NordenBladet — On Thursday 14 October, Finland submitted its draft budgetary plan for next year to the European Commission.Draft budgetary plans (DBPs) are part of the European Union’s coordinated surveillance exercise. The DBP should allow the identification of any deviations from the general government finances strategy presented in the most recent Stability Programme.The DBP contains informationon macroeconomic forecasts and assumptions,targets for general government finances,expenditure and revenue projections under the no-policy-change scenario,expenditure and revenue targets,discretionary measures included in the draft budget,the goals of the European Union’s strategy for growth and jobs and the country specific recommendations,and a comparison between the DBP and the most recent Stability Programme.Finland’s draft budgetary plan is based on the Government’s budget proposal, the programme for local government finances for next year and this year’s supplementary budgets. All euro area countries are required to submit a DBP to the European Commission by 15 October.
NordenBladet — The Government has amended the decree restricting the activities of food and beverage service businesses due to the COVID-19 epidemic. As a result of changes in the epidemiological situation in the region of Central Ostrobothnia, the restrictions for the community transmission phase of the epidemic will be applied to food and beverage service businesses in the region.The amendment to the decree will enter into force on 15 October 2021.Restrictions on food and beverage service businesses in the regions of Southwest Finland, Satakunta, Päijät-Häme, Ostrobothnia and Central Ostrobothnia, and in Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen, which are all at the community transmission phase of the epidemic, from 15 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.Parliament is currently discussing a government proposal according to which food and beverage service businesses could, as an alternative to the restrictions on food and beverage services businesses laid down in the decree, require their customers to present a COVID-19 passport to enter their premises. Information on the entry into force and application of such provisions will be provided separately.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 15 OctoberNo 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 — Thursday 14 October 2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Finland and Lithuania. Finland recognised Lithuania’s independence on 14 October 1921.The Embassy of Finland in Lithuania and the Embassy of Lithuania in Finland will open a virtual photo exhibition on 14 October 2021, presenting the diplomatic relations between Finland and Lithuania over the past 100 years. Speeches by Foreign Ministers Pekka Haavisto andGabrielius Landsbergis will be available on the exhibition website.
NordenBladet — Minor children may use the My Kanta Pages themselves to view, for example, their EU Digital COVID Certificates, if they have the electronic identification tools required for this purpose. If necessary, the Certificate is also available as a paper version from the healthcare service.However, there is variation as to what information on minors is viewable in the My Kanta Pages or patient data systems. For this reason, healthcare units must prepare an operating model for providing minors with a printout of their EU Digital COVID Certificate and have their patient data systems updated with regard to the functionality that allows custodians to act on behalf of their minor children.Minors using healthcare servicesIf a minor is considered mature enough, they can decide on their own care. This decision is made separately in each case and it depends on the matter at hand. Healthcare professionals make an assessment in the case, and an entry of this assessment is then made in the patient records. If the minor can decide on their own care, they can also decide whether the patient records related to the healthcare visit can be viewed by the custodian.However, there are still many patient data systems where assessments made by healthcare professionals cannot be recorded. In this case, patient records cannot be shown to custodians. In general, people under ten years of age are rarely mature enough to decide on their own care. Because of this, the records concerning them can be shown to their custodians unless this is specifically blocked. Minors using My Kanta PagesMinor children may use the My Kanta Pages themselves if they have the electronic identifications tools required for this purpose. They can view, for example, their EU Digital COVID Certificates. Logging in to the My Kanta Pages service requires electronic identification, such as online banking codes. However, most banks issue these codes only to children aged 15 and over. It is also possible to log in to the service using a mobile certificate.Minors can also log in to the service using the Citizen Certificate stored on their identity card. Before the Citizen Certificate on the person’s identity card can be used for online services, the Certificate needs to be activated first. In Finland identity cards are issued by the police and abroad by Finnish missions. Public Service Info, which is an advice service for users of public services, gives advice on how to use the Citizen Certificate.In addition to the identity card, the user needs an electronic card reader and card reader software installed in their computer. Information on minors viewable to custodiansIn the My Kanta Pages service, custodians are able to view information on their children who are under the age of 10. Information on children aged 10 or over are shown to their custodians if the patient data system used by the healthcare organisation in question includes a functionality which allows to make a record of minors’ decision-making capacity and their consent to the disclosure of information. The requirement for giving custodians access to this