FMA VISIT TO HELSINKI IN THE CONTEXT OF THE FINNISH PRESIDENCY 3 - 5 November 2019 FMA Secretariat Office JAN 2Q73 European Parliament B-1047 Brussels Tel: +322.284.07.03 Fax: +332.284.09.89 E-mail: [email protected] Elisabetta Fonck Mobile phone: +32.473.646.746 Content I. Finland 1. History .................................................................................................................... 1 2. Culture ................................................................................................................... 2 II. Finland’s EU Presidency 2020 1. Programme of the Presidency ............................................................................... 3 2. Priority Dossiers under the Finnish EU Council Presidency .................................... 20 3. Finnish Presidency priorities discussed in parliamentary committees .................. 26 III. Politics in Finland 1. Political System ....................................................................................................... 30 2. Brief history of the parliamentarian institution ..................................................... 30 3. Recent political context .......................................................................................... 31 IV. Political Actors 1. Presidency of Finland .............................................................................................. 32 2. Prime Minister of Finland ....................................................................................... 33 3. Presidencies of Parliament ..................................................................................... 34 4. Cabinet of Finland (as of June 2019) ...................................................................... 35 5. Main Political Parties .............................................................................................. 36 6. OSCE/ODIHR Election Assessment Mission Final Report ........................................ 39 V. Economy in Finland 1. Commission Country Report Finland ...................................................................... 52 2. Standard Eurobarometer - Finland ...................................................................... 114 VI. Visiting Finland 1. Main attractions ................................................................................................... 118 2. Practical Information ............................................................................................ 120 I. Finland 1. History1 Finland has been settled since after the Ice Age, and as such has had a long and intriguing history. A part of the Kingdom of Sweden from 13th century until 1809, it then became an autonomous duchy of the Russian Empire until 1917, when it declared independence. The Middle Ages2 The recorded history of Finland began in the 12th century. Until those times the geographical area that is now Finland was a political vacuum. During the 1100s and 1200s, both Sweden and Novgorod (Russia) became interested in Finland, and they made several crusades and expeditions into the area. In 1323, western and southern parts of Finland were joined in Sweden and the eastern part of Finland, Karelia, became part of the Russo-Byzantine world. Finland remained an integral part of the Swedish Kingdom for over 600 years. As a consequence, the Swedish legal and social systems took root in Finland in a permanent fashion. Feudalism was never a part of this system, so the Finnish peasants retained their personal freedom. During the Swedish time, Turku was the most important city in Finland. In the 16th century the reformation started by Martin Luther reached Finland and Sweden, and it helped to create the Finnish-language culture. Luther insisted that people have to be able to read the holy Bible and hear the sermons in their own language. The Bishop of Turku, Mikael Agricola, is considered the father of Finnish written language, as he translated the New Testament into Finnish in 1548. Modern Age3 From the Middle Ages until the early 19th century, Sweden and Russia fought frequently over the control of the eastern part of the Swedish Kingdom, i.e. Finland. With the establishment of St. Petersburg in 1703, the Russian interest in the northern shores of the Gulf of Finland increased. As a result of the complex power shifts during the Napoleonic wars, Russia gained full advantage over Sweden in 1809. Finland in its entirety came under the Russian rule, but was accorded the status of an autonomous Grand Duchy, and the laws from the Swedish time remained valid. While the major decisions required the Tsar’s approval, Finland had its own government, legislature and other state institutions. Swedish remained the language of the administration which remained in Finnish hands at all levels. 20th Century4 Starting from 1899, Russia tightened its grip on the Grand Duchy of Finland. Finland did not take part in World War I, but nationalism also had an influence on the region of Finland. Finland was granted its own parliament in 1906, and the first elections were held in 1907. Finland declared independence on 6 December 1917, and the Bolshevik government that seized power in the October Revolution in Russia recognised Finnish independence on 31 December 1917. In the early years of independence, Finland’s position was fragile. Soon after independence, a bloody civil war broke out in Finland. The war was fought between the Reds or labour movement and the Whites or government troops. The 1 https://www.discoveringfinland.com/about-finland/finnish-history/. 2 https://finlandabroad.fi/web/usa/current-affairs/-/asset_publisher/h5w4iTUJhNne/content/centennial- story-of-finland-part-1-the-path-up-to-1917/384951. 3 ibd. 4 https://www.infofinland.fi/en/information-about-finland/basic-information-about-finland/finnish-history. 1 Whites received support from Germany and the Reds from Russia. The war ended in the Whites’ victory. In August 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union agreed that Finland belonged in the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence. During World War II, Finland fought on two occasions against the Soviet Union on the German side. Finland lost both wars, but the Soviet Union never occupied Finland. In 1948, Finland and the Soviet Union signed an Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance, where the countries promised to defend each other against external treats. In practice, Finland was in the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence throughout the Cold War, and the country’s foreign and domestic policy were guided by fear of the Soviet Union. The collapse of the Soviet Union and loan-based economic growth in the 1980s caused a recession in Finland in the 1990s. The worst time of the recession was in the early 1990s; many Finnish people were unemployed, companies went bankrupt and the state had little money. In about 1995, the Finnish economy started to grow, the most important company being mobile phone company Nokia. Finland joined the EU in 1995 and was one of the first countries to adopt the euro as its currency. 2. Culture5 Finnish culture is a combination of numerous native customs which are represented by their national languages (Germanic Swedish and Uralic Finnish), the sauna, and the European and Nordic traditions. Due to their geographical location and history, Finland was heavily influenced by various communities including the Russians, Swedish, plus numerous Baltic and Finnic people. The Finnish culture is built upon their traditional livelihood and their tradition of egalitarianism. Cultural differences still exist between different regions in the country mainly the difference in vocabularies and accents. Present-Day Finland was part of the Kunda culture up to 5000BC, and from 4200BC to 2000BC it belonged to the Comb Ceramic culture. The Kiukainen culture arrived in the southwestern coastal region around 2000BC. The Swedish crown began incorporating Finland from 1100 to 1200, but the Novgorod tried to gain control of the area, and this resulted in numerous wars which Russia and Muscovy joined from 1400 to 1700. The Swedish dominance in the Baltic region ended in 1721 with the signing of the Nystad peace treaty. The area was annexed to Russia in 1809 for over a century. Both the Russian and Swedish cultures influenced Karelia (the place where the Russian and the Swedish fought). Finland has a long history of subcultures with the biggest being the Swedish-speaking Finns. The Swedish speaking Finns have their Swedish daily newspaper based in Helsinki and the Swedish People’s party which has been a crucial part of their culture. The Swedish speaking Finns have their traditions. Another subculture in Finland belongs to the Sami people who live in the Lapland area. The native language of the Sami people is not Finnish, and they lead a nomadic lifestyle. 5 https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-culture-customs-and-traditions-of-finland.html. 2 SUSTAINABLE EUROPE – SUSTAINABLE FUTURE Finland’s Presidency Programme Presidency of the Council of the European Union 1 July – 31 December 2019 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 3 2. COMMON VALUES AND THE RULE OF LAW: CORNERSTONES OF EU ACTION 5 3. A COMPETITIVE AND SOCIALLY INCLUSIVE EU 6 3.1 A comprehensive, future-oriented single market 6 3.2 Wellbeing and skills: the foundation of inclusive growth 7 3.3 An ambitious, open and rules-based trade policy 8 3.4 Towards an inclusive economic union 9 4. THE EU AS A GLOBAL LEADER IN CLIMATE ACTION 10 5. PROTECTING THE SECURITY OF CITIZENS COMPREHENSIVELY 11 5.1 Strong,