Government Proposes Amendments to Stea Funding Criteria Amid Deepening Political Rifts, Including Salary Cap, Minister’s Endorsement, and New Assessment Factors – Orpo Sets Binding Deadline and Threatens to Bypass Rydman

Permanent secretaries have submitted a draft proposal to amend the government decree governing Stea funding for social welfare and health sector associations and foundations. The proposal, sent to responsible ministers on Tuesday evening, aims to clarify and sharpen the criteria for granting subsidies amid ongoing debate over funding priorities and legal uncertainties. Yle reports that the completed draft was formally submitted to Minister of Social Affairs and Health Wille Rydman (Finns Party) on Wednesday, who described the proposal as aligning with his earlier guidelines and stated he was "positively surprised" by its contents (Yle). In an interview on Yle’s A-studio, Rydman reiterated that the draft decree "is in no way contradictory to the criteria I presented; rather, they fit within that framework" and confirmed he does not "want to rule out" accepting the proposal or presenting a regulation amendment (Yle). MTV Uutiset further reports that Rydman maintains the draft does not provide grounds to revise his previously presented grant criteria, reaffirming that his June guidelines remain in force. Rydman told MTV Uutiset that "the previously announced criteria fit within the framework of both the current decree and the proposed amendment" and that "if the decree were amended in the manner proposed by the permanent secretaries’ working group, the position of the previously announced criteria would only be strengthened, as many of the principles they contain would be elevated to the level of a decree" (MTV Uutiset). MTV Uutiset adds that Rydman has explicitly stated the draft regulation "would not provide grounds to change the criteria he has proposed" (MTV Uutiset). Yle adds that Rydman’s stance has created confusion, as he insists his criteria would remain applicable even if the decree is amended, raising questions about the legal hierarchy between ministerial guidelines and government decrees (Yle).