NordenBladet — Restaurants and other food and beverage service businesses in the region of Uusimaa will be subject to tighter restrictions than the other regions in Finland. The government decree on the matter will enter into force on 26 November at 00.00.The decree will address the activities of night cafes by restricting their opening hours. In future, food and beverage service businesses could, after closing, reopen their doors at 5.00 at the earliest and stay open until 23.00. The restrictions on opening hours would not, however, apply to food and beverage service businesses operating in connection with service stations.
 
All food and beverage service businesses in Uusimaa must stop serving alcohol by 22.00 as before. The number of customer seats in restaurants that primarily serve alcoholic beverages will continue to be restricted to half the normal total. Restaurants serving food would be allowed to seat 75 per cent of their normal number of customers.

Restrictions on food and beverage service businesses in regions in acceleration phase remain unchanged
The restrictions on food and beverage service businesses operating in Southwest Finland, Pirkanmaa, Kanta-Häme and Ostrobothnia will remain unchanged as from 26 November. All food and beverage service businesses in these regions will be allowed to serve alcohol between 7.00 and 22.00. Restaurants that primarily serve alcoholic beverages may be open between 24 and 23, and they will be allowed to seat half of their normal number of customers. Other restaurants may be open between 01.00 and 24.00 and seat 75 per cent of their normal number of customers.The number of customer seats will not be limited in regions where the epidemic is at a stable level. All food and beverage service businesses will be allowed to serve alcohol between 7.00 and 24.00. Restaurants that primarily serve alcoholic beverages may be open between 2.00 and 1.00. The opening hours of other restaurants will not be restricted.The restrictions will remain in force only for as long as it is necessary, but no longer than until 15 December 2020.

Restrictions are based on regions’ own assessment of their epidemiological situation
To curb the spread of COVID-19, the activities of food and beverage services businesses will be restricted depending on the epidemiological situation in the region. The epidemiological situation is determined on the basis of the assessments made by regional cooperation groups and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. The aim of the restrictions to be imposed based on the epidemiological situation in the region is to reduce people’s social contacts in premises and situations where the COVID-19 disease is known to spread effectively.

Provisions on the restrictions on the activities of food and beverage service businesses are laid down in section 58a of the Communicable Diseases Act. This temporary section will remain in force until 28 February 2021. Further provisions on restrictions are issued by government decree. They lay down provisions on the restrictions concerning the opening and licencing hours of food and beverage service businesses by region and type of restaurant.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — The new EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020–2024 has approved last week. Finland actively participated in the negotiations and regards the Action Plan as a significant document steering the EU’s common foreign and security policy.

This Action plan strengthens the EU’s goal concerning the global human rights leadership. It is based on the commitment to the international rules-based system, universal human rights, rule of law and democracy.  The human rights defenders, who are driven into a corner in many countries, will continue to be supported strongly.

The fight for equality continuesThe EU continues its work promoting gender equality, parity and diversity. Particular attention is paid to the position and rights of people who are the most vulnerable. This is especially important due to the coronavirus situation, which has, according to several different surveys, increased inequality and led to human rights violations against those who are already in the most vulnerable position (e.g. disabled, indigenous peoples and sexual and gender minorities).

The Action Plan contains a wide range of actions to which the EU and the Member States commit in their bilateral and multilateral actions. The EU continues its long-term work, for example, to eliminate the death penalty and torture. Fundamental rights and freedoms remain as significant priorities. More attention will be paid on the economic, social and cultural rights. The promotion of human rights will also remain as an essential part of the EU’s trade and development policy. Severe human rights issues caused by climate change are comprehensively covered by the Action Plan. The human rights perspectives related to technology and digitalisation are also considered as well as the private sector’s role in promoting human rights.

The implementation of the Action Plan will start immediately, and its implementation will be regularly monitored in different assemblies of the Council.

For more information, please contact: Janina Hasenson, Legislative Secretary at the Unit for Human Rights Policy, Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi will visit Finland on 25–26 November 2020. On Wednesday, he will meet President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö and Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä and discuss with Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto and Minister for Development and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari. On Thursday, Mr Grossi will visit Eurajoki.

The discussions will focus on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the peaceful use of nuclear power. In addition to the use of nuclear power in energy production, Grossi is particularly interested in Finland’s pioneering work in constructing a final repository for spent nuclear fuel in Olkiluoto. During the day, he will also discuss current issues related to the use of nuclear energy with representatives of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK). He will also visit the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland to learn about the expertise related to the Centre for Nuclear Safety and the decommissioning of nuclear power.

