Tag: Government
Two MPs from the center would ban English-only cafes in Finland
Aittakumpu also proposed that it should be possible to complete degrees in Finnish at all levels of education. “In many fields, it is no longer possible to continue in the mother tongue after the bachelor's degree, and students have to switch to English for master's studies. This is not true. The funding of universities should…
The Labor Fund is reducing staff due to budget cuts in adult education
The state trust said it may have to cut up to 80 jobs as the government plans to end funding for its adult education program.
Tensions related to financial challenges are bubbling up in welfare municipalities across Finland
Last week, the welfare services county of Pohjois Ostrobothnia, Pohde, announced that it would start extensive negotiations as part of a 90 million euro cost-saving program. Welfare service provinces were created as part of the long-discussed social and health reform implemented by the previous government. The counties started their operations at the beginning of 2023…
Hamas and Fatah meet in Moscow
Today, representatives from terrorist-branded Hamas, which rules in Gaza, and Fatah, which rules the West Bank, will meet in Moscow. During the meeting, the possibilities for a Palestinian unity government will be discussed. Hear Ekot's foreign reporter Johan Mathias Sommarström and Aaron Lundanalyst at FOI, Total Defense Research Institute.
The brewing lobby says the government's alcohol reform plans are too limited
According to the proposed amendments to the Alcohol Act, the majority of alcohol content above 5.5 percent would still be available only in state-owned Alko stores.
The Swedish People's Party elects a new chairman
Henriksson, who has led the almost eternal youth coalition partner since 2016, said that the last couple of years have been difficult. He served as the country's justice minister in the government navigating through the coronavirus pandemic and led his party during the summer, which was dominated by difficult coalition negotiations with the Basic Finns.…
NATO countries refuse to support Macron's troops in Ukraine's claims
There are no plans for Western boots on the ground, several leaders have insisted Britain, Poland, the Czech Republic, Finland and Sweden spoke out on Tuesday against French President Emmanuel Macron's proposal that Western troops could be deployed in Ukraine. Although there was no consensus on sending ground forces, Macron said on Monday after a…
Ethiopia arrests French journalist
washington – A French journalist on assignment in Ethiopia is in custody after being arrested in the capital Addis Ababa. Antoine Galindo, who works for the Paris-based media outlet Africa Intelligence, was arrested at a hotel while interviewing Bate Urgessa, spokesperson for the opposition party Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). Police also arrested Bate, according to…
More than 100 members of the European Parliament demand continued funding for UNRWA amid the Gaza crisis
Finnish MEP Alviina AlametsäThe Greens representative has been a prominent signatory to a collective letter addressed to key figures in the European Union, including the presidents of the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament. The letter highlights the moral suspension of halting funding to UNRWA, an organization that acts as a lifeline…
Finland clearly falls short of the climate neutrality goal, researchers see
Its calculations show that the land use sector can remain a significant source of emissions until 2035, when emissions from forests will possibly increase and the carbon sink of forests will effectively remain at the current level due to heavy logging and the suspension of Russian wood experts. Luke's researchers estimate that the amount of…
The Danish Prime Minister meets heads of government at a major Ukraine conference in Paris
Ukraine's global allies are meeting in Paris today to reaffirm their unity and determination to overcome the “war of aggression waged by Russia.” Plus, Copenhagen's M3 and M4 metro lines reopen, Ryanair announces fewer flights at higher prices this summer due to the Boeing production crisis, and a Danish oil tanker is hit by a…
Hamina's battery factory gets permission to discharge waste water into the Baltic Sea
AVI for Southern Finland stated that the sulfate contained in the wastewater does not cause significant harm to the environment or the risk of such harm if the facility is used in accordance with the permit. Non-governmental organizations have launched a petition demanding partial cancellation of the environmental permit and obliging the facility to treat…
Satonen: Political restrictions and sympathy attacks will hopefully encourage investments in Finland
“This creates a certain kind of certainty, for example, for those entities that are considering investing in Finland. We lack rules for political and sympathy strikes, and now we are making them. These measures are moderate in international comparison, he said stated at a press conference in Helsinki. The bill was not released Thursday. However,…
Iceland will increase financial assistance to Ukraine
At yesterday's government meeting, Foreign Minister Bjarni Benediktsson presented a project of Iceland's support for Ukraine in 2024–2028. Aid for Ukraine will be increased compared to last year and will be comparable to that declared by other Nordic countries. “Today marks two years since Russia launched a full-scale, illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” he…
Friday's papers: New border law, anti-Roma discrimination, Flood warning
The Finnish media reports on Friday that the government is preparing a “drastic” new law, the aim of which is to further tighten the security of Russia's eastern border.
Debate: Should it be illegal to deny the Holocaust?
The government has proposed changes to the regulations on incitement against ethnic groups. In the proposal, they want it to be a crime to deny, for example, the Holocaust under certain conditions. Mattias Svensson, editorial writer at Svenska Dagbladet, is against criminalization – while Anders Lindberg, political editor-in-chief of Aftonbladet, is behind the government's proposal.
Orpo's board easily wins a vote of confidence on labor market issues
The right-wing government won the difference 89-73.
Agreement on measures relating to immigration
The government agreed to take action on people seeking international protection, refugees and immigrants. This was announced after the meeting, which ended shortly before noon today. “The aim is to promote better, more efficient and clearer policy implementation and to improve services supporting the management of overseas immigrants and refugees. The overall vision focuses on…
Finnish MPs appeal to the government to continue funding UNRWA
MPs claim that the decision to suspend funding was based on insufficient grounds, especially given the plight of Gaza's civilians. UNRWA, the only humanitarian agency capable of providing large-scale aid in the region, has announced that its current financial resources are insufficient to cover all aid needs even until the end of February. Gaza is…
Experts question the arguments of Finnish ministers to curb political strikes
“When we use Sweden as an example, which we follow in many respects, political strikes have practically been limited to two or three hours,” he comment For YLE in February. Minister of Economy Will Rydman (PS), on the other hand, is one of several members of the government who have argued that the industrial peace…
Average speed control in the Hvalfjörður tunnel
Average speed controls will be introduced in the Hvalfjörður tunnel on Thursday. The speed limit in the Hvalfjörður Tunnel is 70 kilometers per hour. The same type of average speed control can be found in the tunnels between Neskaupstaður and Eskifjörður and in the Dýrafjörður tunnels. In the announcement of the Road Administration we can…
HS survey: The popularity of basic Finns is increasing, SPP's result is at a record low
Purussuomalaiset and Kokooomus did well in Helsingin Sanomat's vote, but their government partner, the Swedish People's Party, recorded its worst result since the paper's 1991 vote.
Unpaid sick leave and unemployment benefit cuts – Yle's survey reveals the government's most unpopular plans
People expressed which of the reforms planned by the government they were against the most and which would be the easiest to accept.
The Armed Forces on the biggest threats: Must presents annual overview
The military intelligence and security service (Must) conducts activities within defense intelligence, military intelligence and military security. The compilation is made on behalf of the government every year. Hear about the crises that are going on at the same time and that affect us in a complex way, about new threats – for example in…
A Traveller's Handbook: Betting in the Land of Fjords
In Norway's beautiful landscape and reserved Norwegian mentality, where some of the most important values are tolerance and equality, gambling in many ways has a distinctive form due to the country's state monopoly on gambling. In contrast to some of its counterparts such as Sweden or Denmark, Norway keeps and limits its gambling industry to…
Norway's government will take care of world heritage abroad, but not in Norway.
Through the Oil Fund, Norway has taken action to preserve 40,000-year-old rock art in Indonesia. At home, however, the government has given the green light for development in an area with rock carvings. In 2022, Indonesian mining company Semen Tonasa was placed on a three-year watch list due to the risk of damaging prehistoric cultural…
Saarikko will not apply for a second term as chairman of the center
Saarikko, a 40-year-old member of parliament who served in the fourth election term from Finland proper, was elected to the leadership of the rural right-wing party in the second half of 2020. The center will elect its next chairman at the party meeting to be held in Jyväskylä in June. She told the press conference…
Scarcity of jobs and discrimination are major obstacles to employment, it turns out
The goal of the survey conducted at the end of 2023 was to find out possible employment services that the fund could offer to its members in the future. Respondents highlighted the paucity of possible job opportunities and long commutes as the biggest obstacles, and discrimination and lack of skills or education also emerged as…
The left-wing parties submit a motion of no confidence due to the turmoil in the labor market
The government still says it will continue the planned reforms.