A Finnish man has been acquitted of charges for running a business that sold 235,000 litres of alcohol from Estonia to Finland in 2014–2016. (Martti Kainulainen – Lehtikuva)

THE DISTRICT COURT of Helsinki has dismissed all charges in a case related to Vironviina, a website allowing consumers to order alcohol from Estonia and Latvia.

The Finnish owner of the business had been charged with aggravated tax fraud and aggravated alcohol offence for neglecting to pay around 1.65 million euros in taxes for the sales of more than 235,000 litres of alcohol between 2014 and 2016.

Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Jari Leppä (Centre) had the floor during a question-time debate in the Finnish Parliament in Helsinki on Thursday, 20 February 2020. (Jussi Nukari – Lehtikuva)

THE BUDGET SUMMIT of the European Union stirred up concerns during the question-time debate in the Finnish Parliament on Thursday.

Janne Sankelo (NCP) asked the Finnish government to elaborate how it intends to foster the confidence of agricultural business owners in the future amid reports that it is about to lose around 310 million euros in agricultural subsidies from the EU.

Jorma Malinen, the chairperson of Trade Union Pro, spoke to the media in the midst of collective bargaining negotiations with Finnish Forest Industries. (Roni Rekomaa – Lehtikuva)

TRADE UNION PRO and Finnish Forest Industries have put aside their differences over the terms of employment of white-collar workers in the chemical forest industry by accepting a settlement proposal tabled by the Office of the National Conciliator.

The new collective bargaining agreement will raise the wages in accordance with the general scope for raises and abolish the 24-hour increase in annual working time.

Johanna Ojala-Niemelä (SDP), the chairperson of the Parliament’s Constitutional Law Committee, talked to reporters in Helsinki on Wednesday, 19 February 2020. (Roni Rekomaa – Lehtikuva)

THE CONSTITUTIONAL Law Committee of the Finnish Parliament has asked the Prosecutor General to open a pre-trial investigation into the actions of Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto (Greens) in regards to the situation of Finns in al-Hol, Syria.

The extremely rare decision was made unanimously, according to Johanna Ojala-Niemelä (SDP), the chairperson of the Constitutional Law Committee.

Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s (left) Social Democrats and Minister of Finance Katri Kulmuni’s Centre Party were the only ruling parties to record an increase in popular support between January and February. (Vesa Moilanen – Lehtikuva)

THE CENTRE PARTY has begun to show signs of recovering from its historically poor performance in opinion polls, reports Helsingin Sanomat.

A poll commissioned by the daily newspaper indicates that support for the traditional centrist party has crept up to 12 per cent, further away from the 10 per cent-mark that has been considered critical for the party.

Krista Mikkonen (Greens), the Minister of Climate and the Environment, says the government must make haste with the mining act reform it outlined in its action plan. (Emmi Korhonen – Lehtikuva)

KRISTA MIKKONEN (Greens), the Minister of Climate and the Environment, has urged the government to make haste with the mining act reform outlined in the government programme.

Mikkonen on Tuesday said the government should take immediate action to limit the permit for prospecting for minerals, reminding that prospecting can currently lead to up to 20 years of uncertainty for the area, starting from the staking of claim to the expiry of extended permits.

The National Bureau of Investigation (KRP) on Tuesday said it has wrapped up a pre-trial investigation in to the fraudulent activity of four senior employees of Cargotec, a Finnish manufacturer of cargo-handling machinery. (Emmi Korhonen – Lehtikuva)

THE NATIONAL BUREAU of Investigation (KRP) on Tuesday announced it has completed a pre-trial investigation into a suspected large-scale fraud at Cargotec, a Finnish manufacturer of cargo-handling machinery.

A total of four employees are suspected of defrauding 14 million euros from the company with made-up invoices payable to overseas bank accounts in 2002–2017.

Henrik Ehrnrooth, the CEO of Kone, was photographed at the earnings call of the lift and escalator manufacturer in Espoo, Finland, on 28 January 2020. (Markku Ulander – Lehtikuva)

KONE on Monday announced its decision to withdraw from discussions to acquire the lift business of Thyssenkrupp, an engineering giant headquartered in Essen, Germany.

The Finnish lift and escalator manufacturer stated earlier this year it has tabled a non-binding offer worth approximately 17 billion euros for the business together with CVC Capital Partners, a private equity firm based in Luxembourg.

Finnair on Friday said it has extended the cancellations of flights to mainland China until late March. (Antti Aimo-Koivisto – Lehtikuva)

FINNAIR on Friday announced it has extended the cancellations of flights to mainland China until 28 March.

The Finnish majority state-owned airline cited a decline in demand caused by the coronavirus epidemic as the reason for its decision to cancel flights to Beijing Capital Airport and Shanghai Pudong International Airport between 1 and 28 March.

Annika Rönni-Sällinen, the chairperson of Service Union United (PAM), is pleased that employees in the real estate services sector will see their wages go up by two per cent as of April 2020. (Markku Ulander – Lehtikuva)

SERVICE UNION UNITED (PAM) has called off its strikes in the real estate services sector after finding common ground on a new collective bargaining agreement with Real Estate Employers.

The agreement will do away with the 24-hour increase in annual working time introduced in the competitiveness pact as of 2021 and raise wages in the sector by two per cent as of April 2020 and 1.3 per cent as of April 2021.