NordenBladet — The universal speed of the universal service broadband, which refers to appropriate internet connections, will be increased from the current speed tier of 2 Mbit per second to 5 Mbit per second.The Finnish Government issued a Decree on the matter on 21 October 2021. The Decree will enter into force on 25 October 2021.However, under the Decree, for incoming internet traffic, the minimum speed should be at least 3.5 Mbit/s, the normal speed at least 4.5 Mbit/s and the maximum speed at least 5 Mbit/s.Minimum speed refers to the minimum speed of a subscriber connection, which is almost always maintained. Normal speed is the speed that is maintained in 90 per cent of cases during each four-hour measurement period. Maximum speed refers to a speed that is maintained at least for part of the time.What is a universal service broadband?Universal service is the last-resort safety net guaranteeing access to basic services if market-based solutions are not available. The universal service is available for consumers and micro-enterprises.The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency may designate a telecom operator for the role of a universal service enterprise within a certain geographical area. At the moment, universal service enterprises have mainly been designated in sparsely populated areas in northern Lapland and near the eastern border of Finland.
NordenBladet — A state-owned special assignment company named Työkanava Ltd will be established in Finland. Its task is to promote the employment of people with partial work ability who are in the most difficult labour market position. The company would support their skills so that the people could find employment in the open labour market after working at Työkanava.The establishment of the company is based on the aim of the Government of Prime Minister Sanna Marin to promote the employment of people with partial work ability and develop the intermediate job market in a new way.The proposal on this matter was submitted to Parliament on 21 October. The company is set to launch operations in 2022. Where applicable, the company has been modelled after Sweden’s Samhall, which has operated for a long time.“The right and opportunity to work according to their abilities is important not only for the people with partial work ability and but for the Finnish society as a whole. From this group of people, Työkanava Ltd will be able to employ the most disadvantaged people, whose employment prospects have so far not markedly improved despite different measures and services. The launch of the company is also proof that Finland is implementing its international obligations to the UN in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,” says Minister of Employment Tuula Haatainen.Ownership steering for Työkanava Ltd is the responsibility of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. Activities to start in stagesThe aim is for Työkanava Ltd to operate throughout the country, but the operations would start gradually. Työkanava could make use of existing services and work together with other intermediate labour market operators.Työkanava would be financed with an initial capital of EUR 20 million allocated to it in the Budget from the Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland (EU Recovery and Resilience Facility RRF). In addition, the company would be provided with an annual appropriation of EUR 10 million, with the aim of employing 1,000 persons in the long term. The company would also generate income from selling its services. Employees to receive a job contract with Työkanava with the TE Office acting as public authorityEmployment with Työkanava Ltd would be the option of last resort when all other opportunities for finding employment have been exhausted. At present, the TE Offices have registered more than 30,000 unemployed jobseekers who have been diagnosed as having reduced capacity to work. Of them, the most disadvantaged are people who have an illness or disability and who are aged over 55 and have a low level of education.Employees would be hired directly by Työkanava under an employment contract. Their remuneration and other terms of employment would be determined under employment legislation and the applicable collective agreement.The company would have no public administration functions and it would not exercise public authority. The only avenue available to Työkanava in selecting employees would be the TE Office, which acts as a public authority. TE Office would direct people with partial work ability to employment with Työkanava Ltd in a centralised manner and based on the company’s needs.“Employers’ attitudes towards the employment of people with disabilities and long-term illnesses are increasingly more positive, and I am very pleased about it. People with partial work ability have a wide range of skills and their educational background is broad and diverse. We hope that Työkanava will further lower the threshold for employing people with partial work capacity,” Minister Haatainen says.Company’s services will be priced on market termsThe economic activities of Työkanava would be subject to the Competition Act, which lays down provisions on safeguarding equal operating conditions, i.e. ensuring competitive neutrality between public and private sector business activities. The company would operate in such a way that it does not distort competition relative to the service offering of entities active in the open market, such as companies and organisations. In practice, this means that the services provided by the company must be priced on market terms. Työkanava’s pricing and market share would be monitored by a separate advisory board, the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment as part of its ownership steering. Työkanava is part of the Government’s employment measuresThe Government aims to reach an employment rate of 75% by the mid-2020s. This will require increased employment also among people with partial work ability. To achieve this goal and as part of the Government’s employment measures, a work ability programme is currently under way. It promotes the employment of people with partial work capacity and their wellbeing at work. Työkanava Ltd is one of the programme’s practical measures. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment is also implementing a number of other measures to improve the employment of persons with partial work ability as part of the work ability programme. For example, TE Offices will recruit more work ability coordinators, and TE service pilots will improve the relevance of TE services to persons with partial work ability. In addition, the employment of people with partial work ability is also taken into consideration in the programme to accelerate employment through procurement and in the activities of the newly established centre of expertise for social enterprises.Besides the work ability programme, there are several major reforms underway to help unemployed people who are disadvantaged in the job market. Such reforms include the TE services reform where the responsibility for organising TE services will be transferred to municipalities in 2024, the introduction of the Nordic labour market service model, and the reform of the pay subsidy scheme.
NordenBladet — The Government proposes an amendment to the Non-Military Service Act to clarify the status of persons who have refused non-military service and have received a sentence. Those who have been acquitted by a court would no longer be ordered back into service during peacetime.In Finland, persons liable for military service must complete either military service or non-military service. A person can apply for non-military service for reasons of conscience based on conviction. In the Act, a person liable for non-military service means a person whose non-military service application has been approved.If a person liable for non-military service refuses non-military service, the Centre for Non-Military Service will submit a report of an offence to the police and the matter will be referred to a prosecutor. Under the current legislation, if a court dismisses charges against a person for refusing non-military service, the Centre for Non-Military Service must order the person back into service.After the legislative amendment, such persons would no longer be ordered back into service during peacetime. The amendment would improve the legal protection of those liable for non-military service. It would also save the resources of the judiciary and the Centre for Non-Military Service.The Government gave the proposal concerning amendments to the Conscription Act and the Non-Military Service Act to Parliament on 21 October 2021. An amendment to the Non-Military Service Act is included in the Government proposal as an annexed Act. The legislative amendments are due to enter into force on 1 January 2022.
NordenBladet — The Government proposes amendments to the Act on Transport Services and to the acts on overload charges and the posting of workers. The amendments are related to the enforcement of the EU Mobility Package in Finland.The Government submitted the proposal to Parliament on 21 October 2021.The aim of the proposal is to harmonise the social and market legislation on heavy road transport, promote fair and equal competition in the transport sector, improve the operating conditions of supervisory authorities, and improve road safety.Besides implementing EU regulations, the proposal aims to assign more responsibility for overloading and driving time and rest period violations to transport customers. The purpose of the proposed amendments is to tackle the grey economy, in accordance with the Government Programme.New changes to driving times and rest periods based on the EU Regulation have already entered into force.The national legislative project was carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.What’s next?The legislative proposals have gone through a consultation round, and public servants continue preparations as part of their official duties.A referral debate will be held on the proposal now submitted by the Government to Parliament. The timetable for the debate will be listed on Parliament’s website (upcoming plenary sessions).After the referral debate, the proposal will be taken to a Parliamentary Committee. After the Committee submits a report, the matter will be discussed in a plenary session. The acts are scheduled to enter into force on 01 February 2022.
NordenBladet — The Government has amended the decree that restricts the activities of food and beverage service businesses due to the COVID-19 epidemic. The restrictions for the community transmission phase will be applied to food and beverage service businesses in the region of South Ostrobothnia and across the region of Uusimaa, because the epidemiological situation has changed in the two regions.The amendment to the decree will enter into force on 22 October 2021.Restrictions on food and beverage service businesses in the regions of Southwest Finland, Satakunta, Päijät-Häme, Ostrobothnia, South Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia and Uusimaa, which are all at the community transmission phase of the epidemic, from 22 OctoberFood and beverage service businesses may serve alcoholic beverages between 7.00 and 00.00 and be open between 5.00 and 1.00.Food and beverage service businesses that primarily serve alcoholic beverages may have only half the normal number of customer seats in use in their indoor and outdoor premises. Other food and beverage service are restricted to 75 per cent of their normal number of customer seats indoors.All customers must have their own seats at a table or similar in indoor premises.Businesses who require all customers to present a COVID-19 passport are exempt from the restrictions.Restrictions on food and beverage service businesses elsewhere in the country, i.e. in regions where the epidemic is at the acceleration or baseline phase, from 22 OctoberThere are no separate restrictions on the number of customers or on licensing and opening hours.The obligation to observe the general hygiene guidelines and to keep a safe distance applies in all regions.Exceptions to restrictions remain unchangedThe restrictions laid down in the decree do not apply to the activities of staff restaurants or to takeaway sales of food to customers. The restrictions on opening hours do not apply to food and beverage service businesses on vessels and aircraft that operate between Finland and other countries or abroad or to food and beverage service businesses that operate at distribution stations for liquid fuels.
NordenBladet — Minister of Defence Antti Kaikkonen has approved the Defence Forces’ procurement proposal and has authorised the Defence Forces Logistics Command to procure five additional armoured howitzers in 2022.
This is related to the procurement of 155 mm howitzers in 2017. The armoured howitzers were procured in 2017 from KOTRA, the trade promotion agency of the Republic of Korea. The contract included an additional procurement opportunity for armoured howitzers, their supplies and spare parts. The total price of the contract for the additional procurement is EUR 30 million (excluding VAT).
In addition to the armoured howitzers, the contract also includes spare parts and supplies. The procurement will enable the support of operational troops with long-range artillery equipment with good off-road and off-road mobility. The procurement will partly replace the artillery materiel that is becoming obsolete in the 2020s and 2030s and will be decommissioned.
Well-suited for conscript training, an armoured howitzer of 155 mm will provide Finland’s conscription army with modern capabilities in a cost-effective way. While included in the defence administration’s planned budget frame, the procurement was prepared under the leadership of the Ministry of Defence in cooperation with the Army Command and the Defence Forces Logistics Command.
NordenBladet — On 20 October, 85 per cent of the target population for COVID-19 vaccination in Finland, i.e. people who are 12 years of age or over, had received at least one vaccine dose and 76 per cent two vaccine doses. According to the current estimate, it is possible to achieve 80 per cent vaccination coverage by the first week of November, if the increase in the vaccine uptake does not slow down.As the local or regional epidemic situation deteriorates, the spread of infections and its harmful effects can still be effectively prevented by introducing measures under the hybrid strategy either in a specific municipality or in a larger area.Between 14 and 20 October, the uptake of the first vaccine dose grew by less than one percentage point and the uptake of the second dose by two percentage points.At the end of last week, the total number of inpatients in specialised healthcare was 137, with 34 of them being inpatients in intensive care. A total of 118 new COVID-19 inpatients were admitted to specialised healthcare between 14 and 20 October, which is as many as the week before.Over the past three weeks, the burden on specialised healthcare increased especially in inpatient care, from 58 patients to 103 patients. The number of intensive care patients increased from 23 patients to 34 patients. Last week, 23 new COVID-19 patients were admitted to intensive care. Specialised healthcare has as many patients now as it had at the end of February 2021. On 20 October 2021, the total number of COVID-19-related deaths reported to the communicable diseases register was 1,133.If the epidemic gets worse, there is an undeniable risk to the health of those who can catch the disease and a risk of increased need for hospital care. Over the last two-week period, unvaccinated people between the ages of 12 to 79 who have COVID-19 have received specialised healthcare 19 times more often than those in the same age group who have been vaccinated twice. The risk of being admitted to specialised healthcare has been highest among unvaccinated people aged 50−79. The risk is 28 times higher for them than for those in the same age group who have been vaccinated twice. To curb the epidemic, the most important thing now is to work towards achieving the highest possible level of vaccination coverage and to promote health security practices at the local and regional levels.The incidence of new COVID-19 cases over the last two-week period was 137 per 100,000 inhabitants. This is around 10 per cent more than in the preceding two-week period when the incidence of cases was 124 per 100,000 inhabitants. Over the last two-week period, the incidence has been greatest among unvaccinated people between the ages of 12 to 49.The amended guidelines on testing have affected the number of conducted COVID-19 tests. Between 14 and 20 October, approximately 80,300 tests were taken, which is nearly as many as in the previous week. The proportion of positive cases of all samples was 4.6 per cent, showing a slight decrease on the previous week’s 4.9 per cent. The epidemiological situation is monitored weekly. The next monitoring report of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare will be published exceptionally on Thursday next week.
NordenBladet — Minister of Defence Antti Kaikkonen will participate in the EU’s Strategic Compass workshop in Brussels on Thursday 21 October 2021. The Strategic Compass means determining the direction of the EU’s security and defence cooperation and clarifying the objectives over the next 5 to 10 years. During the workshop, the ministers will discuss, among other things, the EU’s ability to respond to crises, response to hybrid threats, the EU’s capabilities and cooperation between the EU and NATO. This workshop will be the last ministerial level discussion before the first draft of the Strategic Compass is discussed at the Foreign Affairs Council in November. On Thursday 21 October, Minister Kaikkonen will also attend the ministerial meeting of the Framework Nation Concept (FNC) led by Germany. The aim of the meeting is to approve the FNC’s annual progress report and discuss the future prospects of FNC cooperation.
NordenBladet — Today, on 20 October, the ministers of the coastal states around the Baltic Sea responsible for marine protection and the European Commission adopted the updated Baltic Sea Action Plan. The Baltic Sea coastal states and EU have implemented the Action Plan since 2007. The Action Plan sets down the common objectives and agreed measures until 2030.“Resolute measures are needed even more to improve the state of the Baltic Sea. A lot has already been done but, unfortunately, it takes some time before we can see the impacts,” said Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Krista Mikkonen, who headed Finland’s delegation at the meeting of the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission HELCOM in Lübeck. “On Finland’s initiative, the programme now includes stronger targets for mitigating eutrophication and for the circular economy, and for minimising the environmental impacts of shipping. The Baltic Sea Action Plan has proven the power and necessity of cooperation in these matters,” Minister Mikkonen said.The ministerial meeting issued a statement emphasising the importance of cooperation in the Baltic Sea in the global context as well. HELCOM promotes the global sustainable development, climate, nature and marine protection goals. The UN and many other parties consider HELCOM’s work in regional marine protection as something to learn from.More measures to achieve a good status for the Baltic SeaThe updated Baltic Sea Action Plan contains almost 200 measures to achieve a good status for the Baltic Sea. Some of them are to be taken by individual states, some of them by the states together. The Baltic Sea states and EU agreed that the list of significant pollution sites, the Hot Spots, will be supplemented by 2025. They also agreed on a strategy and measures concerning nutrient recycling and modernisation of the annex to the Action Plan concerning pollution from agriculture. By 2030, at least 30% of the marine area of the Baltic Sea should be protected by a connected, effective, well-managed and ecologically representative network of marine protected areas.Compared to the original, the Action Plan is now broader in scope as it also takes stronger action to prevent marine litter and damages caused by underwater noise, improve nutrient recycling and restore the seabed and marine nature. Climate change has major impacts on the Baltic Sea ecosystem and the protection measures, which is why it is dealt with as a cross-cutting topic throughout the Action Plan.In the negotiations on the update, Finland advocated especially the need to strengthen measures to curb eutrophication, and took the initiative to prepare a nutrient recycling strategy and led this process. Finland also led the process to prepare measures related to the mitigation of the harmful impacts of maritime activities such as shipping and fishing.Baltic Sea Action Plan has improved the state of the sea but a good status is yet to be achievedA good status for the Baltic Sea was not achieved by 2021, which was the deadline set in the original Baltic Sea Action Plan. The state of the sea has continued to deteriorate in many respects, and eutrophication has even increased. However, there have also been positive developments: nutrient loading and emissions of harmful and hazardous substances have decreased, and the status of certain seal, fish and bird populations is now good.Long-term efforts have been made to reduce nutrient loading and eutrophication. By adopting the Baltic Sea Action Plan in 2007, HELCOM became the first international actor to agree on the maximum levels of nutrient loading for an entire marine area and to allocate reduction targets for nutrient loading for each state.The original Action Plan included a total of 177 measures, and better progress was made in implementing them jointly than when implementing national measures. The impacts of some of the measures on the state of the sea are yet to be seen. It takes some time, in some cases even decades, before e.g. the decrease in nutrient loading is reflected in the state of the sea.The measures allocated to Finland have mainly been implemented through the national water management plans and the Finnish Marine Strategy. In 2015–2018, the Government supported the protection of waters and the marine environment by about EUR 40 million, and for 2019–2023 the Government has decided to boost the implementation of the measures by as much as EUR 69 million.The ministers responsible for marine protection in the Baltic Sea states and the European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries convened for the first physical meeting since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting was hosted by Germany, which holds the Chairmanship of HELCOM in 2020–2022.Press release on the Ministerial MeetingUpdated Baltic Sea Action Plan
NordenBladet — The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has granted Fingrid Oyj a permit to construct a transmission line of 400 kilovolts that will cross the border between Finland and Sweden. The interconnector would increase the transmission capacity between Finland and Northern Sweden from Sweden to Finland by 800 MW and from Finland to Sweden by 900 MW.“The new interconnector between Finland and Sweden is important for ensuring the transmission of electricity and for the development of the Nordic electricity market. The connection will benefit the national economy, and electricity users by hundreds of millions of euros. Functional transmission connections are an important part of supporting the electrification of industry and society”, says Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä.The project is based on the need for additional electricity transmission capacity between Sweden and Finland. Cross-border transmission capacity is often inadequate, and as a result, the electricity market cannot function efficiently and electricity prices diverge. This increases the price of imported electricity in Finland. Additionally, the growing wind power production in northern Finland and Sweden due to good conditions increases the need for electricity transmission.Price of electricity to decrease with users to save hundreds of millions of euros per yearAccording to Fingrid, the key benefit of the new power transmission connection will be the levelling of electricity prices between Finland and northern Sweden, which will lead to lower prices in Finland. The new transmission connection is estimated to reduce the electricity price difference between the supply areas of Finland and northern Sweden. It is estimated that the connection will lower the price of electricity in Finland and the Baltic States by about EUR 3/MWh in 2025 and by about EUR 8/MWh in 2035. The power line is considered a profitable project for the national economy. According to Fingrid, its benefits to the national economy are estimated to be around EUR 59 million per year in 2025 and around EUR 180 million per year in 2035. In 2025, the benefits to Finnish electricity users have been estimated to be approximately EUR 400 million per year, and in 2035 around EUR 1.1 billion a year. Failing to implement the project would cause significant harm to the national economy. The transmission line would form the third alternating current connection between Finland and the rest of the Nordic synchronous area, which would improve the fault tolerance of the electricity system. The connection would decrease by 98% the probability that a simultaneous failure of alternating current lines between Finland and Sweden would result in isolation of Finland from the rest of the synchronous area.The new transmission connection will also significantly improve the security of electricity supply. The electricity production capacity in use in Finland is significantly lower than peak electricity consumption, and Finland is dependent on imported electricity, especially during peak consumption in the winter. While the commissioning of the Olkiluoto 3 power plant unit will improve this balance in the near future, there are still concerns about the adequacy of electricity in the coming years. The electrification of society is also expected to significantly increase demand for electricity in the coming decade.