recommendations made by the Committee supervising the implementation of the Convention.The Council of Europe is a European organisation that promotes human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

Amendments to come into force in spring 2021
The Act on Checking the Criminal Background of Persons Working with Children has been in force since 2003. It aims to reduce the risk of children becoming victims of sexual abuse, subject to violence or lured into drug use. The Act requires persons working with minors to present to the employer, at the time of entering into an employment or public service relationship, an extract from the criminal record, if the work lasts more than three months in one year.

The Government submitted a proposal to Parliament to amend the Act on 4 February 2021. The amended Act is intended to enter into force after Parliamentary discussions in spring 2021.

NordenBladet — On 4 February, the Government submitted to Parliament a proposal for an act on temporarily amending the Communicable Diseases Act. The amendment would extend the validity of the provisions on restrictions concerning food and beverage service businesses, namely restaurants, bars and cafes. The current Act on Temporarily Amending the Communicable Diseases Act is in force until 28 February 2021. When submitting the legislative proposal, the Government stated that consultations with the authorities and stakeholders would be launched for the purpose of drawing up a legislative proposal for tighter restrictions.

The restrictions concerning the activities of food and beverage service businesses were temporarily added to the Communicable Diseases Act, under section 58a, in May. Now the validity of the Act on Temporarily Amending the Communicable Diseases Act and the temporary section would be extended, without changing their content, from 1 March 2021 to 30 June 2021.

The provisions must remain in force so that the general obligations regarding the activities of food and beverage service businesses will remain in force after February and the Government can lay down further provisions on more specific restrictions by decree. The decree and restrictions are based on the Government’s hybrid strategy, which aims to curb the epidemic effectively while minimising the adverse impact on people, businesses, society and the exercise of fundamental rights.

Government: further measures are needed
In connection with the government proposal, the Government approved a statement, which was entered in the minutes. According to the statement, the Government proposal for temporarily amending the Communicable Diseases Act aims to ensure that at least the current restrictions concerning the activities of food and beverage service businesses will remain in force after the expiry of the current provisions on 28 February 2021.
Due to the prevailing and anticipated epidemiological situation, the Government will start consultations with the authorities and stakeholders on a legislative proposal for tighter restrictions. The aim is to introduce, in tier 2 of the action plan for the Government’s hybrid strategy, necessary and proportionate restrictive measures concerning the activities of food and beverage service businesses.

Restrictions and obligations already laid down remain in force
The content of the legislative proposal submitted to Parliament corresponds to the current provisions. Food and beverage service businesses would have to follow specific hygiene requirements and be able to maintain sufficient physical distances between customers. The Government may continue to lay down provisions on the restrictions concerning the opening and licensing hours, numbers of customers and use of indoor spaces by decree. Food and beverage service businesses would be required to draw up a plan on how to implement the restrictions and obligations. The plan and the maximum permitted number of customers would have to be displayed where customers can see them.

The Regional State Administrative Agencies would have the task of overseeing compliance with the restrictions and obligations. These Agencies could order any shortcomings and deficiencies to be put right and they could also order an establishment to be closed to customers immediately for up to a month if there is a significant violation of the obligations.The restrictions laid down in the Act would not apply to staff restaurant activities, take-away food and beverages, or food and beverage service businesses operating in connection with service stations. Restaurants of ships and airplanes travelling between Finland and other countries or operating abroad would also be excluded from the restrictions.

Changes to previous restrictions in Åland and Ostrobothnia and in the Hospital District of East Savo On 4 February, the Government also amended the decree restricting the activities of food and beverage service businesses owing to the COVID-19 epidemic. The amendment to the decree will enter into force on 6 February at 00.00.

In the regions of Uusimaa, Southwest Finland, Kanta-Häme, Päijät-Häme, Kymenlaakso, Ostrobothnia and North Ostrobothnia, food and beverage service businesses that primarily serve alcoholic beverages will be allowed to serve alcohol between 7.00 and 22.00 and be open between 5.00 and 23.00. The amount of customer seating will be restricted to half the maximum number of seats. In other restaurants, the serving of alcoholic beverages will be permitted between 7.00 and 22.00 and they may be open between 5.00 and 23.00. They will be allowed to seat 75% of their normal number of customers.

In the regions of Pirkanmaa, Satakunta, South Karelia, Central Finland, South Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, Kainuu, Lapland, North Karelia and South Savo, food and beverage service businesses that primarily serve alcoholic beverages will be allowed to serve alcohol between 7.00 and 22.00. They may be open between 24.00 and 23.00 and seat half of their normal number of customers. In other restaurants the serving of alcoholic beverages will be permitted between 7.00 and 22.00, they may be open between 1.00 and 24.00 and they will be allowed to seat 75% of their normal number of customers.

In North Savo and Åland, the number of customer seats in restaurants will not be restricted. Restaurants that primarily serve alcoholic beverages will be allowed to serve alcohol between 7.00 and 24.00 and they may be open between 2.00 and 1.00. In other restaurants, the serving of alcoholic beverages will also be permitted between 7.00 and 24.00, but the opening hours will not be restricted.

The amendments to the decree therefore concern the region of Ostrobothnia and the Hospital District of East Savo, where the current restrictions were tightened. Previously, the restrictions corresponding to the acceleration phase applied only to the area of the Hospital District of South Savo in the region of South Savo. In Åland, the current restrictions were eased.

NordenBladet — The Digivision 2030, a joint project between Finnish universities and universities of applied sciences, will bring greater opportunities for all learners to learn flexibly. The aim is to restructure Finland’s higher education over the next decade by means of digitalisation and to make Finland a model country for flexible learning.

The project will develop common procedures for higher education institutions and create a shared digital service platform. Other key areas for development include digital pedagogy and guidance based on the learner’s path and shared data.

The digital vision for higher education institutions is a core element of the implementation of the Government Programme. Under Prime Minister Marin’s Government Programme, the higher education system will be developed as a platform for learners and continuous learning. The aim is that degree students, lifelong learners and those without a student place can study flexibly, selecting courses from all Finnish higher education institutions irrespective of organisational boundaries and geographical location. By implementing the vision, Finnish higher education institutions can create a robust international competitive edge for Finland as a society and for every citizen as a learner.

“Digivision 2030 brings higher education closer to every Finn and strengthens cooperation between higher education institutions.  New ways of organising educational programmes and studying also attract international interest and promote the admission of international students to Finland,” said Minister of Science and Culture Annika Saarikko.

The need for continuous learning and for raising the level of knowledge, competence and skills transcends the different levels of education and age groups, and ties together the needs of education and working life. In line with the common policies reforming continuous learning adopted in December 2020, Finland will gradually introduce a digital service package for continuous learning. It consists of interconnected intelligent online services, such as services for assessing competence and identifying prior learning, guidance services, search services for education, services for the provision of education, and related data resources. The implementation of the digitalisation vision for higher education institutions is a core component in developing the digital service ecosystem.

The Ministry of Education and Culture has awarded a special grant of EUR 20 million to the Digivision 2030 project. In addition to the special grant, the Ministry of Education and Culture is allocating EUR 17.8 million from the strategic funding for higher education institutions to the project for the years 2021-2024. “Digivision 2030, jointly prepared by the entire higher education field, is one of the most important digitalisation projects in the education sector in Finland. We are very grateful to the Ministry of Education and Culture for its strong support in helping prepare the project and for the substantial financial resources that have now been granted for implementing the project,” said Ilkka Niemelä from Aalto University, President of the Digivision 2030 steering group.

All Finnish higher education institutions are committed to the Digivision 2030 project. “It is good that universities and universities of applied sciences have found a common outlook for the digital development of higher education institutions throughout Finland. Funding for this work will keep Finnish higher education at the forefront of the global competition for competence, skills and learning in the coming years, too,” said Matti Sarén, President/CEO at Kajaani University of Applied Sciences and member of the Digivision Steering Group.

NordenBladet — Municipal elections will be held in Finland in April 2021. Election day is Sunday 18 April. The advance voting period is in Finland from 7 to 13 April 2021 and abroad from 7 to 10 April 2021.The Ministry of Justice is preparing for the municipal elections in cooperation with the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). The Ministry of Justice and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare monitor the development of the COVID-19 epidemic closely and, if necessary, they will issue more specific instructions on the election arrangements. Instructions on safe voting will be sent to all eligible voters together with the notice of right to vote (polling card) in March. 

The objective is to make sure that everyone can vote safely regardless of the epidemiological situation. Finland is well prepared to organise municipal elections during the COVID-19 epidemic.

Advance polling stations have been selected
Municipalities had to enter information about their general advance polling stations in the election information system by 29 January. The advance polling stations abroad were determined by government decree issued on 21 January. There are 932 advance polling stations in Finland and 108 abroad. The total number of election day polling stations is 1,854.

If you are abroad, you can vote by post or at an advance polling station Eligible voters residing or staying abroad during the elections may vote by post from abroad. It is also possible to vote in advance at a Finnish diplomatic or consular mission. Eligible voters wishing to vote by post must order the postal voting documents themselves. The service for ordering the documents has been open since 18 January. Postal voting will be possible once the candidate numbers have been confirmed, in other words from 18 March onwards. More detailed instructions on postal voting are available at www.electionsfinland.fi. The voter must send the ballot and the other necessary documents so that they arrive at the right central municipal election board by 19.00 on Friday 16 April 2021. Candidate applications must be submitted by 9 March In municipal elections, a person can stand as a candidate in their municipality of residence. Another prerequisite is that the candidate must be entitled to vote in the municipal elections in some municipality.

Political parties and constituency associations can nominate candidates. Political parties nominate their candidates in accordance with their rules and regulations. A constituency association may be established by ten, five or three persons entitled to vote in the same municipality, depending on the population of the municipality. Candidate applications must be submitted to the central municipal election board by 16.00 on Tuesday 9 March. Notifications of electoral alliances and joint lists must be submitted together with the candidate applications.

The central municipal election boards will confirm the nomination of candidates in each municipality on 18 March 2021 and draw up a list of candidates and their candidate numbers. Information about all candidates in the entire country will be published in the evening of 18 March at www.electionsfinland.fi.

Advance polling stations: https://tulospalvelu.vaalit.fi/KV-2021/en/aanestyspaikat.htmlReliable information about elections and voting: www.electionsfinland.fiService for ordering postal voting documents:
https://vaalit.fi/en/postal-votingMore information about nomination of candidates in municipal elections:
https://vaalit.fi/en/eligibility-and-nomination-of-candidates Candidate nomination forms for municipal elections (in Finnish and Swedish):
https://vaalit.fi/kuntavaalien-ehdokasasettelulomakkeet

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — The Ministry of Education and Culture and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare have drawn up guidelines on principles for organising, restricting and suspending group leisure activities for those under 18 years of age at the different tiers of the epidemic specified in a Government Resolution. The guidelines are part of the measures outlined by the Government to minimise the negative effects of COVID-19 on children and young people. The Ministry of Education and Culture and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare recommend that the guidelines be followed in indoor group leisure activities already at tier 1, and when moving to tier 2, also in outdoor group leisure activities.

On 26 January, the Government issued a Government Resolution for supplementing the action plan implementing the hybrid strategy for combating the COVID-19 epidemic.  The supplement to the action plan describes three tiers to prevent the outbreak from escalating and, in particular, to curb the spread of COVID-19 variants. In tier 1 in areas that are in the community transmission phase, it is recommended that adult group leisure activities and participation in them be temporarily suspended altogether. Special consideration should be given to group leisure activities for children and young people under 18 years of age.

In tier 2, may be recommended that children’s and young people’s indoor group activities that are considered to cause high risk of infection be temporarily suspended and, where possible, be carried out remotely. Leisure activities would be suspended if they fail to comply with the established principles of safe leisure activities.

The purpose of the guidelines is to highlight practices and situations that have an impact on the leisure activities of children and young people from the point of view of health security.  Thus, at least the age of the children, how unchangeable the composition of the group is, the content of the activities, the size of the facilities, the size of the leisure group and whether the activities are carried out indoors or outdoors must be examined.

Age of children
The guiding principle of the Government Resolution is that group leisure activities for children under 12 years of age should not be restricted. Thus, the recommendations of these guidelines mainly apply to indoor group leisure activities for 12-18-year-olds. However, in tier 2, it is recommended that indoor leisure activities for those under 12 years of age comply with the criteria laid down in the guidelines for safe and secure leisure activities.

Criteria for safe and secure leisure activities

Constancy of the composition of leisure activity groups
To prevent and trace the spread of COVID-19, it is important that each leisure activity group always meets in the same composition. If the leisure activities of children and young people take place during the community transmission phase, it is crucial that it happens only in the group’s composition and only in the form of the group’s own sessions and training. This means that the group should not take part in competitions, concerts, performances, shows or other situations in which the group comes into contact with other leisure activity groups. Teachers, instructors and coaches should also always be the same ones. Parents may not spend time in their children’s leisure activities and dressing rooms.

Content of the activities
The content of the activities plays a major role in the risk of infection. The risk of infection is highest in team activities and contact sports as well as in other activities that involve close contact and strenuous use of voice. For reasons of impartiality, it is not justified to prohibit activities such as group leisure activities altogether, as individual training sessions can also take place in such a way that no close contacts are formed. If children’s and young people’s indoor leisure activities are allowed during the community transmission phase, all teachers, instructors and coaches, as well as parents and guardians, should pledge to comply with the principles laid down. National organisations should also pledge to instruct, guide and self-monitor their member organisations. The organisers of the leisure activities or instruction are always responsible for instructing and supervising the compliance of the guidelines by those taking part in the leisure activities, the personnel and all stakeholders.

Size of facilities and leisure activity groups
In indoor leisure activities, taking into account the size of the facilities, it would be advisable, where appropriate, to limit the number of participants to 10 people. In big gyms and other large spaces, it is possible for separate groups of 10 people to exercise without any contact between the groups. In large cultural and sports facilities that have several different spaces and rooms, the restrictions on the number of participants could be applied separately for each space and taking into account the size of each space.

Leisure activities outdoors and in restricted areas outdoor areasThe risk of infection is much lower outdoors than indoors. For this reason, even in the community transmission phase in tier 1 of the epidemic, there are no grounds for restricting group leisure activities outdoors or in restricted outdoor areas. However, when tier 2 is reached, group leisure activities in restricted areas outdoors should follow the recommended procedures.

Guidelines on the organisation, restriction and suspension of leisure activities for children and young people (including basic art education) in the different tiers of the epidemic referred to in the Government Resolution of 26 January 2021

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — A comprehensive international evaluation of the activities of the Academy of Finland will commence. Using international expertise, the evaluation aims to produce an overall picture of the activities of the Academy of Finland and to propose ways to improve its impact, activities and structures.

The evaluation examines the activities of the Academy of Finland in a changing operating environment. The evaluation will produce proposals for development so that the Academy of Finland can optimally improve the quality and impact of research carried out in Finland as well as the functioning of the entire innovation system and its own activities. The evaluation will also provide more information and proposals for enhancing the guidance of the Academy of Finland. An evaluation consortium, led by Technopolis Group, which is an international organisation, and 4Front Oy of Finland as its partner, were selected to carry out the comprehensive evaluation on the basis of competitive tendering. The evaluation will be completed and published in February 2022.

NordenBladet — The Ministry for Foreign Affairs urges to avoid all travel to the Brazil, Ireland, Portugal, South Africa and the United Kingdom in accordance with the recommendation of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. For all other countries, the Foreign Ministry’s general travel advice due to the COVID-19 pandemic is to avoid all but essential travel.

The coronavirus pandemic remains a major global risk to travel safety, and the situation may deteriorate abruptly and unpredictably in any country or region. Travellers may face limited access to healthcare, quarantine and restrictions on being outdoors. The Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs has only limited capabilities to assist travellers in distress during the pandemic.In its meeting on Wednesday 13 January, the Government discussed measures to prevent the spread of the new COVID-19 variants and the renewed acceleration of the epidemic. According to the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), the new virus variants may be more infectious and spread faster than other variants.In accordance with the THL recommendation and to prevent the spread of the new virus variants to Finland, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urges to avoid all travel to Brazil, Ireland, Portugal, South Africa and the United Kingdom

For all other countries, the Foreign Ministry’s general travel advice due to the COVID-19 pandemic is to avoid all but essential travel. This general advice does not apply to countries for which the Finnish Government has already lifted the entry restrictions. In addition, the Foreign Ministry recommends to avoid all travel to certain countries due to their general security situation or to leave such countries immediately. Country-specific travel advice

Avoid non-essential travel

Finnish citizens always have the right to leave Finland if they wish to do so, provided that there is no legal impediment to this, and Finnish citizens always have the right to return to Finland.If you are planning to travel, it is important to remember that all countries may impose restrictions on entry at their own borders, and it may not be possible to travel to all countries. Before travelling, always check the current entry regulations in your destination from the authorities of the country in question, e.g. from the nearest mission of the country. Countries may also impose entry restrictions on transit traffic.

An increasing number of countries are not permitting entry unless travellers show proof of a negative COVID-19 test or recovery from COVID-19 or proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Most countries require the certificates to be either in their own language or in English. Travellers must themselves find out what kinds of certificates they need to enter the country or countries they intend to visit.

If you travel, act responsibly

If you still decide to travel, you must act responsibly and follow the recommendations and regulations given by the authorities.Before you travel, check the validity and coverage of your travel insurance. Now it is particularly important to make sure that the insurance policy provides sufficient coverage even when the pandemic situation is taken into account. We recommend that you submit your travel plans and contact details at matkustusilmoitus.fi.Before you travel, please also read the frequently asked questions of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare is responsible for providing travellers with appropriate health security instructions. Check up-to-date recommendations concerning hygiene and safe distances and the recommendations for self-isolation on the website of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare at Instructions for travellers and employees arriving in Finland  Ministry of the Interior: Restrictions on entry extended until 9 FebruaryFinnish Border Guard: guidelines for border traffic

NordenBladet — EU competitiveness ministers will discuss research and innovation policy at an informal videoconference on 3 February 2021. The meeting will focus on how the EU can promote attractive research careers in public and private sectors as part of the European Research Area (ERA). Finland will be represented by Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä.

“Research and innovation, researchers and their career opportunities are key factors for strengthening Europe’s competitiveness. Green transition and digitalisation need new investments, in particular. This calls for broad cooperation of experts from different sectors,” Lintilä says.

Promoting research careers is one of the ERA’s objectives. In September 2020, the European Commission published a Communication on renewing the ERA. The objective is to improve the European research and innovation environment, promote the EU’s transition towards climate neutrality and digital leadership, and support Europe’s recovery from the social and economic impact of the coronavirus epidemic.

In December 2020, the Council of the European Union adopted conclusions on the future of the ERA in response to the Commission Communication. The initiative to this informal meeting, where no decisions will be made, came from the Portuguese Presidency.