Government Withdraws €35 Million Support for Garden Helsinki Arena Amid Allegations of Misleading Parliament, Political Tensions, and Key Resignation

The Finnish government has formally withdrawn its conditional €35 million support package for the Garden Helsinki multi-purpose arena project, with Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) announcing on Monday that the project no longer has political backing. The decision follows weeks of scrutiny over the funding’s approval process, which critics argued lacked transparency and proper vetting. The government’s reversal comes as Parliament convened in an extraordinary session on Tuesday to assess the decision-making behind the state aid, with a confidence vote looming over the government’s future and allegations that Parliament may have been misled (Ilta-Sanomat, MTV Uutiset, Yle).