On Thursday 26 November, Director General Grossi will visit Eurajoki to learn about the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant, which is under construction by Teollisuuden Voima Oy. He will also hear about Posiva Oy’s final repository of spent nuclear fuel, encapsulation plant and the underground facility Onkalo.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — Jyväskylä, Tampere, Karkkila and Vihti will launch a project in which the problems faced by children, young people and families will be tackled proactively and at the right time. The aim is to increase wellbeing and reduce the costs of services and the need for unemployment benefits.

The project includes a new feature where municipalities only pay for the achievement of the performance targets, such as the completion of a secondary degree, finding employment or a reduction in the number of unauthorised school absences. A form of impact investing called Social Impact Bond (SIB) will be used in the project. Such projects are financed with private capital, which the municipalities will pay back in addition to a reasonable profit only if the performance targets are met.

Completing a secondary qualification and finding work are key factors in becoming a member of society. However, about 15% of young people and up to a half of those placed in substitute care by child welfare services will not achieve any degree beyond basic education. The cost to society of a young person not in education or employment is approximately EUR 18,000 per year.

Municipalities define project aims
The project in Jyväskylä has two target groups. The aim is that 70% of the participants, who are young people at risk of terminating secondary level education, will graduate. Another objective is that the number of sixth-graders, who perform poorly at school and are at risk of becoming clients of child welfare services, will be reduced by 50% and that their school performance improves.“It is necessary that we find new funding and operating methods to prevent problems. In this project, Jyväskylä is testing a new preventive approach and funding model and we hope that the results will speak for themselves,” says Eino Leisimo, Director of Education in the City of Jyväskylä.

Meanwhile, Tampere aims to ensure that 80% of the young people placed in substitute care receive at least a secondary degree and that 80% are either gainfully employed or study at the age of 25.

Karkkila, Vihti and their joint municipal welfare authority Karviainen aim to reduce the need for corrective services by providing early and timely support to families with children. The Centre of Expertise for Impact Investing, which is part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, has prepared the project together with the municipalities. FIM Private Equity Funds (FIM Pääomarahastot Oy), which was selected through the competitive tendering procedure required by the Act on Public Procurement and Concession Contracts, will be in charge of implementing the project and collecting the investor capital together with the Central Union for Child Welfare. The project will begin at the start of 2021 and last for 10 years.

“The coronavirus crisis has further increased the need for early and timely support, especially among vulnerable children, young people and families. At the same time, the financial resources of public authorities are spent on funding corrective child welfare services. By combining the impact investing capital from private investors with the preventive services provided by the best operators, the project aims to achieve a real impact on wellbeing while lowering the costs of child welfare services. If successful, the project will benefit not only families but also the public sector and investors,” says Jani Kempas, Managing Director of FIM Private Equity Funds.

A similar SIB project to improve the wellbeing of children and young people has already begun in Helsinki, Hämeenlinna, Kimitoön, Lohja and Vantaa. The SIB model has also been used in Finland to promote wellbeing at work in the public sector as well as employment of immigrants and people who have been without work for a long time. Other projects are also being planned.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — A total of 312,700 unemployed jobseekers were registered at the Employment and Economic Development Offices at the end of October. This was 88,000 more than a year earlier. The number of unemployed jobseekers was down by 3,100 from the previous month. The number of unemployed jobseekers also includes those fully laid off. These figures are from the Employment Bulletin of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.At the end of October, the number of people laid off was 74,900 in the whole country, which was 58,300 more than at the same time the year before. The number of people fully laid off totalled 57,200, representing an increase of 46,300 from October the year before. The number of people fully laid off increased by 400 from September.

The number of long-term unemployed — that is those who had been unemployed without interruption for at least a year — amounted to 82,000, up 20,700 on the previous year. The number of unemployed jobseekers aged over 50 was 114,400, representing an increase of 28,200 on the year before.

The number of unemployed jobseekers aged under 25 was 36,300, representing an increase of 9,600 from October last year. Among unemployed young people, the period of unemployment ended within three months on average in 64.1% of cases between January and October, which is 3.7 percentage points less than the year before.

Decrease in number of new vacancies
The number of new vacancies reported to Employment and Economic Development Offices during October totalled 53,000, or 12,100 fewer than in October the previous year. In all, the number of unfilled vacancies at Employment and Economic Development Offices in October amounted to 100,600, showing a decrease of 20,400 from the previous year.

At the end of October, the number of persons covered by services included in the activation rate amounted to 118,500, down 5,500 on the previous year. These services include pay subsidies, labour market training, work trials and self-motivated studies.

Statistics Finland: Unemployment rate 7.4%
According to the Labour Force Survey issued by Statistics Finland, in October the number of people in employment was 26,000 less than on the previous year. The employment rate was 71.5%, which was 0.5 percentage points lower than in October the year before. According to the Survey, the unemployment total was 203,000, which is 34,000 more than a year ago. The unemployment rate was 7.4%, or 1.2 percentage points higher than the previous year.

Key differences between Employment Service Statistics and the Labour Force Survey
This information is based on the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment’s Employment Service Statistics and the Labour Force Survey of Statistics Finland. The Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry are compiled on the basis of the information in the Employment and Economic Development Offices’ customer register, while the Labour Force Survey of Statistics Finland is based on sampling.In the Ministry’s Employment Service Statistics, people that are not in an employment relationship or employed in business are listed as unemployed. Persons fully laid-off but not full-time students are also categorised as unemployed in the Employment Service Statistics. The Labour Force Survey of Statistics Finland has a stricter definition for being unemployed: a person is unemployed if he or she has actively sought employment during the preceding four weeks and is available for work over the coming two weeks. The figures of the Labour Force Survey of Statistics Finland are internationally comparable and thus they are the official Finnish unemployment statistics.Further information on the differences in the statistics http://www.stat.fi/til/tyti/tyti_2016-08-23_men_001_en.html

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — The YouTuber’s second video on sustainable development compares the thoughts of young people from near and far, and tells how Finland promotes the goals of the 2030 Agenda abroad.

Followers of Miisa’s social media channels discussed inequality and climate change, in particular.The video’s release on 20 November coincides with Children’s Rights Day, one of the well-known milestones of UN cooperation. The Sustainable Development Goals are also a historic achievement for the world organisation: in 2015 a plan, encompassing all countries, on what kind of future we aim to achieve by the year 2030 was drawn up.

In cooperation with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, YouTuber Mmiisas — alias Miisa Rotola-Pukkila — asked the followers of her social media channels in September what their wishes for the world’s future would be. In her video released today, she talks about the answers she received. Wishes for the future presented by young people from Nepal, Ethiopia and Tanzania are also heard.Similar wishes in Finland and around the worldOf the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, emphasis was placed on reducing inequalities, climate actions and other environmental goals, and on gender equality.

“It was interesting that young people who live on the other side of the world raised very many of the same themes as my own followers in Finland,” Miisa says.

“Admittedly, the scale is different. In Finland, global warming can be seen as mild winters, while a young Nepali man wrote that they are experiencing more natural disasters, such as floods or landslides.”

Finland promotes the 2030 Agenda goals through development cooperation

The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals aim to eradicate poverty and safeguard wellbeing in an environmentally sustainable manner. It concerns all of the world’s countries and obligates them to promote sustainable development both nationally and globally. Finland promotes the UN goals abroad especially through development cooperation.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — EU development ministers will gather to discuss debt sustainability and debt relief in partner countries on 23 November 2020. Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will represent Finland in the informal video conference.

The COVID-19 pandemic has weakened the economic situation and deepened the debt crisis in many developing countries. As a result, debt sustainability in developing countries has attracted international attention once again. ”

Finland emphasises that ensuring debt sustainability in developing countries is a joint mission for all EU Member States. We must take the role of China and the private sector into consideration and encourage them to take part in the mission”, says Minister for Development and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari.

At their meeting, EU development ministers will also discuss gender equality and promoting the empowerment of women in all external relations. The EU’s new action plan for promoting gender equality in external relations, Gender Action Plan, will be published on 24 November. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, aimed at strengthening women’s human rights, and the 20th anniversary of the adoption of UN Resolution 1325 ‘Women, Peace and Security’.

“All women and girls have the right to have control over their own bodies, sexuality and reproduction. Including sexual and reproductive health and rights in the action plan will promote its implementation. It is important that the action plan cover all external relations. In accordance with UN Resolution 1325 ‘Women, Peace and Security’, Finland will continue its efforts to strengthen the role of women in peace processes”, Minister Skinnari says.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — Minister of Defence Antti Kaikkonen has authorised the Defence Forces Logistics Command to sign a strategic Partnership Agreement with Nammo Lapua Oy and Nammo Vihtavuori Oy, both of which are part of a Nordic ammunition group.

The Partnership Agreement between the Defence Forces and Nammo Lapua Oy and Nammo Vihtavuori Oy will create a comprehensive solution, which applies to all readiness conditions and manufacturing of ammunition and explosives, securing the foundation of domestic security of supply.

The Agreement will also consolidate the cooperation between the Defence Forces and the Finnish companies in the Nammo Group Partnership dates back to 2014 when the defence administration concluded a security of supply and partnership agreement with the entire Nammo Group.

The strategic Partnership Agreement will be in force until further notice. The procurements made on the basis of it are evaluated at about EUR 20 million per annum. This does not include value added tax.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi