Budget proposal for 2021 provides a route for exiting the COVID-19 crisis
The Government is committed to protecting people’s wellbeing and the ability of businesses to cope during the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis in Finland, with as few detrimental human and economic consequences as possible. Its recovery-focused budget proposal for 2021 provides a route for exiting the crisis and continues the development of the welfare state in a socially, ecologically and economically sustainable manner.
The Government’s economic policy aims to protect people’s wellbeing during the COVID-19 crisis and to create the conditions for an ecologically sustainable recovery in the economy and in employment. The Government has reached agreement on a series of significant investments in employment, climate change mitigation, skills and competence, municipal basic services and industrial competitiveness. The decisions taken will underpin the sustainable development of Finland’s welfare state in the longer term.
The Government, during its term, will take employment measures to strengthen the economy, aiming to have an employment-generating impact amounting to 80,000 new jobs. The measures decided in the budget session, combined with the Government’s earlier employment measures, are expected to generate 31,000–36,000 jobs. The next set of employment measures will be decided in the Government’s mid-term policy review session.
The Government is seeking to reduce climate emissions and support growth in the economy by reforming energy taxation and supporting the electrification of industry. The aim of Finland’s sustainable growth programme to be established using EU recovery funding is to allocate EUR 0.9–1.2 billion over several years directly for supporting a green transition. The Government’s long-term solutions on industrial, energy and tax policies decided in the government budget session will strengthen Finland’s position as a safe, predictable and competitive country for investment and will generate jobs.
The budget proposal also establishes the conditions for sustainable growth in competence levels and in employment by reforming compulsory education to extend it to the age to 18, by investing in continuous learning and by lowering fees for early childhood education and care.
The Government is proposing a total package of about EUR 4 billion in direct COVID-19-related costs for dismantling the treatment and service backlog caused by the virus crisis and for supporting local government finances. At this stage the total additional sum proposed in direct COVID-19 expenditure is approximately EUR 2 billion for 2020 and 2021. These costs will be reimbursed in full for as long as is required for implementing the hybrid strategy. It is also proposed that a package of measures totalling EUR 1.45 billion be included in supplementary budget proposals in autumn 2020 and in 2021. The Government also undertakes to dismantle the backlog in treatment and services through a EUR 450 million package of measures in 2021–2023.
Since the proceeds from gambling will decrease, the Government will fully secure the funding for beneficiaries for 2021.
The Government proposes a total budget authority of approximately EUR 130 million and an appropriation of EUR 13.5 million for three new transport infrastructure projects (lengthening of locks in the Saimaa Canal, improvement of highway 4 between Äänekoski and Viitasaari, phase 1 upgrading of the Tampere-Jyväskylä rail connection).
The budget proposal for 2021 totals EUR 64.2 billion.
Government decides on employment boosting measures and raises its employment target
In its budget session, the Government has put together a comprehensive employment package involving a systemic change towards the Nordic employment service model, measures to improve youth employment and the education level of the population as a whole, and a package to improve the employment rate and labour market position of people aged over 55. The Government will request the social partners to prepare a balanced proposal for measures to promote the employment rate of people aged over 55 and to improve their labour market position and wellbeing at work. The proposal is expected by the end of November 2020. If the steps proposed are insufficient for achieving the targets set, the Government will decide on the necessary detailed measures in December 2020.
The Government, during its term, will take employment measures to strengthen the economy, aiming to have an employment-generating impact amounting to 80,000 new jobs. The measures decided in the budget session, combined with the Government’s earlier employment measures, are expected to generate 31,000–36,000 jobs. The next set of employment measures will be decided in the Government’s mid-term policy review session.
The Government is also committed to promoting pay transparency by legislative means. To guarantee a well-functioning labour market, the Government will implement 14 measures proposed by the working group for preventing the exploitation of foreign labour.
A more detailed description of the employment measures is available in the minutes of the government budget session.
Appendix 1: Government employment measures in the budget session
Local government finances and basic public services in municipalities to receive a substantial support package of EUR 1.45 billion
The coronavirus epidemic has significantly impacted local government finances owing to reduced tax revenue, among other effects. This, in combination with the pre-existing financial difficulties of many local authorities, has created major challenges for a number of local authorities. In its fourth supplementary budget of the year, the Government introduced a substantial financial package to address the difficult situation in local government finances, and it plans to increase the package further in the supplementary budget proposal due to be submitted this autumn.
The Government proposes to further support local government finances in 2021 through an extensive package. A one-off increase of EUR 300 million will be introduced to central government transfers to local government for basic public services. EUR 20 million of this increase will be allocated towards a discretionary increase in central government transfers. As a rule, the increase will be allocated using the same grounds for allocation as were used in the 2020 package to support local government finances. In addition, a fixed-term increase of 10 percentage points will be made to the local authorities’ share of corporation tax in 2021 (overall annual impact EUR 550 million). Costs directly linked to the COVID-19 epidemic, such as testing costs, will be fully reimbursed by the central government to local authorities and hospital districts.
In addition, the Government plans to allocate a total of EUR 600 million to local authorities and hospital districts in the autumn supplementary budget proposal for 2020. Central government transfers for basic public services would receive a one-off increase of EUR 400 million for 2020 and hospital districts EUR 200 million for 2020.
The Government will begin preparations for a multiannual reform package to improve the availability of health and social services and address the backlog in treatment and services. The Government undertakes to address disruptions in treatment and services by introducing a financing package of EUR 450 million between 2021 and 2023.
Discretionary government grants allocated to local authorities will total EUR 12.5 billion in 2021, representing an increase of approximately EUR 0.9 billion on the 2020 ordinary Budget. A total of EUR 8.7 billion will be proposed for imputed central government transfers, representing an increase of approximately EUR 0.6 billion on the approved 2020 Budget.
The budget proposal for 2021 will involve significant changes to local government finances through the extension of compulsory education and the binding minimum staffing level for care personnel in services for older people, among other reforms. The impact of these reforms on local government finances will increase gradually in many duties. Local authorities will receive full central government financing for their extended duties. The impact of the binding minimum staffing level, for example, will be EUR 53 million in 2021, reaching EUR 266 million by 2024. These discretionary measures of a permanent nature that reinforce care and education services and reduce families’ expenses will be compensated 100 per cent to local authorities to the extent that they increase local government expenditure. This increase is estimated to total EUR 370 million in 2021, rising to approximately EUR 790 million by 2024.
Direct costs arising from COVID-19 to be reimbursed
Any direct costs arising from COVID-19, such as expenditure related to testing and the expansion of testing capacity, tracing of transmission chains, quarantines, treatment of patients, health security of those travelling and a vaccine against the virus, will be reimbursed in full as long as the epidemiological situation and the implementation of the hybrid strategy so require. Exceptionally, such expenditure will be covered from outside the central government spending limits framework in 2021. As part of this package, the budget proposal for 2021 reserves EUR 1.4 billion for testing required by the hybrid strategy; EUR 355 million will be reserved for this in the autumn 2020 supplementary budget proposal. Appropriations will be reviewed as necessary when more detailed cost estimates for 2021 become available.
The budget proposal reserves EUR 30 million for supporting investment connected with testing technology. In the Government’s budget proposal, a total of EUR 30 million is allocated to additional costs related to the strengthening of health security at border crossing points, excluding costs related to testing. In addition, EUR 200 million is allocated for hospital districts and municipalities to cover direct costs arising from COVID-19 other than those resulting from testing. With regard to the costs mentioned above, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Ministry of Finance are jointly preparing a package of financial aid schemes for municipalities and hospital districts while keeping the incentives for cost-effective activities unchanged.
Viability of organisations to be safeguarded as revenue from proceeds of gambling services diminishes
In 2021, the beneficiaries of proceeds from gambling services will be allocated funding that corresponds to the 2019 funding level. This compensation (EUR 347 million) will be financed by reducing the lottery tax (impact of EUR 80 million on proceeds entered as revenue), by budget funds with a spending limit impact (EUR 152.2 million, of which EUR 141.5 million in the Ministry of Education and Culture and its administrative branch, and EUR 10.7 million in the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and its administrative branch), and by making use of the non-distributed proceeds (EUR 114.8 million in the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and its administrative branch).
It is estimated that in the coming years the proceeds from gambling services entered as revenue will remain lower than at present. The compensation will continue beyond 2021, but it will not be possible to fully compensate for the reduced revenue due to diminished proceeds in the future. In accordance with the Government Programme, a project to reform the Lotteries Act will be taken forward without delay in order to secure the fund-channelling monopoly system. The aim is to submit the proposal to Parliament by June 2021.
Ecologically sustainable Finland
The Government will pursue measures that will make Finland carbon neutral by 2035 and carbon negative soon after that. The Government is preparing a renewable industry strategy, which aims to boost exports, thereby creating opportunities for the sustainable growth of domestic demand and employment. To drive investment and the creation of new jobs, the Government undertakes to secure a stable, encouraging and predictable business environment and to secure the operating conditions for companies. In its budget session, the Government has decided on the following measures to improve the operating conditions for industry.
The industrial electricity tax will be lowered to the minimum rate allowed by the EU. The industrial energy tax rebate system will be abolished over a four-year transition period, ending companies’ entitlement to energy tax rebates in 2025. The existing energy subsidies will support industry’s transition to emission-free technologies during and after the transition period.
Under the existing legislation, the current emissions trading compensation system will be discontinued. A new fixed-term subsidy for electrification will be made available for energy-intensive companies to create a stronger incentive for carbon-neutral production and for the electrification of energy-intensive companies. This subsidy will also take cost competitiveness into account. The halving of fairway dues will continue.
Taxation on heating fuels, such as coal, natural gas and fuel oil, will be increased by EUR 105 million net from the beginning of 2021. This will include an increase in peat taxation of EUR 2.7 per megawatt hour. A price floor mechanism will be introduced in peat taxation in 2022 which, together with the emission allowance pricing, will ensure that the energy use of peat will be cut by at least half by 2030, in accordance with the Government Programme. Decisions regarding the specific details of the mechanism will be made in the government spending limits discussion in 2021 based on a proposal prepared by experts. The Government will use part of the Just Transition Fund (JTF) to support investments in peat replacement. In addition, funds from the JTF will be used to support adaptation by peat entrepreneurs and peat workers who will lose their livelihood, and extensive business diversification in the affected areas.
The transfer of heat pumps and data centres generating heat for district heating networks to category II electricity tax in accordance with the Government Programme will be implemented as soon as possible to permit entry into force in 2021.
For the next funding period the Government aims to allocate at least EUR 80 million to investments in agriculture that reduce climate emissions from agriculture and increase carbon sinks while also developing the operating environment of the sector.
To promote a reduction in industrial emissions, the State Business Development Company (VAKE) will be transferred to the ownership steering oversight of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and turned into Ilmastorahasto Oy (Climate Fund) by a change to its articles of association. The company will be capitalised with EUR 300 million during 2020, in accordance with decisions made earlier.
The second phase of the energy taxation reform will begin by setting up a body in the autumn to prepare an energy taxation roadmap by the end of 2021, which together with emissions trading will support the achievement of the carbon neutrality target to 2035. The preparation process includes an assessment of how the tax base can be safeguarded in connection with emission reductions and technological advances in a way that is socially and regionally fair and just, while taking into account the operating environment of the business sector. Decisions on the measures included in the roadmap will be made by the end of 2021 at the latest.
The transition to low-emission transport will be supported by implementing at the start of 2021 a tax reform concerning employment-related transport benefits. The taxable value of fully electric vehicles used as company cars will be lowered and the charging benefits of electric vehicles at workplaces and in public recharging points will be made a tax-free benefit in 2021–2025. In addition, the taxation of employer-subsidised commuter tickets will be simplified and company bicycles will be made a tax-free benefit up to EUR 1,200.
By the 2021 government discussion on spending limits, further preparations will be made on the reform of company car taxation to ensure that this taxation will provide an incentive to choose low-emission vehicles as company cars. In this context, an assessment will be made of how taxation could be used to encourage the purchase of gas vehicles and plug-in hybrids, as well as fully electric cars. The aim is that in the next few years a significant number of affordable, little-used low-emission vehicles would be released onto the market after being used as company cars. The Government will launch a research project on emission-based taxation of consumption and a study on a packaging tax for packages made from non-renewable natural resources.
Appendix 2: Strategy for renewable industry
Sustainable growth programme for Finland
In the budget session the Government agreed to prepare a sustainable growth programme for Finland that will focus on implementing the objectives of the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility in further preparation related to this. In further work being coordinated by a working group appointed on 4 September 2020, the funding for Finland’s sustainable growth programme is to be divided into the following six fast-track priorities, based on recommendations of the European Semester:
- Returning Finland to a sustainable growth track through education, research and innovation
- Supporting structural change in the economy through a green transition
- Securing Finland’s international competitiveness
- Strengthening sustainable infrastructure and the digital transformation
- Ensuring the functioning of the labour market, services for the unemployed and development of working life
- Improving access to health and social services and increasing their cost-effectiveness
In formulating the sets of measures, the focus will be on the following cross-cutting criteria:
- positive impacts in the long term
- enhancing growth potential as well as economic and social resilience and cohesion
- supporting the green transition and digitalisation and improving productivity in the whole country
- funding on a temporary basis.
Part of the funding will be used for appropriations granted in a 2020 supplementary budget on which costs are incurred in 2021–2023 and which are in line with the above priorities and criteria. During the autumn the Government will submit a report to Parliament on the envisaged use of the funds for Finland’s sustainable growth programme.
Appendix 3: Government policy on the priorities and principles of Finland’s sustainable growth programme for further preparation
Investments in education and competence will increase Finland's level of education
The aim of the Government is to raise Finland's level of education and competence and to reduce learning disparities at all levels of education in order to strengthen equality and enable sustainable growth in employment.
In accordance with the Government Programme, compulsory education will be raised to the age of 18 and free-of-charge upper secondary education will be implemented at the same time. These changes will be adopted gradually from autumn 2021 onwards, one age group at a time. Local authorities and other education providers will receive full reimbursement as a central government transfer for these expenses. EUR 22 million has been reserved for 2021 for extending compulsory education, and the level will rise to EUR 129 million by 2024. This appropriation will cover items such as learning materials and tools, which will become free of charge for families, and the expansion of the subsidies for school journeys.
As outlined in the Government Programme, a model of three-tier support will be developed for early childhood education and care. EUR 15 million is reserved for developing and implementing the model. This is a new structural measure to strengthen quality and equality in early childhood education and care.
As part of the Government's employment measures, the fees for early childhood education and care will be reduced by a net of EUR 70 million at the annual level. This will be compensated to local authorities by increasing their share of corporation tax.
The increase in the maximum price for student meals introduced on 1 August 2020 will be compensated by an increased appropriation of EUR 4.2 million, which will raise the meal allowance by EUR 0.36. The level of the meal allowance will be EUR 2.30 per meal as of 1 January 2021.
In connection with the budget session, the Government also decided that the resources for vocational education and training will be boosted by allocating EUR 150 million for recruiting teachers and instructors by 2022. The additional resources will help increase the amount of contact teaching to ensure learning is of high quality. A programme for quality will be launched to improve the quality of general upper secondary education. EUR 15 million will is allocated for this purpose. EUR 40 million will be allocated for promoting continuous learning. The funding will be used in particular to develop the skills of people of working age, to improve the skills of those who have poor basic skills and to facilitate the employment of older people.
Tax changes support sustainable growth
The energy taxation reform will start to be implemented in 2021. The electricity tax paid by industry (tax category II) will be lowered to the EU minimum level to improve the operating conditions for industry. Taxes on heating fuels and fuels used in non-road mobile machinery will be increased by a net EUR 105 million in line with the Government Programme. Taxes on alcohol and tobacco products will be raised to promote public health. Index adjustments will be made to the earned income tax bases at all income levels to ensure that the tax burden does not increase as a result of a general rise in earnings. It is estimated that the changes in the tax bases will have an annual net impact of approximately EUR -1.0 billion on central government tax revenue in 2021. The Government will make preparations for a research cooperation incentive to be introduced on a temporary basis.
Agriculture
In its budget session, the Government decided to allocate EUR 7,788 million in national funding for agriculture and rural development in 2021–2027. The purpose of the national funding is to complement the EU funding that was agreed on in July 2020. The EU funding solution agreed on in July has not yet been taken into account in the appropriations for the items allocated for support. The share of EU funding in the budget will be further specified in connection with the supplementary budget as the EU clarifies its country-specific proposals. The funding package will be complemented by recovery funding for the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. The decision on the total amount of national funding supports the objectives of the Government Programme and the advancement of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy.
The EU's Common Agricultural Policy is implemented as a multi-annual package, as is the case with the other policy sectors and funds included in the EU’s multiannual financial framework. The upcoming funding period covers the years 2021–2027. During the transitional period, the measures of the current programming period will continue but with funds from the new funding period. Preparations for the aid scheme to be implemented in 2023–2027 will continue.
An increase of EUR 2.5 million is proposed for the compensation given for damage to reindeer caused large carnivores.
Excerpts from the budget proposal
In addition to discretionary increases to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 situation, the higher level of appropriations in the budget proposal compared to the approved 2020 Budget is mainly attributable to increased unemployment expenditure, statutory and contractual index increases, the government pay settlement and additional investments already decided on. In addition, the level of appropriations will be increased by the spill-over effects of the spring supplementary budgets on 2021, which will amount to approximately EUR 1.0 billion. In particular, the stimulus package in this year’s fourth supplementary budget will have a broad impact, for instance in the form of payments for multiannual transport infrastructure projects and the support measures for businesses.
The budget proposal includes a provision of EUR 1.5 billion for the procurement of fighter aircraft, but the need for funding will be clarified as the procurement process progresses. The budget proposal will include proposed budget authority for up to EUR 10 billion in funding. According to current information, the payments will take place between 2021 and 2031.
The number of asylum seekers has fallen to its lowest level for years. As stated in the Government Programme, decisions on the number of quota refugees take into account the number of asylum seekers. The Government proposes raising the refugee quota by 200 persons to 1,050. With this in mind, an increase of EUR 2.1 million is proposed in the budget proposal for 2021.
Approximately EUR 848 million in net appropriations is proposed for the police. An increase of EUR 10 million was already proposed earlier for the 2021 budget proposal to safeguard the operational capacity of the police, along with EUR 465,000 to strengthen capacity to investigate the shadow economy and financial crime and to cover the increase in premises costs. In addition, the Government proposes an additional EUR 4.1 million to strengthen crime prevention, with a particular focus on additional resources for the first phase of crime prevention related to trafficking in human beings, the fight against economic crime, IT crime investigation and surveillance and alert functions, especially as concerns security services in sparsely populated areas. The presence and visibility of the police will be increased, especially in areas with the lowest service level.
A total of EUR 277 million in net appropriations is proposed for the Border Guard. In addition to the decisions made earlier, an appropriation of EUR 10 million will be added for 2021 in order to ensure operational performance, along with EUR 2.5 million to improve the security of premises. In its supplementary budget proposal, the Government is prepared to include a procurement authorisation for the Border Guard for two offshore patrol vessels.
A total of EUR 10.55 million in additional funding is proposed for courts and the National Prosecution Authority to streamline court proceedings and for courtroom video systems.
In order to strengthen the economic situation in the construction sector, the Government proposes increasing the level of interest subsidy authorisations for state-subsidised housing production to EUR 1.8 billion, which is EUR 50 million more than in the budget for 2020 (including supplementary budgets). Employment in the construction sector will also be supported by increasing the investment mandate of the Senate Group enterprises to EUR 480 million.
The maximum amount of income that can be transferred to the sport fund will be increased to EUR 200,000 and, as a temporary measure, the maximum period for which a person can work at a special place of work will be extended from 3 to 3.5 years.
The production incentive for the audiovisual sector will be continued in 2021, and a total of approximately EUR 9 million is reserved for this.
In 2021, too, the funding level for nature conservation will be EUR 100 million higher than at the start of the government term. The funding will be used to implement programmes such as the Helmi habitats programme and the Forest Biodiversity Programme for Southern Finland (METSO).
Return to central government spending limits except for COVID-19 expenditure
In March 2020, the Government, in cooperation with the President of the Republic, declared a state of emergency in Finland due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Emergency Powers Act was also taken into use. As a result, the current year has not been restricted by central government spending limits, as the situation this year has been affected by, for example, fixed-term and targeted measures for combating the impact of the pandemic on human health and the economy.
The Government is committed to the central government spending limits system described in the Government Programme. However, due to the continuation of COVID-19, a temporary entry for 2021 will be consciously made in the spending limits rule for the parliamentary term: all direct costs arising from the epidemic, such as expenditure related to testing and the expansion of testing capacity, tracing of transmission chains, quarantines, treatment of patients, health security of those travelling and a vaccine against the virus, will be covered from outside the central government spending limits framework in the 2021 budget and, if necessary, in supplementary budgets.
In addition, due to the significant uncertainty associated with COVID-19, an additional EUR 500 million will be reserved for 2021 to be used for one-off expenditure needs arising from COVID-19 which are mandatory in terms of fiscal policy. If there is less expenditure than was reserved within the spending limits, the difference will not be used to increase other expenditure.
The budget proposal for 2021 already takes into account the mechanism enabled by the Government Programme's spending limits rule in the event of an exceptional economic situation. As a result, there will be a temporary increase of EUR 500 million in the spending limits level in 2021.
Roadmap for strengthening the sustainability of public finances
The COVID-19 crisis has created a need to elaborate the objectives of the Government Programme with a view to stabilising public finances in the longer term. In the first phase of the roadmap for strengthening the sustainability of public finances in June 2020, the Government set as objective to stabilise the general government debt-to-GDP ratio by the end of the decade.
In connection with the government budget session, the Government decided on measures to be taken to strengthen the sustainability of public finances. To achieve the objective, the Government is preparing measures that will strengthen employment, improve the conditions for economic growth, boost competitiveness, and curb growth in public expenditure. The Government decided on structural reforms in the budget session and will make further decisions in the 2021 government spending limits discussion, but the schedule for implementing the reforms will be determined based on the economic situation.
The Government will monitor the implementation of the sustainability roadmap and update it regularly in connection with deciding on the General Government Fiscal Plan and the budget proposal. If the structural reforms and growth-boosting reforms being prepared are not enough to strengthen public finances as intended, the Government is committed to taking new measures or resorting to measures that have a rapid impact on general government revenue and expenditure.
Appendix 4: Statement by Prime Minister Marin’s Government on the roadmap for strengthening the sustainability of public finances
Budget proposal for 2021 totals EUR 64.2 billion
The budget proposal for 2021 is being prepared in the midst of exceptionally extensive uncertainty. The global COVID-19 pandemic led to a contraction in Finland's economy in the first half of 2020, although the shrinkage was less severe than in most European economies. The economy is forecast to recover gradually from the latter part of this year onwards, and GDP is expected to grow again in 2021.
General government finances will deteriorate substantially this year, above all as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, and due to the resulting severe economic downturn, the recovery measures undertaken and the drop in tax revenue. As a result, the general government deficit will grow and the public-debt-to-GDP ratio will rise sharply. The deficit will diminish in 2021, but general government finances will remain in a clear deficit and the debt ratio will continue to grow.
The budget proposal for 2021 totals EUR 64.2 billion. Although this is EUR 6.5 billion more than the approved 2020 Budget, it is EUR 2.9 billion less than the 2020 budgeted total after inclusion of the supplementary budgets. In the 2020 supplementary budgets, the Government has allocated considerable additional appropriations for managing the COVID-19 situation and for economic recovery measures.
Central government revenue in 2021 is estimated to be EUR 53.4 billion, of which tax revenue will account for EUR 45.2 billion. Central government tax revenue in 2021 is expected to be around 8%, or about EUR 3.2 billion, higher than the budgeted figure for 2020 (including the supplementary budgets). The budget proposal for 2021 is EUR 10.8 billion in deficit. The 2020 deficit, including the supplementary budgets, amounts to EUR 17.6 billion. Central government debt will rise to an estimated EUR 135 billion in 2021.
Steps in preparation of 2021 budget proposal
The estimates given above are preliminary. The Government will debate the budget proposal on 5 October. After that, the government proposal for the 2021 budget will be published on the budjetti.vm.fi website.
Besides the budget proposal, the Ministry of Finance’s Economic Survey will also be published on 5 October.
Inquiries: Henrik Haapajärvi, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister (Political Affairs), tel. +358 50 339 2604, Joonas Rahkola, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister (Economic Affairs), tel. +358 295 160 998, Markus Lahtinen, Special Adviser to the Minister of Finance, tel. +358 295 530 417, Henri Purje, Special Adviser to the Minister of Education, tel. +358 295 330 017, Jussi Pyykkönen, Special Adviser to the Minister of the Interior, tel. +358 50 477 8354, Camilla Mäkinen, Special Adviser to the Minister of Justice, tel. +358 295 150 119