News about Finland

Coronavirus

COVID-19 EPIDEMIC

Finland records new daily coronavirus case record

Foreigner.fi/dpa 2/26/21

Prime Minister Sanna Marin cautioned on Friday that the restrictions will likely continue to run after March.

Business

YEAR-ON-YEAR FALL

Finland's GDP grew in the last quarter of 2020

Foreigner.fi 2/26/21

However, the annual comparison shows that the Finnish economy has shrunk compared to a year ago.

Prime Minister Sanna Marin announced the new measures at a press conference. Photo: Laura Kotila/Vnk.

Coronavirus

EPIDEMIC OUT OF CONTROL

Government announces a three-week shutdown of Finland from March 8

Foreigner.fi 2/25/21

"The tools previously available to us are no longer enough to control the situation," Prime Minister Sanna Marin said.

Medical staff in the Helsinki-Uusimaa hospital district. Photo: @HUS.

Coronavirus

EPIDEMIC IN FINLAND

Significant rise in Covid-19 cases and need for hospital care

Foreigner.fi 2/25/21

So far, a total of 690 cases of the new virus variants have been confirmed in Finland.

Tourism

TOURISM

Overnight stays of foreign tourists in Finland fell 93%

Foreigner.fi 2/25/21

Overnight stays did not increase from any of the most important foreign markets.

HANDOUT - 21 September 2020, Belgium, Brussels: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (R) meets with Finnish Foreign Affairs Minister Pekka Haavisto at the NATO headquarters. Photo: NATO/dpa.

Nordics

Swedish foreign policy statement criticized for ignoring NATO option, unlike Finland

Foreigner.fi/dpa 2/24/21

In December a majority of centre-right Swedish lawmakers said "Sweden should, like Finland , state that it is in favour of having a 'NATO option,'" referring to the defence alliance.

Prime Minister Sanna Marin, holding a video conference. Photo: Laura Kotila/Vnk.

National

EUROPEAN COUNCIL

Prime Minister Marin to attend video meeting of EU leaders

Foreigner.fi 2/24/21

Finland stresses the importance of speeding up vaccine delivery to the Member States and supports the Commission’s efforts to increase production in Europe.

21 December 2020, Finland, Vantaa: A view of the deserted second terminal at Helsinki-Vantaa airport, Finnair will be the first to cancel the flight to London this morning as it cancels all flights between Finland and the UK for two weeks due to concerns about a new variant of the coronavirus. Photo: Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva/dpa

Business

BUSINESS

Passengers at Finnish airports decreased 91% in January 2021

Foreigner.fi 2/24/21

Altogether, 179,304 passengers flew through Finnish airports, which was 91% fewer than twelve months earlier.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Photo: @Haavisto/Twitter.

National

UN

Foreign Minister Haavisto met with UN Secretary-General Guterres

Foreigner.fi 2/23/21

Haavisto and Guterres held a discussion on the crisis in Ethiopia.

Moving to Finland

LABOUR MIGRATION

Finland prepares new type of visa for specialists and entrepreneurs

Foreigner.fi 2/23/21

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs believes that the adoption of the national D visa will boost labour migration to the country.

28 December 2020, Finland, Tampere: A healthcare professional receives a dose of the Biontech/Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Tampere University Hospital. Photo: Kalle Parkkinen/Lehtikuva/dpa

Coronavirus

CORONAVIRUS

All you need to know about the Finnish digital vaccination certificate

Foreigner.fi 2/23/21

People could display the certificate on their phones or have it printed on paper.

Moving to Finland

STATISTICS

Finland gains population in 2021 due to the arrival of immigrants

Foreigner.fi 2/23/21

In January, 2,120 persons immigrated to Finland from abroad while 717 persons emigrated from the country.

Coronavirus

COVID-19

Finland reports 1,479 infections, 7 deaths in the last 72 hours

Foreigner.fi 2/22/21

So far, 556 cases of the new British, South African and Brazilian variants have been found.

Tourism

PANDEMIC

Coronavirus reduced tourist spending in Finland by €7 billion

Foreigner.fi 2/22/21

Domestic and foreign tourists spent 9.3 billion euros in Finland in 2020, which represents a fall of 42% from the amount spent in 2019.

The Foreign Ministers of Russia and Finland, with their teams, in Saint Petersburg. Photo: @ulkoministerio/Twitter.

National

EU-RUSSIA

Haavisto to inform Brussels of his meeting with Lavrov on Navalny

Foreigner.fi/dpa 2/21/21

The European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell renewed the threat of sanctions on Russia on Sunday, a day after two court rulings against the Kremlin's opponent.

Old houses in the Metropolitan area. Photo: Foreigner.fi

Lifestyle

REAL ESTATE

Prices of existing single-family homes rose 5.5% at the end of 2020

Foreigner.fi 2/21/21

In 2020, prices of existing single-family houses rose by 9.2% in Greater Helsinki and by 0.6% in the rest of Finland.

The prime ministers of Finland (R) and Estonia, during their meeting in Helsinki. Photo: Laura Kotila/Vnk.

National

NEIGHBOURS

Marin commissioned former minister to "study" how to improve relations with Estonia

Foreigner.fi 2/19/21

Prime Minister Marin and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas met on Friday in Helsinki.

Coronavirus

EPIDEMIC

Finland amends law to oblige medical examinations upon arrival

Foreigner.fi 2/19/21

Under the amended act, those who refuse to undergo a compulsory health examination may face a fine or imprisonment.

A supermarket in Espoo. Photo: Foreigner.fi.

Business

CONSUMER PRICES

Prices of tobacco, train tickets, houses raised inflation in January

Foreigner.fi 2/19/21

From December to January, the month-on-month change of consumer prices was 0.3%, which was caused by higher prices of petrol compared to the previous month.