FINLAND

Legislative proposal on digital seals for visas submitted to Parliament

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet — The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has prepared a legislative proposal for an act amending the Aliens Act, proposing that provisions on the powers of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Digital and Population Data Services Agency relating to the security features of visas issued by Finland be added to the Act. The Government submitted the proposal to Parliament on 17 February. The Act is scheduled to enter into force in spring 2022.The proposed provisions are based on the obligation laid down in EU legislation under which the Member States must add a digital seal on the visas they issue. The European Commission has found that the security of visas issued by EU Member States has been compromised, and several cases of visa forgery have been detected in Member States. For this reason, the security features of visas issued by the Member States must be improved. A certificate for digital seals will protect visas against alterations, thus ensuring their authenticity and integrity. The digital seal makes it possible to prevent the misuse of visas more effectively.The EU regulation on the security features of visas is directly applicable legislation, which is why there is no need to significantly amend the national legislation. However, provisions on the relevant powers must be added to the national legislation to enable the national implementation of the obligation to add digital seals on visas, arising from the EU regulation.According to the proposal, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs would be responsible for ensuring that visas issued by Finland have the security features required under EU legislation. The Digital and Population Data Services Agency would have the powers to produce the certificate for digital seals and the signature service.
 

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

Government proposes to extend local government pilots on employment

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet — The Government proposes to extend the validity of the Act on Municipal Experiments to Promote Employment until 31 December 2024. This will ensure a smooth transfer of TE services to municipalities during 2024.The local government pilots on employment began on 1 March 2021 and, in accordance with the current Act, would end on 30 June 2023. Extending the Act would help avoid situations where customers of municipalities participating in the pilots would be transferred back to TE Offices before a permanent transfer of TE services to municipalities.“The Government is currently preparing the TE services 2024 reform, which involves a permanent transfer of TE services to municipalities. At the same time, it is important to ensure a peaceful work environment for the local government pilots so that the transition to the permanent model happens as seamlessly as possible,” says Minister of Employment Tuula Haatainen.The proposal also contains amendments required by the implementation of the Act on the Act on Public Business and Employment Service and the Unemployment Security Act. The amendments to the Act are scheduled to enter into force on 1 August 2022.Government proposal on customer data processing and service platform of TE administration under Parliamentary considerationThe Government’s proposal on extending the Act on Municipal Experiments to Promote Employment does not include any changes to the tasks of the pilots. However, Parliament is currently discussing a Government proposal on the reform of digital TE services (HE 225/2021 vp), which clarifies and updates the regulation on the processing of customer data in public employment and business services, including in the areas participating in the local government pilots.As per the proposal, municipalities in the pilot regions would be data controllers for their own customers in the future. The proposed change concerning the controller is necessary in order to assign the responsibility and tasks related to the processing of personal data to the right parties. These legislative amendments are set to enter into force on 2 May 2022.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

Remote work recommendation to end at the end of February, after which workplaces to shift to a combination of in-office and remote work depending on risk assessments and the epidemiological situation

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet — On 17 February, the Government issued a resolution ending the national recommendation on remote work after 28 February. After the national recommendation ends, employers are encouraged to follow the instructions provided by regional health authorities, as the situation in different regions may change rapidly.The national recommendation on remote work is in force in areas in the community transmission phase until 28 February. All of Finland is currently in the community transmission phase. Though the national recommendation is ending, it is advisable to shift to a combination of in-office and remote work gradually. Employers remain responsible for assessing the risks relating to work. This assessment should be based on the hospital districts’ and health authorities’ assessments of the epidemiological situation and involve consultations with employees.  In order to ensure health security at work, hygiene and protection measures must continue to be complied with, and it is advisable to favour work arrangements that reduce close contacts and other risk factors at workplaces. Each workplace must assess their possibilities for a controlled return to the workplace, how they can promote good remote work practices and how they can flexibly combine remote and in-office work. Omicron variant causes less need for hospital careCOVID-19 infections are spreading rapidly amongst the population, and the burden on hospitals remains high. The Omicron variant, in particular, is spreading in Finland. The remote work recommendation made it possible to reduce contacts amongst the adult population and slow the rise in the number of infections. The Omicron variant appears to be milder in populations with high vaccination coverage – people with two vaccinations can be infected, but the vaccinations prevent the serious forms of the disease. The infection rate is high in proportion to the nature, extent and targeting of vaccine coverage, but it is clear that infections less frequently need hospital care. This being the case, the national recommendation on remote work can be ended as of the beginning of March, and it will be possible to gradually shift to a combination of remote and in-office work depending on the regional epidemiological situation.The Government issued a resolution on an open-ended recommendation for workplaces to switch to remote work on 2 December 2021. At the time, it was decided that the grounds for the recommendation would be reassessed no later than in mid-February. In a meeting on 8 February 2022, the Ministerial Working Group on Coordinating COVID-19 Response supported the proposal of the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Social Affairs and Health to end the recommendation on remote work.The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare issued a statement on the epidemiological situation and the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health on the necessity of the recommendation on remote work.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

Finland will provide Ukraine with EUR 4 million in additional support via humanitarian aid and development cooperation

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet — Finland has made a one-off decision on providing Ukraine with EUR 4 million in additional support. Of this figure, EUR 3 million is a development cooperation appropriation and EUR 1 million is humanitarian aid.The development cooperation appropriation will increase the amount of funding to the Council of Europe Action Programme for Ukraine that Finland is already supporting. The Action Programme focuses on strengthening human rights, the rule of law and democracy and supports Ukraine’s own reforms and the country’s priorities. The extra subsidy of EUR 1 million brings Finland’s total contribution to the programme to EUR 2 million.EUR 0.5 million will be directed through OSCE to projects that will be implemented in Ukraine. Among the projects already supported by Finland through OSCE are projects run by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the office of the Representative on Freedom of the Media.EUR 1 million will be earmarked for the funding of new development cooperation projects. These projects are still being assessed and any decisions concerning them will be announced later. EUR 0.5 million will be earmarked for support that will be channelled through international organisations and civil society.Finland is also preparing EUR 1 million in humanitarian aid via the Finnish Red Cross to support the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) operation in Ukraine. The operation is providing support for food and water supplies and the health care sector in Eastern Ukraine, among other things. Finland supports Ukraine extensively both through development cooperation, civilian crisis management, humanitarian mine action, humanitarian assistance, and through the Council of Europe, NGOs and NATO funds. Finland’s overall support to Ukraine since 2014 has been over EUR 70 million. Annually, the support has been approximately EUR 10 million. Development cooperation focuses on improving the quality of teaching, strengthening the rule of law, energy security and improving climate resilience. Finland is participating in the reform of Ukraine’s basic education, for example. By engaging in civilian crisis management, Finland has helped to support the strengthening of Ukraine’s security and justice sector, rule of law and conflict resolution efforts.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

Prime Minister Marin to attend special meeting of European Council

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet — Prime Minister Sanna Marin will attend a special meeting of the European Council to be held in Brussels on Thursday 17 February.The EU Heads of State or Government will discuss Russia’s actions and the situation in Ukraine. The special meeting of the European Council is being held before the European Union-African Union summit, which will begin in Brussels on Thursday 17 February. Prime Minister Sanna Marin will also represent Finland at the summit.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

Five new demonstration projects proposed in energy sector cooperation between Finland and China

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet — Five Finnish-Chinese demonstration projects in the energy sector have been selected for the next phase. The projects nominated this year continue the long-term efforts to build cooperation between the countries.Finland has engaged in long-term efforts to build cooperation with China to boost a sustainable energy economy. Joint projects have been implemented since 2018. The implementation of joint projects is based on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and China’s National Energy Administration. “The practical implementation of the MoU between the energy administrations of Finland and China is based on the promotion of concrete projects. The nomination of five new projects as proposed demonstration projects is an important step in this work,” says Juho Korteniemi, Chief Specialist at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.The planned projects of Finnish and Chinese energy companies and other operators will focus on renewable and low-emission energy production and new innovations in the sector. Cooperation at company level is coordinated by Business Finland and the Chinese energy institute EPPEI. The nominated projects will receive the status of a so-called demo project in China when they move to the implementation phase.“We are closely monitoring the progress of the projects this year. The realisation of such large-scale cooperation projects requires a huge amount of effort from the participating companies. With China’s growing potential in this sector, this work is profitable. Companies will benefit from these kinds of projects, because they have two countries backing them,” says Maria Ala-Kaila from Business Finland.A Finnish-Chinese energy cooperation group, which includes public officials and energy sector experts from the two countries, selected the demonstration projects. The following projects are proposed as demonstration projects:
•    Project on peak and regulating power generation and waste heat recovery in Jiangsu
•    Low-carbon energy production related to production, storage and use of electricity and hydrogen in the Guangzhou region
•    Project on different methods for distributed energy production in Tianjin
•    Recovery of energy from waste water in Zhejiang
•    Energy production from agricultural biomass at a dry digestion plant in Jiangsu

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

International meetings of Minister of Defence Kaikkonen 17 to 22 February 2022

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet — On Thursday 17 February 2022, Minister of Defence Antti Kaikkonen will participate in the second day’s working session of NATO’s defence minister meeting. The focus will be on EU-NATO cooperation and the current security situation in and around Ukraine.
In addition to the NATO countries, the Finnish and Swedish defence ministers and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell have been invited to the meeting. The meeting will be held at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels.
After Brussels, Minister Kaikkonen will continue to Munich where he will attend the high-level international Munich Security Conference (MSC) on 18 to 19 February. The MSC will address transatlantic cooperation, growing tensions in Eastern Europe and the situation in other conflict areas, among other topics. On the last day of the Security Conference, the ministers will discuss the role of the European Union in responding to these challenges.
Minister Kaikkonen will hold bilateral meetings in Munich with defence ministers from a number of countries, and he will also attend a working lunch, hosted by German Minister of Defence Christine Lambrecht.
“Discussing topical security policy issues is important for Finland. In the tense security situation, it is good that the Munich Security Conference can be organised within the limits of the pandemic. The conference will provide an opportunity for dialogue between different countries,” says Minister of Defence Kaikkonen.
On 21 to 22 February 2022, Minister Kaikkonen will attend the Joint Expeditionary force (JEF) ministerial meeting in Grantham, Great Britain. The ministers will discuss the current security situation in Europe and the development of the JEF cooperation.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

Finland joined Inter-American Development Bank’s NDC Pipeline Accelerator Trust Fund

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet — Finland joined the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) climate fund at the start of 2022. The NDC (nationally determined contributions) Pipeline Accelerator Multi-Donor Trust Fund, ACL in short, is one of the IDB’s main climate finance facilities. Finland’s contribution is EUR 5 million.Particularly Caribbean and Central American countries are highly susceptible to climate change and to the impacts of extreme weather events. The region is also prone to recurring disastrous earthquakes. The repercussions of extreme climate events in the small islands on the Caribbean region can easily paralyse the foundations of whole economies and demand frequent reconstruction. Agriculture, which is an important source of living in Central America, suffers from both droughts and floods caused by extreme weather events.  Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has further weakened the countries’ sustainability and economies.“The IDB is the leading investment catalyser in Latin America and the Caribbean. Finland’s contribution to the Fund is aimed to help particularly the countries that are vulnerable to climate change in adapting to and mitigating its impacts. “We are exporting also Finnish solutions to the region, including, for example, our expertise in the meteorological sector,” says Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari.The ACL supports countries’ own national climate commitments in the Latin America and Caribbean region and assists its partners in planning and designing investments in infrastructure, agriculture, and land-use management. It is not possible to reach the development goals with public funding only, which is why the ACL supports both public and private sector investments. The ACL has been successful in crowding in additional capital. Since its inception, for every dollar invested in the ACL, US$74 of resources have been mobilised in the private and public sectors. Funding from the ACL has been used, for example, to issue Latin American and Caribbean region’s first green bonds in Chile, in total USD 12.6 billion.Currently, ACL projects are under way in more than 20 countries. Examples include an improvement of the electric grid in the Bahamas, fostering the transition to electric buses in the city of Medellín in Colombia, and development of bioeconomy in Peru. The aim is to eventually scale up best practices in other countries, especially in the poorest countries that do not have opportunities to lead the way.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

Prime Minister Marin to attend African Union – EU Summit

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet — Prime Minister Sanna Marin will attend the sixth summit of the European Union and the African Union (AU) to be held in Brussels on 17 and 18 February.The meeting aims to strengthen and deepen the Africa-EU partnership. It will decide on the common priorities for cooperation for the next few years.The aim of the summit is to strengthen and deepen the partnership between the EU and Africa. Topics on the agenda include cooperation in peace and security, migration and mobility, education, health, digital transformation and the green transition.The summit is expected to adopt a joint declaration on common priorities for future cooperation between the EU and the African Union. An Africa-Europe Investment Package is being prepared to support the implementation of the priorities and to accelerate green transition, digital transformation, growth and job creation, among other aims.Heads of State or Government will be participating in a series of thematic roundtables. Prime Minister Marin will chair one of the roundtables. Her group will discuss private sector support and economic integration. Prime Minister Marin will also take part in the roundtable discussing education, culture, vocational training, migration and mobility.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

EU employment ministers to discuss the effects of digital and green transition on work

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet — The EU ministers responsible for employment, social, health and consumer affairs (EPSCO) will convene for an informal meeting in Bordeaux, France on 15 February 2022. The meeting will focus on the effects of the digital and green transition on the labour market. The informal meeting of the EPSCO Council will discuss the effects of the green transition and digitalisation on the future of working life. It is important to Finland that society anticipates and prepares for the changes in advance and that social partners and other stakeholders are invited to participate in planning and evaluating the climate measures. State Under-Secretary Elina Pylkkänen will represent Finland at the meeting.“It is key that employees are consulted and heard well in advance about the changes that climate measures can cause for working life. Developing skills based on the needs of working life and increasing RDI investments are building blocks for new, high-quality jobs and tasks,” says Minister of Employment Tuula Haatainen.  Research and innovation activities also create new jobsFinland emphasises the importance of research, development and innovation as enablers of the digital and green transition. RDI activities also create new jobs and tasks. In addition to the general debate, the ministers will discuss the ways to respond to the changing needs of working life, to support professional transitions and to strengthen the role of social dialogue in adapting to the digital and green transitions in working life. State Under-Secretary Elina Pylkkänen will participate in the discussion on supporting professional transitions.In the informal meetings, ministers discuss current issues, but no decisions are taken.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

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