A person holding glasses over coins and banknotes on a table in Espoo on 5 August 2022. Consumer prices in Finland rose by 7.8 per cent year-on-year in July, according to Statistics Finland. (Heikki Saukkomaa – Lehtikuva)

CONSUMER PRICES in Finland surged at a year-on-year clip of 7.8 per cent for the second consecutive month in July, indicates the latest consumer price index of Statistics Finland.

Jukka Appelqvist, the chief economist at Finland Chamber of Commerce, described the increase in prices as “absolutely exceptional” in recent history, highlighting that monthly consumer prices have crept up at an average pace of 1.6 per cent in the 2000s.

Minister of Defence Antti Kaikkonen (Centre) spoke to reporters at the opening of the 240th National Defence Course in the House of the Estates in Helsinki on Monday, 15 August 2022. (Saara Peltola – Lehtikuva)

MINISTER of Defence Antti Kaikkonen (Centre) views that Finland is already fully compatible with Nato.

“The Nato compatibility we’ve developed for a long time is now showing its benefits. We’re now fully compatible with Nato. We satisfy the membership criteria of Nato. All you need to do is plug it in, I guess you could say,” he stated in his remarks at the opening of the 240th National Defence Course in the House of the Estates in Helsinki on Monday.

A long-distance train and commuter train at Riihimäki Station on 6 July 2022. (Jussi Nukari – Lehtikuva)

THE RUSSIAN INVASION of Ukraine has cast dark clouds also on a multibillion-euro railway project called Itärata in Finland, reports YLE.

The Finnish government decided last year to set up a special-purpose company to oversee the project under the Ministry of Transport and Communications, following more than a decade of planning the high-speed rail connection from Helsinki Airport via Porvoo to Kouvola.

Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä (Centre) attended a plenary session in the Finnish Parliament on 7 July 2022. Lintilä on Saturday told STT that the government has “no tricks up its sleeve” to bring down electricity prices next winter. (Vesa Moilanen – Lehtikuva)

THE FINNISH GOVERNMENT has no tricks up its sleeve for its upcoming energy-saving campaign that would enable households to reduce their electricity bills, warns Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä (Centre).

“There’s an expectation that we’ll pull out some tricks. The campaign is informative by nature. It isn’t completely clear to everyone what uses energy and how much,” he stated to STT on Saturday.

People enjoyed the warm weather at the Hietaniemi beach in Helsinki in late June 2022. The weather is forecast to remain summery in large parts of the country this week, according to YLE. (Roni Rekomaa – Lehtikuva)

LAST WEEKEND, temperatures hit 25°C as far up north as Vaasa.

Joonas Koskela, a meteorologist at YLE, on Sunday stated to the public broadcasting company that warm air is expected to continue spreading further north on Monday, pushing the mercury over 25°C possibly as far north as Oulu. The warm air is presently forecast to continue tracking north and arrive in Lapland on Tuesday.

A group of people, including a boy wearing a T-shirt with the letter Z, posed for a photograph on Red Square in Moscow on 25 July 2022. Professors in Finland have reminded that the need to understand Russian language, culture and society is great especially in the current circumstance. (Natalia Kolesnikova – AFP/Lehtikuva)

THE RUSSIAN INVASION of Ukraine has had an impact on people applying to study Russian at Tampere University, the University of Helsinki and the University of Eastern Finland.

STT on Sunday reported that some applicants chose not to take part in the entrance exam, whereas others turned down admission to the programmes. An understanding of the language and culture, though, is important particularly in the prevalent circumstance, indicated Tomi Huttunen, a professor of Russian literature and culture at the University of Helsinki.

Minister of Finance Annika Saarikko (Centre) has floated the possibility of the government introducing income tax cuts in exchange for wage moderation from labour market organisations. (Markku Ulander – Lehtikuva)

THE INDUSTRIAL Union and the Technology Industry Employers of Finland have not warmed up to the idea that the government make income tax breaks conditional on the wage agreements of labour market organisations, reports Helsingin Sanomat.

Minister of Finance Annika Saarikko (Centre) earlier this month floated the possibility of easing income taxation if labour market organisations exercise wage moderation.

Snow-covered power cables in Keuruu, Southern Finland, in November 2015. A colder-than-expected winter would exacerbate the difficulties of Finnish electricity suppliers struggling in the face of soaring wholesale prices. (Heikki Saukkomaa – Lehtikuva)

THE SURGE in electricity prices is putting a strain not only on households, but also on electricity suppliers.

Helsingin Sanomat on Thursday pointed out that three companies have left the electricity retail market in a short period of time: Energia 247 announced it is discontinuing the supply of energy to its customers in December. Fi-Nergy Voima was declared bankrupt in July. Lumo Energia discontinued its operations at the beginning of August.

A pedestrian carried a shopping bag in downtown Helsinki no 8 July 2022. (Mikko Stig – Lehtikuva)

THE DURATION of earnings-related unemployment allowance should be halved, proposes Etla Economic Research.

Etla on Tuesday published a report stating that slashing unemployment benefits for unemployed job seekers with the best opportunities to find employment would be a means to tackle various labour-market problems in Finland.

People by a wading pool in Vartiovuori Park in Turku, Southwest Finland, on 22 July 2022. Temperatures are today forecast to rebound close to 25°C especially in southern parts of the country after a period of cooler weather. (Anni Savolainen – Lehtikuva)

A STREAM of warm air will flow into Finland between Wednesday and Thursday, according to Joanna Rinne, a meteorologist at Foreca.

Rinne told Helsingin Sanomat on Tuesday that Thursday will be largely sunny in southern parts of the country, with temperatures rising to 23–26°C. Temperatures in Central Finland will hover between 21°C and 25°C and those in Lapland between 18°C and 21°C.