Jussi Halla-aho, the chairperson of the Finns Party, believes the coronavirus epidemic is beginning to make way for other, ultimately bigger topics of discussion in Finland. (Heikki Saukkomaa – Lehtikuva)

THE FINNS PARTY overtook the Social Democratic Party with a 1.4-percentage-point surge in popular support in the latest opinion poll commissioned by YLE.

The Finnish public broadcasting company reported yesterday that the populist right-wing opposition party would win 20.9 per cent of the vote if the parliamentary elections were held today, a haul that would be 0.3 points larger than that of the Social Democrats.

Real estate agents had a busy month in November, according to statistics from Kiinteistömaailma. (Markku Ulander – Lehtikuva)

THE REAL ESTATE MARKET in Finland was unusually busy in November, reports Kiinteistömaailma.

The Finnish real estate brokerage chain revealed earlier this week that it brokered the sales of 1,197 properties in old and new housing companies in November, representing an increase of 15 per cent from the corresponding period in 2019.

Helsinki-based UPM on Wednesday announced it will trim its headcount by over 200 worldwide as a consequence of two rounds of consultative negotiations launched earlier this year. (Vesa Moilanen – Lehtikuva)

UPM on Wednesday announced it will axe 181 employees in Finland.

Almost a half, or 80, of the employees will be let go in its pulp division, 55 in its forest management division and 46 in its global support services division. The Finnish forest industry giant will also make redundant 21 employees of its support services in four other countries of operation.

Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services Krista Kiuru (SDP) was photographed at a government news conference in Helsinki on 26 November 2020. (Heikki Saukkomaa – Lehtikuva)

THE GOVERNMENT of Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) on Wednesday came to an agreement on its strategy for deploying vaccines against the new coronavirus.

“To protect the entire population, the vaccine will be offered [for free] to everyone who wants it and who doesn’t have health-related contraindications to being vaccinated,” Minister of Family Affairs and Social Services Krista Kiuru (SDP) was quoted as saying late yesterday evening by YLE.

Nornickel, together with Fortum and BASF aim to create a closed loop recycling cluster for electric vehicle batteries in Finland

The total budget of Norilsk Nickel's programs to reduce air pollution is $ 3.6 billion, which is the largest environmental project in Russia. This was announced on Tuesday at Capital Markets Day, an event held online this year.

«On our Sulphur Programme, which consists of a variety of projects, we plan $3.6 billion between 2010 and 2030.

Lulu Ranne of the Finns Party on Tuesday said Finland’s contribution to the recovery plan is over two times as high as its receipts. (Jussi Nukari – Lehtikuva)

THE PARLIAMENTARY GROUPS of Finnish ruling parties have expressed their unanimous support for a government programme on sustainable growth that outlines the actions to be taken under the joint stimulus package of the European Union.

Minister of Finance Matti Vanhanen (Centre) on Tuesday stated in the Finnish Parliament that the stimulus package supports the recovery of both Finland and the EU.

Hanna Nohynek, a chief physician at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), reacted at a news conference in Helsinki on Tuesday, 1 December 2020. (Jussi Nukari – Lehtikuva)

THE VACCINATIONS of Finns against the new coronavirus may begin in January, reports Helsingin Sanomat.

The daily newspaper wrote yesterday that health care professionals, elderly people and people at risk of developing serious symptoms will be the first groups to receive one of the promising vaccines that are being fast-tracked to the market.

A sign outside the office of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) on Mannerheimintie in Helsinki on Monday, 29 November 2020. (Heikki Saukkomaa – Lehtikuva)

ABOUT A QUARTER of Finland’s laboratory-confirmed coronavirus infections have been detected in people whose mother tongue is neither Finnish, Swedish nor Sami, reports the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).

Foreign-language speakers account for eight per cent of the population of Finland.

Jyri Häkämies, the chief executive of the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK), has expressed his disappointment with the collapse of talks over measures to boost employment at the older end of the working-age population. (Roni Rekomaa – Lehtikuva)

NEGOTIATIONS between Finnish labour market organisations over measures to improve employment among over 55-year-olds have ended inconclusively.

The Finnish government announced at the beginning of the autumn that labour market organisations have been granted a few months to agree on measures to boost employment among ageing job seekers and create about 10,000–12,000 jobs.

A person entering a newly built flat in Pasila, Helsinki, in September 2020. (Hanna Matikainen – Lehtikuva)

HOUSING COSTS in Finland are fairly reasonable despite a widespread perception of the country as a country of high housing costs, indicates a study conducted by the University of Turku.

While Finns on average spend less than a fifth of their income on housing, less than the average spent by people in other parts of the European Union, the average conceals a pronounced disparity between the costs of tenants and homeowners, according to YLE.