NordenBladet — On Thursday 14 January, the Government appointed Henrik Haapajärvi to serve as State Secretary to Prime Minister Sanna Marin from 18 January 2021 onwards. The State Secretary’s term ends with that of the minister.
Haapajärvi has been deputising for State Secretary Mikko Koskinen during his parental leave period from 17 September 2020 to 17 January 2021.
Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi
NordenBladet — At its plenary session on Thursday 14 January, the Government appointed a new ministerial working group on sustainable growth in Finland. Its task is to oversee the preparation of the Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland and the related national recovery and rehabilitation plan financed through the EU recovery instrument, and to guide and monitor their implementation.
The ministerial working group will also discuss reforms and investments related to the programme, and will address business and entrepreneurship policy issues when necessary. The working group will be chaired by Minister of Finance Matti Vanhanen. Its other members are Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari, Minister of Justice Anna-Maja Henriksson, Minister of Education Jussi Saramo and Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Krista Mikkonen. Permanent State Secretary Juha Majanen from the Ministry of Finance will serve as its Secretary-General. In its special meeting on 17–21 July 2020, the European Council agreed on the new multiannual financial framework and the Next Generation EU recovery instrument, which is being used to finance the Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland. A key element of the EU recovery instrument is the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). To benefit from the facility, each Member State must present a national recovery and rehabilitation plan covering reforms and investments to be made in 2021–2023. The reforms and investments included in the plan must correspond to the country-specific recommendations of the European Semester. They must also meet the other criteria of the RRF Regulation. In addition, the reforms and investments prioritised in the national recovery and rehabilitation plan must meet the criteria set out in the Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland. On 27 November 2020, the Government submitted a report to Parliament on the Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland.
Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi
NordenBladet — The new Act on the Marketing and Use of Explosives Precursors will place further restrictions on consumer access to certain explosives precursors. The Government submitted the bill for approval on Thursday 14 January. The President of the Republic is to approve the bill on 15 January.
The Act will lay down national provisions on the marketing and use of explosives precursors and repeal the current act on the marketing and use of explosives precursors. National provisions will supplement the relevant Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.
The new Act contains certain clarifications required by the EU Regulation. For example, consumers will no longer be able to obtain specific chlorates and perchlorates in certain concentrations. Sulphuric acid in a certain concentration will also be subject to a licence.
In addition, more thorough background checks will be carried out on licence applicants in future. The related provisions will be added to the Criminal Records Act and to the Act on the Storage of Information Extracted from the Criminal Records and on the Disclosure of Such Information between Finland and Other Member States of the European Union.
The new Act and the related provisions will enter into force on 1 February 2021 when the application of the EU Regulation begins.
NordenBladet — In its meeting on Wednesday 13 January, the Government discussed measures to prevent the spread of the new COVID-19 variant and the renewed acceleration of the epidemic.
The Government decided that the Ministry of the Interior would prepare a proposal on tightening border traffic in order to prevent the spread of the new variant in accordance with the current legislation and the decision-making powers it grants to the Government. The Government also agreed that the Ministry for Foreign Affairs would update the current travel recommendations.
In the Government’s view, municipalities and regions should continue to implement the restrictive measures detailed in the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health circular. It is very important that the measures to address the community transmission phase are implemented in a complete and uniform manner in all areas where the epidemic has entered this phase.
In addition, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the other ministries will prepare a proposal for next week’s Government meeting on further measures needed to prevent the spread of the new virus variant.
NordenBladet — The recommendations of the Forum for Developing Education and Training Provision and Programmes in Early Childhood Education and Care indicate the way for developing education and training provision and programmes in early childhood education and care (ECEC). The recommendations facilitate broader cooperation between education providers and stakeholders.
“High-quality early childhood education and care is important for both children themselves and society as a whole. It helps reduce learning disparities across different educational levels and contributes to reducing social inequality. Education and training provision and programmes in early childhood education and care must develop in line with society’s needs, and these recommendations respond to this need,” said Minister of Education Jussi Saramo.
“We have been aware of the demand for education and training provision and programmes in early childhood education for years. The Ministry has played a significant role in achieving an increase in the volume of student places in this sector and in advocating various projects to develop education and training programmes in early childhood education and care. The most important thing is to make sure we have qualified ECEC personnel all over Finland,” said Minister of Science and Culture Annika Saarikko.
According to the recommendations, the way to respond to the rapidly changing operating environment is to ensure professional competence, which must be based on basic qualification and degree programmes in ECEC that draw on evidence-based data. Growing and changing knowledge of early childhood education and care is acquired by investing in continuing education and further education over the course of professional paths in ECEC. To respond to the labour demand in early childhood education and care, a sufficient student intake and flexible education and training paths are needed. A separate long-term plan must be drawn up for the organisation of education and training programmes for Swedish-speaking and Saami-speaking personnel and for those with a migrant background.
Developing ECEC education and training provision and programmes in cooperation across educational boundaries strengthens the entire field and supports research-based education and training. Cooperation with the actors in working life increases awareness of the new contents of the education and training programmes and, on the other hand, the needs of working life can be taken into account in the content of education. By understanding and communicating the societal significance of ECEC work, and the creative but demanding nature of the work, promote the attractiveness of ECEC work. Better working conditions and educational opportunities, in turn, help keep professionals in the sector.
The Forum, whose mandate was from 2019 to 2020, brought together actors from different levels and forms of education that provide education and training for ECEC professionals. Besides the recommendations, the Forum’s work aimed to build a common understanding and to form an overall regional picture.Putting the recommendations into practice requires separate and joint practical measures by a number of different actors. The next step is to draw up a concrete action plan based on the recommendations of the Forum for Developing Education and Training Provision and Programmes in Early Childhood Education and Care. The Ministry will set up a working group at the beginning of 2021 tasked with preparing the action plan. Recommendations for developing education and training in early childhood education and care (in Finnish)Programme for Developing Education and Training Provision and Programmes in Early Childhood Education and Care 2021–2030 (Summary in English)Forum for Developing Education and Training Provision and Programmes in Early Childhood Education and Care on the Ministry’s webpages (in Finnish)
Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi
NordenBladet — The 2020 study shows that the volume of annual private copying among people aged between 15 and 79 is approximately 258-276 million music and video files. This total number (258 million files) includes only the legal private copying as defined in the Copyright Act. In the 2019 survey, the corresponding estimate of private copying was 275–297 million files. Similar information was gathered by Taloustutkimus in 2019. In 2020, children aged between 12 and 14 were also included in the study alongside people aged between 15 and 79.
In 2020 music covered by legal private copying was copied by 203 000 and video material by over 757 000 Finns between 15–79 years of age. There were all in all over 900 000 copiers of music and video material. The number of people making copies has been in decline for the last couple of years. In 2014 there were still over 1.6 million people making private copies.
The 2020 study also investigated copying by 12–14 year old children. When copies made by them were added, the amount of private legal copying in 2020 among 12–79 year olds is 259–278 million files (400–451 million files in 2016).
The most often used sources for copying music are streaming services (offline saving), freely downloadable files from the internet (e.g. artists’ own web pages) and original CD discs. Of these, only the music copied from original CD’s is included in the figures of private copying. Copies of videos are most often copies of TV programmes.
Over half of those who had copied music would have acquired the copied material from some other source, if the possibility of copying did not exist. Almost a third of those who copied music would have used chargeable sources for acquiring the music. The share of those who used a chargeable source was slightly lower than in the 2019 study. Over a third of those who had copied video files would have acquired the copied video material in some other way, if the possibility of copying did not exist. Chargeable source for acquiring video files would have been used by almost a fifth of the respondents. Regarding video files, the shares are at the same level as in the 2019 study.
Three out of four of the Finns have printed, saved, photocopied or scanned graphic material for private use during the past year. The most frequently used ways of copying are printing and saving. They also comprise the largest number of copies (number of pages). Photocopied or scanned materials are most often official forms or invoices/bank statements, printed materials in turn are most often photographs, official forms, recipes or educational materials. Publishers of the printed or saved graphic materials are most often private persons (webpages or blogs), a company (e.g. Valio), or public administration. The estimate of the number of pages covered by remuneration of private copying is 535–613 million pages (based on the material type classification of Kopiosto).
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The main objective of the survey was to determine the amount of private copying regarding music and video material in Finland. The survey also gives a comprehensive view into the use of entertainment electronics by the Finnish population, as well as their consumer behaviour regarding music and video content. The study also investigated the harm caused by copying of music and video material. In addition, the private copying of graphic material was investigated.
Private copying survey 2020
Photo: Pexels
NordenBladet — The EU health ministers will hold an informal videoconference on Wednesday 13 January. The theme of the conference will be the rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations in the EU Member States. Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services Krista Kiuru will represent Finland at the conference.
The conference will be organised by Portugal, which took over the Presidency of the Council of the EU on 1 January 2021. At the conference chaired by Portugal, the ministers will discuss the experiences and any problems encountered by the Member States during the first weeks of the rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations. The ministers will also discuss additional purchases of vaccines.
“The fact that the EU is collaborating to procure a sufficient and diverse portfolio of vaccines for the Member States has played an essential role in the global competition for vaccines. Finland encourages the Commission to do its utmost to accelerate the manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines and to deliver them quickly to the Member States,” says Minister Kiuru.
Portugal has invited to the conference not only the EU Member States but also Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
Informal videoconference of EU health ministers, 13 January 2021 (Council of the European Union)
Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council configuration (Council of the European Union)
Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi
NordenBladet — The working group that prepared the Architectural Policy Programme has considered how the Finnish architecture and built environment will be able to respond to the great societal challenges. Climate change, population ageing, urbanisation, new technologies and internationalisation are challenges, but they can also be seen as opportunities. The aims of the programme include more flexible use of buildings, creating criteria for the quality of housing construction, and making Finland increasingly attractive as a destination for architecture tourism.
The proposal for the Architectural Policy Programme was submitted to the Minister of Science and Culture Annika Saarikko and Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Krista Mikkonen on 12 January.
“The aim is to strengthen cooperation between stakeholders that influence our built environment. This is needed to create a construction culture in Finland that boosts the economy in a sustainable way, offers solutions to international questions, and provides opportunities for every person to live in a good and comfortable environment,” Minister Saarikko says.
“Architecture connects broad outlines to individual, personal experiences. It is important that we understand the role of the built environment for the wellbeing of individuals and how they feel involved in society.
”The five main themes discussed in the programme proposal are climate change, equality, economy, meaning and education. Besides the global questions, the programme also addresses matters that are particular to Finland: population ageing, regional development and cultural heritage.
“The working group has done a good job in recognising how good planning, zoning and construction can help find solutions to many societal challenges,” Minister Mikkonen says. “Investments in the quality of zoning and construction take us towards a low-carbon built environment that will also cherish biodiversity. The proposal contains several measures that will lead to even more effective climate action in the built environment sector, such as developing methods to assess the impacts of zoning on emissions and the concept of a circular economy city block,” Mikkonen says.
Good planning and design of the built environment supports viability, social equality and increasingly diverse ways of living, both in the growing towns and cities and in rural areas. The working group also suggests ways to increase the participation of residents in the zoning and planning processes. The proposals include joint facilities to support remote work and a set of criteria to be created for assessing the quality of housing construction. Awareness of the impacts of the built environment on health and wellbeing should be enhanced and the connections between these should be incorporated even more strongly into land use planning and building design. The working group also proposes a prize to be awarded to sustainable construction of a high architectural standard. In addition, the programme proposal contains measures to support the export of Finnish architecture to the world and make Finland increasingly attractive as a destination for architecture tourism. The architecture and design museum to be established in Finland would have a key role in promoting the culture of architectural exhibitions and events. Sustainable planning and construction must be the cross-cutting principle in education. The role of architectural and design education must be strengthened by developing the pedagogical competence of the teaching staff in the fields of architecture and design and by targeting state funding for the continuing education of teachers and early childhood education staff to architecture and design projects.
Finland’s first Architectural Policy Programme was published more than 20 years ago in 1998.
In May 2019 the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry of the Environment appointed a working group to draw up a new Architectural Policy Programme for Finland. The proposal will now be sent out for comments and the feedback received will be taken into account to finalise the programme.
Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi
NordenBladet — On Monday 11 January, Prime Minister Sanna Marin sent a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in which she thanked the Commission for organising the joint EU procurement of COVID-19 vaccines and urged the EU to take measures to speed up the distribution of vaccines.
Prime Minister Marin called on the Commission to do its utmost to ensure that pharmaceutical companies are producing vaccines as efficiently as possible and that the vaccines procured jointly by the EU can be distributed to the Member States more quickly than at present. Prime Minister Marin hopes the Commission will provide an update on the vaccine situation at the videoconference of EU leaders taking place next week.
Prime Minister Marin also raised the issue of vaccine availability in her telephone conversation this evening with Prime Minister António Costa of Portugal, which currently holds the Presidency of the EU Council. In addition, the prime ministers discussed the programme of the Portuguese Presidency, the main objectives of which are to accelerate economic recovery through a green and digital transition, to advance the European social pillar and to strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy
Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi
NordenBladet — The Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment assists the Permanent Secretary in managing and coordinating strategically important policies and steering of activities and operational models in the Ministry and its administrative branch. This is a new position.
The Under-Secretary of State assists the Permanent Secretary in the preparation and management of large-scale special projects and reforms, particularly those related to employment and labour market policy.
Persons who applied for the position of Under-Secretary of State:
Tuulia Hakola-Uusitalo
Teija Hakulinen
Kai Heinonen
Ilkka Hietala
Päivi Hutukka
Eeva-Liisa Inkeroinen
Tuomas Mänttäri
Mikko Nieminen
Pasi Patrikainen
Hanna (Hanne) Salonen
Reetta Salonen
Juha Savela
Pekka Sinko
Harri Taivassalo
Tom Venho
11 applicants did not want their names published.
Applications were accepted until Monday 11 January 2021 at 16.15. The list of applicants may be updated if more applications that have been submitted by the deadline arrive later by post or through the Registry.
Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi