NordenBladet — Consultation on the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report concerning the continuation of Fortum’s Loviisa nuclear power plant has begun. The consultation period is from 20 September to 18 November 2021. Comments and opinions can be submitted through the Lausuntopalvelu.fi service. A public hearing on the project will take place in Loviisa on Thursday 7 October.On 6 September 2021, Fortum [Power and Heat Ltd] submitted an EIA report to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment that assesses the environmental impact of continuing the operation of, or alternatively, decommissioning the Loviisa nuclear power plant as well as the impact of the final disposal facility of low and intermediate-level waste. The two primary alternatives in Fortum’s EIA process are either continuing the use of both units until about 2050 or decommissioning the nuclear power plant after the expiration of the current licences. The operating licences of Loviisa plant units 1 and 2 expire at the end of 2027 and at the end of 2030, respectively.The EIA report includes assessments of the project’s impact on people’s living conditions, wellbeing and health as well as the environment, waters, groundwater, fisheries, nature sites, landscape and cultural environment. In addition, its impact on community structure and regional economy has been assessed.Many ways to issue opinions and comments on the EIA reportFortum’s EIA report is available at https://tem.fi/en/loviisa-eia-report The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment requests opinions on it from authorities and organisations from 20 September to 18 November 2021. The consultation is carried out online in the Lausuntopalvelu.fi service.Statements and opinions can also be delivered to the registry of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment by email (kirjaamo(at)tem.fi), by mail (PO Box 32, FI-00023 Government), or by visiting the Ministry’s registry at Ritarikatu 2 B, FI-00170 Helsinki. Please include the reference VN/20577/2021 in all statements and opinions. The submitted opinions and statements will be published on the Ministry’s website.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — Minister Ville Skinnari will visit Lisbon on 21–24 September 2021. The aim of the visit is to strengthen the commercial relations between Finland and Portugal. Portugal offers significant opportunities for Finnish companies in such areas as bioeconomy and circular economy, energy, climate and digital transitions.In Lisbon, Minister Skinnari will have meetings, for example, with Minister of State for the Economy and the Digital Transition Pedro Siza Vieira, Minister of Environment and Energy Transition João Pedro Matos Fernandes, Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education Manuel Heitor and Secretary of State for Internationalization Eurico Brilhante Dias. The discussions will focus on the key priorities of the Portuguese recovery plan, including bioeconomy and circular economy, opportunities for cooperation related to the energy, climate and digital transitions, and topical trade policy and development policy questions.
Skinnari will also meet representatives of the Portuguese business sector and Finnish companies operating in Portugal.
During the visit, a Finnish innovation platform Demola Global Oy together with the Government of Portugal and Portuguese universities of applied sciences will launch a comprehensive cooperation project. The aim of the project is to accelerate future innovation work and strengthen interaction between the higher education sector and business life. In the start-up phase (2021–2023), almost a thousand higher education teachers, approximately 600 Portuguese companies and about 5,000 students from 14 different universities of applied sciences from Portugal will take part in the project.  “It is important for us to be able to present Finnish expertise widely in Portugal right in the early stages of the implementation of the country’s recovery plan. Finland and Finnish companies have much to offer especially in how to strengthen resilience and to proceed in the transition to climate neutrality and in digital transformation. These themes are at the heart of both the Finnish and Portuguese recovery plans,” says Minister Skinnari.  

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi

NordenBladet — The number of unemployed jobseekers decreased by 48,700 from August last year. The number of new vacancies reported in August totalled 90,100. In all, the number of unfilled vacancies amounted to 155,300, which is 56,700 more than a year ago.

At the end of August, a total of 281,000 unemployed jobseekers were registered at the Employment and Economic Development Offices and municipalities participating in the local government pilots on employment. This is 48,700 less than a year earlier, but 48,400 more than in August two years ago. The number of unemployed jobseekers was down by 41,500 from the previous month.Of the unemployed jobseekers, 150,500 were customers of municipalities participating in the local government pilots on employment. 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 August, the number of people laid off was 35,700 in the whole country, which was 42,100 fewer than at the same time the year before. The number of people fully laid off totalled 24,600, representing a decrease of 36,400 from August the year before. The number of people fully laid off decreased by 7,800 from July.

111,800 unemployed in the long term
The number of long-term unemployed — that is those who had been unemployed without interruption for at least a year — amounted to 111,800, up 32,900 on the previous year. The number of unemployed jobseekers aged over 50 was 105,200, or 10,100 fewer than at the same time a year earlier.

Unemployed jobseekers under 25 years of age numbered 32,800, representing a decrease of 9,200 from August last year. Of the unemployment periods of youths, 58.5 per cent ended before reaching three months between January and August. This is 4.4 percentage points less than a year before.

Increase in new vacancies
The number of new vacancies reported during August totalled 90,100, or 34,500 more than in August the previous year. In all, the number of unfilled vacancies in August amounted to 155,300, which is 56,700 more than a year ago.At the end of August, the number of persons covered by services included in the activation rate amounted to 105,900, down 100 on the previous year. These services include pay subsidies, labour market training, work trials and self-motivated studies.

Statistics Finland: Unemployment rate 6.5%
According to the Labour Force Survey issued by Statistics Finland, in August the number of people in employment was 104,000 more than on the previous year. The employment rate was 73.4%, which was 3.3 percentage points higher than in August the year before. According to the Survey, the unemployment total was 179,000, which is 33,000 less than a year ago. The unemployment rate was 6.5%, or 1.4 percentage points lower than the previous year.

Press release on the revision of the Labour Force Survey: https://www.stat.fi/til/tyti/tyti_2020-12-22_uut_001_en.html

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 of 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 https://tilastokeskus.fi/til/tyti/tyti_2019-09-13_men_001_en.html

NordenBladet — The high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly, which marks an annual special event for global cooperation, begins on 20 September. The week provides Finland with an opportunity to strengthen its cooperative relations and to highlight themes that are important for foreign and security policy.

The UNGA high-level week is an important occasion for global cooperation. Finland’s programme will focus on the COVID-19 pandemic, human rights and climate questions.

The UN General Assembly meets for the 76th time. The General Assembly is the only of the six main organs of the United Nations where all Member States have equal representation: one country, one vote. The themes of this year’s UN General Assembly (UNGA 76) are resilience and building back better after the COVID-19 pandemic, response to the needs of the planet, respect for human rights and the reform of the UN.

The UNGA 76 high-level week begins on Monday 20 September. The high-level week brings the world government leaders and international organisations together in New York every year. In addition to the General Assembly, a number of other events and meetings will be held. Due to the pandemic, the high-level week is now held in hybrid format. Read more on the official website of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

High-level week offers an opportunity to strengthen cooperative relations
Finland’s activities in the UN are based on defending the rules-based international system and on strengthening multilateral cooperation. The UN high-level week provides a valuable opportunity to strengthen cooperative relations with states and civil societies. In UNGA 76, Finland will lay special emphasis on matters reflecting the value base of Finnish foreign and security policy: the promotion of human rights, the rule of law, democracy, peace, freedom, tolerance and equality in all international activities.In the programme of the Finnish delegation, topical themes will include the COVID-19 pandemic and health security, climate questions, the promotion of human rights, and the situation in Ethiopia and Afghanistan. Other topics on the agenda are Finland’s candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council in 2022–2024 and the strengthening of the UN.

The Finnish delegation is led by President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend ministerial events in New York and have bilateral meetings with his counterparts and with representatives of the UN. Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will represent Finland at several high-level meetings held in virtual format during the week.Read more about the President’s programme on the website of the President of the Republic.

President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö will deliver Finland’s statement at the General Assembly on Tuesday 21 September at about 11.45 pm Finnish time. Several public statements delivered during the week will be webcast live on the UN Web TV.Follow the General Assembly on Twitter using the hashtags #UNGA76 and #UNGA, and Finland’s participation using #FIUNGA76.

NordenBladet — The high-level meetings of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 76) will start in New York on Monday 20 September. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend ministerial events in New York and have bilateral meetings with his counterparts and with representatives of the UN. Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will represent Finland at several high-level meetings held in virtual format during the week.

Topical themes on the agenda in the high-level meetings of the session will include, for example, the COVID-19 pandemic and health security, climate issues, the promotion of human rights, and the situation in Ethiopia and Afghanistan. Other topics on the agenda include Finland’s candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council, the strengthening of multilateral cooperation and the reform of the UN.Finland’s delegation will be led by President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö, who will deliver Finland’s statement in the general debate on Tuesday 21 September. President Niinistö will also deliver Finland’s address at the UN Food System Summit, which will be held virtually on Thursday 23 September.

NordenBladet — The Government has completed its proposal for the family leave reform, and the proposal will now proceed to Parliament for consideration as decided by the Government on 16 September. The reform is scheduled to enter into force on 1 August 2022.

“The family leave reform is a significant step in developing the family leave system and improving gender equality. It is an investment in families with children, taking account of different types of families. It is also an important factor in achieving the Government’s population policy objectives. This proposal will help us move towards a more socially sustainable society,” says Hanna Sarkkinen, Minister of Social Affairs and Health.

“We will move to a family leave model that meets the needs of modern society. The number of daily allowance days will increase from the present level. The reform will also give parents considerably more flexibility as they will be able to take leave in several parts or on a part-time basis. In families with two parents, both parents will have an equal quota of daily allowance days. More and more social parents will be able to take family leave when it becomes possible for parents to transfer some of their daily allowance days to their spouse, the spouse of the child’s other parent or other custodian of the child. The reform also takes into account single parents, multiple-birth families and cases where the child dies,” says Minister Sarkkinen.

Family leave reform promotes equality in working life
The family leave reform aims to increase gender equality both in the daily lives of families and in working life. The position of women in the labour market will improve when family leave is divided more equally between the two parents. This will affect attitudes, which in turn can reduce discrimination against women in working life.

“The message of the reform is not only for parents but also for employers that both the mother and the father can take parental leave. Workplaces play a key role in what the general attitude is towards parents, and particularly men, taking family leave. I hope that the reform will encourage fathers to take family leave and employers to support men in doing so. The reform will also help reduce the gender pay gap,” says Minister of Employment Tuula Haatainen. It also seeks to improve the balance between work and family life. It will be possible to split the family leave into more parts than before or to take family leave on a part-time basis.

Equal and flexible family leave model
Watch the animation to learn more about the basic model of the family leave reform (link).  When implemented, the family leave reform will give both parents a quota of 160 daily allowance days. Parents will be allowed to transfer up to 63 daily allowance days of their own quota to the other parent, other custodian, their spouse or the spouse of the other parent. For the final stage of pregnancy, there will be a pregnancy allowance period of 40 daily allowance days. There will be six daily allowance days per week. All in all, daily allowance days will amount to more than 14 months. Single parents will have the right to use the quotas of both parents. Twins, triplets and other multiple-birth children will form an exception to this model — the quota of daily allowance days for their parents will increase by 84 daily allowance days per second child and every child thereafter.

Under the new model, parents can use daily allowance days until the child reaches the age of two. Daily allowance days can be used in several parts. Parents in employment relationships will be entitled to split the leave up to four parts. Only pregnancy allowance days will have to be used in a single continuous period and started 14–30 days before the estimated due date. All parents who have custody of their child will have an equal right to daily allowance regardless of whether they are biological or adoptive, custodial or non-custodial and regardless of the gender of the parent.

At present, the types of family leaves available to parents are the mother’s maternal allowance period (105 working days or approximately 4.2 months) which starts before the estimated due date, the father’s paternal allowance period (54 working days or approximately 9 weeks) and the parental allowance period which may be taken by one of the parents or shared between the parents (158 working days or approximately 6.3 months).

NordenBladet — The regional ministers of the Nordic Council of Ministers discussed multilocality and green recovery at the hybrid meeting held in Helsinki on 16 September 2021. The ministers decided to launch a research project to examine the economic, social and environmental impacts of multilocality in different regions.

The meeting was chaired by Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä.As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the significance of the place has been seen and discussed in a new way, both in terms of people’s daily lives and politics. The ministers see that multilocality means many opportunities that increase the economic and social vitality in the regions.

– Multilocality creates new opportunities for regional economies, business activities and for the availability of skilled workforce. Digitalisation and high-speed communications connections are key investments in the future of multilocality. At the same time, we need flexible, regionally differentiated ways of organising services that support the smooth running of people’s everyday lives, Minister Lintilä says.

Multilocation involves various societal and cultural challenges as well as economic and ecological sustainability challenges. Rolf Elmèr, Director of Nordregio, presented a new multilocation project, the launch of which the ministers decided to support.

Green recovery brings new business opportunities
The regional ministers also discussed the opportunities for green recovery in different regions and how to accelerate the green transition. In addition to achieving the climate targets, green recovery also means new livelihood opportunities. Professor of Economics Jens Suedekum at the University of Düsseldorf and Juha-Matti Saksa, Rector of the Lappeenranta University of Technology gave introductory speeches on sustainable growth.

– Green recovery offers new opportunities for environmental business, for instance, which has become a more important competitive factor in the global economy. One of the areas of Nordic cooperation could also be bio-based economy in sparsely populated areas. The bioeconomy plays an important role when we pursue the low-carbon targets and a resource-efficient society, Minister Lintilä says.

NordenBladet — The European Commission issued a proposal to update the General Product Safety Directive on 30 June 2021. The reform’s key objective is to update the 20-year-old regulation to better suit the digital operating environment.

Legislation on consumer safety for consumer goods is based on the EU’s General Product Safety Directive. The current Directive (2001/95/EC) dates back to 2001. Digitalisation, e-commerce and new technologies have changed the operating environment related to product safety significantly in the past 20 years, making the amendments to legislation necessary. The proposal is part of the implementation of the EU’s New Consumer Agenda and aims to improve the functioning of the internal market.

The proposed new product safety regulation would apply to the regulation of consumer products that are not subject to more specific safety requirements under EU law. The general objective is to ensure a high and consistent level of consumer safety for products both in traditional and online commerce. In addition to the safety requirement, the proposal contains provisions on the obligations of economic operators, the responsibilities of online marketplaces, market surveillance, traceability of products and harmonisation of return procedures. The proposal requires Member States to lay down provisions on penalties for non-compliance with the obligations. In addition to provisions on non-compliance, the EU Regulation will result in amendments to national legislation, in particular the Consumer Safety Act (920/2011).On 16 September 2021, the Government submitted a Union communication to Parliament concerning the Commission’s proposal. The Government supports the proposal in general and emphasises that the reform must not cause unnecessary burden on the operators and that the obligations should be placed on appropriate operators. Taking the safety challenges posed by new technologies into account in product safety regulation is welcomed, and in this context, attention should also be paid to the technology neutrality of regulation. The Government supports clear regulation on official procedures and cooperation while unnecessary administrative burden is to be avoided.

NordenBladet — The meeting of ministers of economic affairs of the Nordic Council of Ministers was held in Helsinki on Thursday 16 September 2021. The ministers decided, among other things, to increase cooperation in sustainable mineral production and to promote sustainable tourism. The meeting was chaired by Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä.

During the meeting, a report on critical raw materials in the Nordic countries was released, presented by Kimmo Tiilikainen, Director General of the Geological Survey of Finland. Lintilä welcomes the increased links between Nordic researchers and companies. According to him, Nordic cooperation promotes sustainable raw material supply and mineral production both from mines and the flows of circular economy.

-Access to raw materials plays a key role in meeting climate and environmental objectives and it is an important competitive factor for Nordic business and industry. Standardising and certifying mineral production is an international matter that the Nordic countries can promote together, Mika Lintilä said.

Funding for tourism cooperation
The ministers decided to allocate DKK 20 million (approximately EUR 2.7 million) for measures supporting sustainable tourism and the travel sector’s recovery in 2021–2024. The initiative will produce information to support decision-making on sustainable development goals, develop statistics on the impact of tourism and seek tourism innovations. “It is important to increase Nordic discussion on the significance of the tourism industry and the opportunities for cooperation. The capacity and willingness to promote sustainable development in the Nordic countries offers a good basis for strengthening the sustainability of tourism in cooperation,” Lintilä added.

NordenBladet — Restrictions on entry will be reinstated for residents of Singapore in traffic arriving in Finland from Singapore. The Government adopted a decision on the matter on 16 September and the decision will enter into force on 20 September. No other changes will be introduced to the restrictions. The existing restrictions on entry at external borders will be extended until 10 October. However, people may still enter Finland from all countries upon presenting an approved certificate of a full course of vaccination.External border traffic refers to traffic between Finland and non-Schengen third countries. If a person arriving from a country subject to the restrictions is not fully vaccinated, the accepted reasons for entry are return travel to Finland, return travel to other EU or Schengen countries, transit on regular, scheduled flights at an airport or other essential travel.
See the websites below for more information on the entry restrictions and health security requirements in place.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi