Politics
Three ministers from the National Coalition Party have publicly criticised Minister of Social Affairs and Health Wille Rydman (Finns Party) over his decision to withhold funding from certain social work research projects and his controversial criteria for state subsidies to social and health organisations. Ministers Anna-Kaisa Ikonen (Local Government
Economy
Finland has fallen five places in the annual international competitiveness ranking published by the Swiss IMD Institute, dropping to 19th out of 70 countries. The decline marks the country’s lowest position since 2016 and the sharpest year-on-year drop since 2010, according to the Research Institute of the
Politics
Finland is purchasing RBS 70 NG short-range air defense systems from Sweden to the deal is valued at approximately 108 million euros (excluding VAT).
Sports
The Finnish government, led by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, granted €10 million in April to the Finnish Athletics Federation to support its bid to host the 2030 European Athletics Championships in Helsinki. The funding was allocated without the usual official preparation process, as Helsingin Sanomat (HS) first reported. The decision
Climate
Finland has submitted its draft National Restoration Plan for public consultation, outlining how the country will implement the EU’s Nature Restoration Regulation. However, the plan omits targets for boreal natural forests due to unresolved disagreements between government ministries, while also scaling back peatland restoration goals and facing a significant
Politics
The Finnish government has proposed stricter residence permit regulations to address labour exploitation, particularly targeting foreign workers. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has opened a consultation period on the draft legislation, with feedback accepted until 27 August 2026. Daily Finland and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment
Politics
The Finnish Government has appointed Minna Karvonen as the new Director General of the Finnish National Gallery. Her term will begin on 1 November 2026 and continue until 31 October 2031, as confirmed by the Ministry of Education and Culture. Karvonen currently serves as the Director of the Division for
Education
The University of Eastern Finland has announced it will appeal the Ministry of Education’s decision to deny funding for a child welfare research project. The move follows Minister of Education Ville Rydman’s (Finns Party) rejection of nine social work research proposals, including the university’s Feedback-Informed Approach
Politics
The opposition Social Democratic Party of Finland (SDP) has widened its lead over Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s National Coalition Party (KOK) in the latest opinion poll, with parliamentary elections now just nine months away. The government’s Finns Party has overtaken the Centre Party for third place, while overall
Politics
The Finnish Defence Forces implemented and subsequently lifted a temporary flight restriction area in the eastern Gulf of Finland on Thursday morning. The restriction was activated at 4:26 AM and lifted at 5:30 AM, according to an announcement on the social media platform X (Yle, Ilta-Sanomat). The
Politics
The decision to allocate conditional state aid to the Garden Helsinki project has drawn criticism over transparency, democratic processes, and the city’s long-term priorities, with governing party leaders facing scrutiny over how the agreement was reached. The project has also released new visualizations and revised plans, scaling back
Politics
Two Finnish Members of Parliament—Green League chair Sofia Virta and Finns Party MP Mikko Lundén—participated in the filming of the reality TV program Erikoisjoukot in June while reporting their absences from parliamentary duties as personal reasons. The cases have drawn attention to the accuracy of absence reporting in