information is that the information on minors’ decision-making capacity and their wish to allow their custodians to view their information is recorded in the patient data system. However, this functionality is not yet widely used in healthcare. So far only 10 per cent of public healthcare organisations have started using the functionality that enables custodians to view information on their minor children. Healthcare organisations can decide themselves when to introduce this functionality. The Kanta Services support healthcare organisations in introducing the functionality, and healthcare professionals are given training in the new operating model, for example. Despite this, the progress made in introducing the functionality is slow. Exceptional situations where information on minors is not shown to custodiansAt present, custodians are not able to act on behalf of their minor children in the My Kanta Pages if an entry has been made in the Population Information System stating that there is a shared care agreement or order concerning not only the child’s residential arrangements but also other arrangements. This will change at the end of this year. In future, custodians who have made an agreement on shared parental responsibilities will also be able to act on behalf of their minor children in the My Kanta Pages.The impact which non-disclosure for personal safety reasons has on the use of the My Kanta Pages will also be alleviated at the end of this year. At present, only custodians who themselves are under non-disclosure for personal safety reasons may act on behalf of their children in the My Kanta Pages. In future, each custodian may authorise the custodian who is not under non-disclosure for personal safety reasons to act on their child’s behalf. However, custodians will not be able to act on behalf of their children in the My Kanta Pages if their children are subject to non-disclosure for personal safety reasons.EU Digital COVID Certificate available as printout from healthcare serviceIf minors themselves or their custodians cannot access the My Kanta Pages to view the information stored in the service or to print out the EU Digital COVID Certificate, it is possible to get a printout of the Certificate from the healthcare service. The printing service is used in most public healthcare organisations.The Certificate must be requested from the healthcare unit that administered the vaccine or conducted the COVID-19 test.If the printing service is not used by the person’s own healthcare organisation, it is possible to ask for the Certificate from a neighbouring municipality. If, however, the person does not have a personal identity code but an identification code, only the healthcare unit that administered the vaccine can issue the Certificate. The healthcare service must decide on an operating model as to how it can provide minors with a printout of their EU Digital COVID Certificate easily.
NordenBladet — Minister of Local Government Sirpa Paatero has launched a full reform of the Municipality of Residence Act. The steering group and the law-drafting group of the legislative project will prepare the reform. First, they will identify the needs to change the legislation on people’s municipality of residence, and then, based on these needs, they will prepare a proposal for a new Municipality of Residence Act and for the necessary changes to other legislation.The Municipality of Residence Act provides how a person’s municipality of residence and place of residence are determined. In spring 2020, a working group set up to determine the need for changes to the Municipality of Residence Act proposed an overhaul of the act, which would mean enacting a new act to replace the current one. The current act is more than 25 years old, and it has been amended on many occasions.The legislative project is set to examine the current state of legislation on municipality of residence and identify the need for changes. The project is to pay particular attention to problems that have emerged in the application of the Municipality of Residence Act and the ways it affects people’s rights and obligations laid down elsewhere in legislation. A key objective of the project is to ensure that the municipality of residence entries made in the Population Information System are up to date and accurate so that other authorities can trust them in their own decision-making. Another aim is to safeguard people’s fundamental rights. A number of other acts and decrees refer to the Municipality of Residence Act or to a person’s municipality of residence. This means that changes to the Municipality of Residence Act may have an impact on the activities of many branches of government. For this reason, the steering group and law-drafting group preparing the reform will have representatives from the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities and from the ministries and agencies that play key roles in the application of the Municipality of Residence Act.The project runs from 12 October 2021 to 31 March 2023. The steering group is chaired by Permanent Under-Secretary of State Päivi Nerg and the law-drafting group is chaired by Senior Ministerial Adviser Ville Koponen from the Ministry of Finance.
NordenBladet — The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has appointed a working group to assess the need to amend the Act on the Making of Decisions Concerning the Provision of and Request for International Assistance (418/2017). The working group will prepare the necessary legislative amendments based on the lessons learned from the evacuation operation in Afghanistan.On 20 August 2021, the President of the Republic made a decision, supported by Parliament, to send a Defence Forces’ unit to safeguard the relief effort at Kabul Airport. The decision was made under the Act on the Making of Decisions Concerning the Provision of and Request for International Assistance. This was the first time that this Act was applied after its entry into force (July 2017).
NordenBladet — A Swedish translation of the Finnish integration glossary has been published. The glossary on integration harmonises the use of concepts related to integration, equality and discrimination.The glossary was originally published in Finnish together with the Swedish equivalents in June 2021. Definitions and comments of terms in Swedish have now been added to the glossary. The glossary emphasises equality and immigrants’ active role. Instead of kotouttaminen, the glossary recommends the use of kotoutumisen edistäminen. The glossary defines concepts related to the Integration Act (Act on the Promotion of Immigration Integration) and key integration services. Concepts of equality, inclusion and discrimination have also been included in the new glossary. The terms used in politics and legislation affect the language of the authorities and customer services as well as the general debate and attitudes. New terms emphasise equalityThe terms have been evaluated from the perspective of equality: do the concepts promote equality or reduce it? Based on the evaluation, the term maahanmuuttanut has been added to the glossary alongside the term maahanmuuttaja. The first term clearly indicates a person who has moved to the country. According to the glossary, the term maahanmuuttaja should not be used when referring to persons presumed to be immigrants, for example based on their name, appearance or mother tongue. The term should only be used in situations where the term has an explanatory value, such as statistics. The Swedish term invandrad can be used to replace the term invandrare. The term invandrare is often used in legislation, but it is considered to have a negative tone. The term nyanlända invandrare is also used in legislation in Sweden.Integration is a multi-dimensional process Integration is a two-way or multi-dimensional process in which the surrounding society also changes and evolves as a result of immigration. The concept of integration in Swedish and English describes this two-way approach well. In the glossary, the concept of kotoutuminen is, however, defined as an individual process by each immigrant that occurs in interaction with society and during which the immigrant’s participation, inclusion and equality in society will increase. The concepts of kotoutuminen and yhteiskunnan vastaanottavuus describe a two-way process.The term kotouttaminen has been replaced with the term kotoutumisen edistäminen. The term kotouttaminen is not recommended as it can be interpreted to mean that an immigrant is merely an object of activity and does not have an active role in integration. Promoting integration also involves promoting the receptiveness of society.Discussion on integration concepts to continue in broad cooperation The integration glossary has been published as a bilingual first edition in the publication series of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. New concepts may be added to the glossary in connection with the reform of the Integration Act and services promoting integration. The work on concepts will continue in cooperation with stakeholders, such as various organisations and the Advisory Board for Ethnic Relations (ETNO). The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and the Finnish Terminology Centre launched the project on integration glossary in August 2019. In addition to specialists of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, the working group included representatives of the Ministry of Justice (ETNO), ELY Centres, TE Services, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Family Federation of Finland, Finnish National Agency for Education.
NordenBladet — The Ministry of Education and Culture and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare have issued new health security recommendations for early childhood education and care, schools, educational institutions and higher education institutions, taking into account the amendments to the Communicable Diseases Act and the transition to local and regional measures when lifting the restrictions. The recommendations have been updated to correspond to other recommendations and Government guidelines related to the coronavirus epidemic currently in effect. The purpose of the recommendations is to support the organisation of early childhood education and care and education and training safely and to give guidance on the safe use of spaces during the COVID-19 epidemic. By complying with the recommendations, infections can be prevented and the number of people exposed to the virus can be reduced. If regional clusters of infection emerge, they will primarily be managed through local and regional measures in line with the Communicable Diseases Act. The new recommendations replace the corresponding recommendations issued in August.Recommendations on the use of masks may vary regionallyBased on monitoring by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, the risk of infection in early childhood education and care, in schools and in educational institutions has been low, and there is no need to issue general national recommendations on the use of masks in the education sector.Based on their risk assessment, the competent authorities in the regions and local areas may issue supplementary or more limited recommendations in their area or locally depending on the epidemiological situation. Education providers are responsible for the safety of the learning environment and can issue their own recommendations on the use of masks in teaching and examination facilities. This means that recommendations on the use of masks in educational institutions, schools and early childhood education and care may vary regionally and between educational institutions.The temporary provisions in the Communicable Diseases Act on measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic will remain in force until 31 December 2021. Under the Communicable Diseases Act, more intensive cleaning of premises and surfaces must continue and opportunities for everyone to clean their hands must be ensured, for example. The earlier requirement the Communicable Diseases Act of two metres of distancing between people has been revoked. However, it is still advisable to make it possible for everyone to assemble as widely apart as possible. Sufficient distancing between people and avoiding close contacts prevent infections. The national recommendation to keep teaching groups separate can be lifted. The earlier national recommendation to keep a safe distance of at least two metres can also be lifted.Procedures and practices to follow powers under the Communicable Diseases ActIn line with the Government Resolution of 9 September 2021, the restrictions and recommendations that were based on a system of classifying regions into different phases (baseline, acceleration phase and community transmission phase) will be discontinued once sufficient vaccination coverage has been achieved. Restrictions in place at the regional level can be gradually lifted even earlier if the epidemiological situation makes it possible. The procedures and practices in early childhood education and care, schools, educational institutions and higher education institutions are based on the acts regulating their activities and primarily on the powers laid down in the Communicable Diseases Act.To prevent the spread of possible infections, it is important that everyone follows a practice where people who have symptoms or illnesses do not participate in early childhood education and care, teaching and other activities organised in the premises of educational institutions.Recommendations by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Education and Culture for providers of education and early childhood education and care during the COVID-19 epidemic (PDF)Recommendations of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Education and Culture to universities, universities of applied sciences and providers of general upper secondary education, vocational education and training, liberal adult education and basic education for adults during the coronavirus epidemic (PDF)
NordenBladet — The 16th meeting of the Finnish-Russian Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation will be held in Helsinki on 14 October 2021. The Commission is co-chaired by Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari and Russia’s Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov. The meeting will address issues related to business environment in Finland and Russia, potential sectors of cooperation, and current topics of the Commission’s working groups. The ministers will also meet representatives of Finnish and Russian companies.The Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation aims to support business operations and to build contacts between Finnish and Russian companies. The Commission consists of sectoral and regional working groups. The previous meeting of the Commission was held in St Petersburg in 2018. However, the Commission’s co-chairs met this summer in connection with the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Finnish Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari and Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov The Commission’s working groups are an important channel for cooperation between Finnish and Russian authorities. The working groups have also continued their cooperation via remote connections during the coronavirus epidemic. Concrete cooperation takes place in the transport, energy and forest industry sectors.“The work of the Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation is important for Finnish companies operating in Russia, and it is also a key channel for cooperation between the authorities. I am pleased that we can organise the meeting in Helsinki this year. I look forward to the discussion with Minister Manturov, especially on opportunities for cooperation in the forest sector. We also have a separate meeting with Finnish and Russian companies,” Minister Skinnari says. “Our important partners in this meeting are the Finnish-Russian Chamber of Commerce and East Office.”Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä will also meet Minister Manturov in connection with the Commission’s meeting. They will discuss topical themes related to the Commission’s working groups, which are managed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.“Finnish companies have a lot of expertise in the bioeconomy, circular economy and energy technology, and I believe that through cooperation with the Commission we can further increase our trade and economic cooperation. Finland and Russia have common goals in improving energy efficiency and reducing emissions, for example,” Lintilä says.More than 900 Finnish companies are currently established in Russia, and the value of Finnish investments in the country totals approximately EUR 15 billion. Russia is the sixth most important destination for Finnish exports and the third largest country of origin for Finnish imports. Trade with Russia is subject to both the economic and sectoral sanctions imposed by the EU and Russia’s counter-sanctions. Due to the illegal annexation of Crimea and the conflict in Eastern Ukraine, the EU’s sanctions against Russia are still in place.
NordenBladet — The Climate Policy Roundtable will hold its 11th meeting on Wednesday 13 October. The meeting will focus on the low-carbon circular economy agreement, which aims to boost the achievement of the objectives set in the Circular Economy Programme completed in spring 2021.The Government adopted a Resolution on the Circular Economy Programme in April 2021. According to this, the consumption of non-renewable natural resources will decrease and the sustainable use of renewable natural resources may increase to the extent that the total consumption of primary raw materials in Finland in 2035 will not exceed what it was in 2015. The productivity of resources must be doubled by 2035 from the situation in 2015. The circular material use rate (CMU) must also be doubled by 2035.“A circular economy offers solutions for curbing the overconsumption of natural resources and, through this, for halting the climate crisis and the decline in biodiversity. The objective of reducing the use of natural resources alone takes us in the right direction – this we have seen in climate work in general. To support the objective, we are now looking for concrete actions in different sectors to promote the transition into a circular economy. All stakeholders must be involved in the transformation of the economic system,” says Minister of the Environment and Climate change Krista Mikkonen, who chairs the meeting.One way of promoting the objectives of the Circular Economy Programme is the low-carbon circular economy agreement, which municipalities, companies and other stakeholders should join with their own commitments. The commitments would be based on scenarios where organisations, together with research institutes, draw up stepping stones towards a carbon-neutral future. Based on these scenarios, the operators would then set their own targets and commit to these. The scenario processes can also be incorporated into the low-carbon roadmaps drawn up by many sectors in recent years, which should now be updated and supplemented. To implement more effective measures, a network of experts will be put together that will provide tools, find suitable sources of funding and help resolve bottlenecks.The Climate Policy Roundtable brings together a broad spectrum of stakeholders from different sectors of society. The purpose of the Roundtable is to create a common understanding of how Finland can make a just transition to a carbon neutral society by 2035. With its work, the Roundtable supports the preparation and implementation of Finland’s national climate policy.To follow the work of the Roundtable in social media use #ilmastonpyöreäpöytä and #hiilineutraali2035.
Finnish Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari and Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov