Prime Minister  Sanna Marin 's government programme has earned parliamentary support with 105 representatives voting in its favour in a  confidence motion  held on Tuesday. Eighty MPs voted against the agenda and 14 MPs were absent.
 The Marin government agenda is the same as that of ex-premier  Antti Rinne , however since it’s now the policy roadmap of a new administration it had to be discussed in a plenary session of parliament.
 After Monday’s opening debate on the new administration's four-year plan, MPs put the new government to its first confidence vote om Tuesday.
 The main opposition parties, the Finns Party and the National Coalition Party (NCP), failed to warm to Prime Minister  Sanna Marin ’s assurances that the government was making progress implementing its four-year programme.
 Confidence motion on Al-hol issue
 The new administration has been under pressure to produce guidelines on how to handle Finnish women and children in the camp.
 While Prime Minister Marin had announced on Monday that the  Finnish children will be repatriated  as soon as possible, the opposition has said that this does not answer all the questions raised.
 Opposition parties in parliament had previously filed an interpellation over  an alleged plan to repatriate Finnish citizens currently in the al-Hol refugee camp in Syria . The debate on the parliamentary question began Tuesday afternoon.
 The confidence vote will be held on Wednesday.


Opposition and government MPs clashed during a tense parliamentary debate over the government’s position on repatriating Finnish citizens currently at the al-Hol refugee camp in Syria on Tuesday afternoon.
 An  opposition interpellation tabled last week  set its sight on putting the government’s feet to the fire over a lack of clarity on its policy on the matter. It also sought to  examine the actions  of Foreign Minister  Pekka Haavisto  as he allegedly  rolled out a plan to evacuate the Finnish camp residents .
 Haavisto has faced criticism from ministry public servants over his handling of the issue, with some accusing him of having a unilateral and fear-based leadership style. Haavisto countered the allegations by saying that he had done nothing unlawful as minister.
 "The government is not aware that anything unlawful occurred in the Foreign Ministry’s work. The same has also been stated by the ministry’s senior officials," he told MPs.
 Opposition MPs also wanted to know if the children would be brought to Finland with their mothers and whether or not the government had made an official decision on the matter.
 On Monday evening, Prime Minister  Sanna Marin  said that the  government wanted to repatriate the children  "as quickly as possible." At the same time she said there was no such obligation toward their mothers.
 She said that the mothers’ cases would be subjected to individual consideration by public officials. Civil servants would consider the best interests of the children as well as possible security risks that the adults might pose were they to return to Finland.
 Opposition: "Extraordinary" actions by Foreign Minister
 The opposition did not stint on their words during the debate. The nationalist Finns Party led by  Jussi Halla-aho  focused much of its criticism on Haavisto’s actions as Foreign Minister.
 "It is extraordinary that a ministry official would publicly oppose a minister. It is extraordinary that confidential material would be leaked to the public on the scale that it has in recent weeks. What does this say? That Foreign Minister Haavisto’s actions have been extraordinary," Halla-aho charged.
 For its part, the National Coalition Party condemned the fledgling administration's lethargic action.  Paula Risikko , who spoke during the party’s turn, said that quicker government action might have already helped Finnish children at the al-Hol camp.
 "The government’s inability to make political decisions has led to further erosion of citizens' confidence in political decision-making and possibly to the prolonged suffering of children at the al-Hol camp," she declared. The NCP has said that while Finland should assist the children, it should not help adults at the camp.
 PM challenges NCP
 The government benches were not at a loss for words during the debate. The Prime Minister pointed out that her government had been in office for one week and had laid down its political position on the situation at al-Hol.
 Marin provided a lengthy account of the role of public officials who were charged with safeguarding the rights of the children as well as the security of people living in Finland.
 Several administration MPs wondered why the NCP had partnered with the Finns Party to bring the interpellation. Marin put the question directly to the party.
 "Finland is a constitutional state and my government will hold to that. Having said that, I am looking especially at the opposition and particularly at the National Coalition party and I ask, 'Aren't you ashamed?'" the PM said.
 In response to Marin’s challenge, NCP MP  Sanni Grahn-Laasonen  pointed out that there would have been no need for an interpellation if the government had spoken openly about its plans.
 The government will face a confidence vote on the al-Hol situation on Wednesday.


Minister for Foreign Affairs  Pekka Haavisto  received the support of 110 MPs in a confidence vote held in Parliament on Wednesday concerning the  repatriation of Finns living in the al-Hol camp in Syria . Out of 200 MPs, 79 MPs voted against while 10 were absent.
 Four opposition groups, the Finns Party, the conservative National Coalition Party, the Christian Democrats and Movement Now (Liike nyt)  had filed an interpellation  over Haavisto’s  alleged plan  to repatriate Finnish citizens from the al-Hol refugee camp in Syria.
 The  heated debate  on this issue began on Tuesday afternoon before talks moved on to next year's budget plans in the evening. The al-Hol issue was back on the agenda after midnight and discussions went on past 3 am on Wednesday morning.
 During Tuesday's session, Prime Minister  Sanna Marin 's  government also won its first confidence motio n when 105 representatives voted in favour of its four-year programme.
 Minister under fire
 The foreign minister has been  in the firing line  over the al-Hol refugee camp in recent weeks. Haavisto had been caught up in a maelstrom over allegations that he wanted to push through a plan to bring the women and children back to Finland, with claims that he sidelined a top ministry official in the process.
 The Marin government  reached a decision  on the al-Hol issue on Monday when it announced 10-point guidelines. It said its primary objective is to help the children and that a decision on the repatriation of each individual will be made on a case-by-case basis.
 The guideline added that "there is no obligation to assist adults who have entered the area voluntarily".


The Sámi Parliament of Finland on Tuesday officially accepted the mandate of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), tasked with investigating atrocities committed against the country's indigenous populations.
 The Sámi Parliament is the final institution to approve the TRC plan. The Finnish government did the same in November, followed by the Skolt Sámi village meeting's confirmation in early December.
 The first goal of the process is to appoint a five-person commission to handle the reconciliation. Two members will be from the Finnish government, two from the Sámi Parliament and one representative of the Skolt Sámi.
 The Sámi Parliament called for suggestions for commissioners from the Sámi community. Final decisions will be made by a plenary session of the Sámi Parliament.
 Tight schedule contested
 Tuesday's Sámi Parliament session expressed gratitude for the years of work already done on the TRC.
 First vice chair  Heikki Paltto  emphasised the importance of the process for the Sámi communities of Finland. Paltto said the next steps should be taken with all haste.
 "We should start work now, when the elder generations are still with us. It is strenuous to go through the painful past, but necessary," Paltto said.
 The Sámi Parliament accepted the TRC on Tuesday. Vesa Toppari / Yle
 Several statements from Sámi MPs also brought up worries over the hurried timetable of the reconciliation preparations. The deadline for the completed reconciliation is set for 2022, which Sámi Parliament members  Neeta Jääskö  and  Kirsti Kustula  objected was too fast for such an important issue.
 "It is a very brief window in which to handle such a case. The trauma of the past lies deep in people's lives. Changes in Finland's political landscape or other reasons should not be allowed to affect the schedule. More time is needed," the MPs said.
 Member  Anu Avaskari  noted in her statement that the TRC is one of the most significant accomplishments of the current 2016-19 Sámi Parliament.
 MP  Ulla Magga  put forward an endorsed proposal to expand the schedule of the TRC's work, but it was voted down by a margin of 10-5.
 Persistent effects of past wrongs
 The primary stated goal of the joint TRC is to recognise and evaluate the discrimination faced by Sámi people throughout history, and the continuing current effects of the trauma caused by officially sanctioned oppression.
 The commission will investigate the forced integration tactics used by the Finnish government and other offences against the northernmost indigenous populations of Europe.
 Former Prime Minister Antti Rinne met with Sámi Parliament representatives after the parliamentary elections in 2019. Pentti Pieski / Priváhtta
 Commissioners will report publicly on the persistent trauma that Sámi people still face due to Finland's racist schemes of oppression. Eventually the TRC hopes to establish rigorous psycho-social support systems for the indigenous communities based on their own languages and culture.
 The Truth and Reconciliation Commission got its real start in 2016, when the Sámi Parliament met in Inari to plan a TRC conference. Former prime ministers  Juha Sipilä  and  Antti Rinne  met with Sámi representatives in 2017 and early 2019 respectively and vowed to push on with the process.
 TRCs have been used around the world to bring justice to indigenous communities ravaged by systemic violence and eugenic oppression, such as after apartheid in South Africa. Norway's TRC into the country's persecution of the Kven ethnic minority, whose ancestors were Finnish peasants, is still ongoing.


Finnish politics has been shaken in recent weeks by news that  the country is looking to bring back children from a camp in northern Syria .
 The camp at al-Hol houses women who are or have been married to Isis fighters. Also at al-Hol are children, and orphans who were in the region when the Isis caliphate fell.
 Early on Wednesday morning Foreign Minister  Pekka Haavisto   survived a confidence vote  brought by the opposition parties after rancorous debate inside parliament and on social media, with the focus on the adults at the camp.
 The question as posed by Centre Party leader  Katri Kulmuni  in a  hastily-deleted Instagram poll  was whether to repatriate the women and children at the camp, or just the children.
 On Wednesday evening Haavisto told Yle that an operation was underway, before Helsingin Sanomat  reported  that two orphans from the camp had left on their way to Erbil, and from there to Finland.
 Soon afterwards Yle also  confirmed  the events, with the Finns in the camp gathered by guards and photographed before the two children were removed from the facility.
 The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is expected to announce news of the repatriation once the children are with Finnish authorities in Erbil.
 Euthanasia and the church
 A doctoral thesis has drawn plenty of media attention after it suggested that up to half of Lutheran priests in Finland may be positive about euthanasia, if it remains separate from standard healthcare provision.
 Iltalehti  reports  that the study found two out of five priests willing to consider euthanasia as an option if the patient’s life expectancy was a few days, but just one in five was similarly inclined if the patient could expect to survive for months.
 "This is surprising, considering that Christian churches and communities tend to oppose euthanasia. Earlier studies have also shown that religious professionals are usually against euthanasia," said doctoral candidate  Miia Kontro  in a widely-quoted press release.
 The study showed that female priests were more positive than male ones in relation to euthanasia.
 Kaamos tricks
 Saturday marks the winter solstice and at this, the darkest time of the year, many people in Finland turn to thoughts of hibernation, special daylight lamps and other support measures to get through the winter.
 The Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) is not immune to these thoughts of ‘kaamos’, and has produced a handy list of ten tips for those craving daylight.
 Business daily Kauppalehti  reports  the list.
 The use of daylight-imitating lamps, regular exercise (but not in the evening), winding down properly in the evening before sleep (no bright lights or phones), and making sure you see friends even if you feel like hibernating at home are among the top hints from Finland’s health and wellness boffins.


President  Sauli Niinistö  on Thursday commended  reported efforts to repatriate Finnish children  living at the al-Hol refugee camp in Syria, which houses some family members of Isis fighters.
 At the time Niinistö and his wife  Jenni Haukio  had just received gifts of produce from different parts of the country as part of a long-running Christmas tradition. Niinistö was asked to respond to reports that two orphans had already been evacuated from the camp in Syria.
 The president told media representatives that he had the same information that was publicly available everyone else. However he noted that other Nordic countries had already returned orphaned nationals from the region.
 "This is probably the initial stage. It’s is good that Finns are also acting," Niinistö added.
 As part of the gift-giving ceremony at Mäntyniemi, the presidential couple’s official residence, Niinistö and Haukio received a Christmas tree from forestry students at the University of Helsinki, as well as flowers, including tulips, amaryllis and poinsettias.
 Niinistö flags food security
 The Niinistös’ Christmas ham arrived from Vehmaa in western Finland and was gifted by the local agricultural producers’ association. The president said that he was delighted to see young producers and noted that weather phenomena and climate change may cause regional food shortages.
 "Finland cannot afford to lose its ability to produce food," he commented.
 The Finnish Nature League donated a vegetable hamper including health-boosting lingonberries, which also spoke to the benefits of spending time in the forest.
 The Niinistö household also received a pike from Korpo in the Turku archipelago, fished from local waters by resident  Klaus Mattson  of Jurmo, an island in the archipelago. It was his third time supplying the seasonal offering.
 This year’s fish was silver, a colouring said to be rare for the species. The custom of giving a Christmas pike dates back to the 18th century, when residents presented it to the monarch for Christmas. It is generally served in a fish stew along with potatoes and swedes.
 Karjalan liitto (the Karelian Association), a group for Winter War evacuees from the region, handed over their signature Karelian pies as well as potato pies baked fresh on Thursday morning. The organisation will celebrate its 80th anniversary in 2020.
 This year’s Finnish Lucia ,  Sara Ray , led a choir and performed the Santa Lucia hymn along with other selections. Additional entertainment was provided by the Helsinki Cathedral boys’ choir, Cantores Minores.
 In 2016, the presidential family’s pet Boston terrier,  Lemu, stole the show  when he was overcome by the presence of fish and ham in the array of gifts.


Finland hit the headlines earlier this month when  Sanna Marin  became the  youngest Prime Minister in the world , running a government headed up by  four other female party leaders .
 In the publicity, however, Justice Minister and Swedish People's Party chair  Anna-Maja Henriksson  was not pictured as she had been on a working visit to the United States.
 The Finnish government’s official twitter account tweeted a photo on Thursday with the caption "this is what we’ve been waiting for", above a picture of all five female government leaders.
 In the picture are Henriksson, Prime Minister and SDP leader Marin, Finance Minister and Centre Party chair  Katri Kulmuni , Interior Minister  Maria Ohisalo  who leadsthe Green Party and Leftist leader Minister of Education  Li Andersson.
 Henriksson was missing from the previous photo because she was on a business trip to the United States.
 The all-female heads of the governing coalition attracted widespread international media attention over the past two weeks, including from the  Washington Post , the  Guardian  and  Forbes  magazine.


Speaking on Yle's talk show Ykkösaamu on Saturday, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said she was very pleased with the government’s decision to  repatriate Finnish children  from the al-Hol refugee camp.
 “It’s up to ministry officials to determine whether Finland will also help the mothers,” she said.
 Marin emphasised that it was not up to the government to decide the fate of individual Finns living in the al-Hol refugee camp.
 Earlier this week, Marin caused a political storm when she asked the opposition National Coalition Party (NCP) whether they were “ashamed” for saying that Finland should not help children at al-Hol if it also meant repatriating their mothers.
 “I spoke from the heart,” she told Yle about her strong words directed at the NCP during a  heated parliamentary debate . “I have spent a lot of time thinking about the fate of children at al-Hol and I wondered why the NCP decided to profile itself in this way.”
 Marin also took aim at the NCP for questioning the actions of Foreign Minister  Pekka Haavisto  as he allegedly rolled out a plan to  evacuate the Finnish camp residents  ahead of the government's official policy on the matter.
 She said Haavisto  had the full support  of both the government and legislature.
 “The fact that the Constitutional Law Committee is examining his actions [regarding Finns at al-Hol] is simply a part of the workings of a constitutional democracy.”
 Polls: Residents have confidence in PM
 Marin told Ykkösaamu that just one month ago she would not have believed that she would become premier. And now, less than  two weeks into the job , media outlets have commissioned polls on how people in Finland believe Marin will manage.
 Half of residents surveyed by local news conglomerate Uutissuomalainen said they believed Marin would succeed in her post. A third said they thought she would fail as prime minister and a fifth had no clear opinion. Overall, women placed more faith in Marin than men whereas respondents over the age of 70 had the most confidence in her.
 Eighty-five percent of SDP members said Marin would do well as premier, compared to just 22 percent of Finns Party adherents.
 The poll, which surveyed 1,000 residents, was carried out by pollster Tietoykkönen between 12 and 16 December and carried a 3.1-percentage point margin of error.
 Meanwhile another poll by tabloid Ilta-Sanomat found that a narrow majority believed Marin’s cabinet would remain intact until the end of the government term.


The sale of fireworks for the New Year's season began on Friday, but Finnish consumers are increasingly calling to ban retail sales of the seasonal pyrotechnics.
 A poll by paper Maaseudun Tulevaisuus found that nearly half of respondents (47 percent) said they would support a ban on the retail sales and personal use of fireworks.
 A gender analysis of the results found that 57 percent of women and 38 percent of men are against the use of fireworks by anyone except trained professionals. The results are also relative to age: 60 percent of respondents over the age of 64 would ban New Year's rockets, compared to just 37 percent of those under 30 years old.
 The survey conducted by TNS Kantar Agri interviewed 1,089 Finnish residents. The margin of error for the results is +/- three percentage points.
 Health, safety, environment
 For now, individuals in Finland may set off fireworks between 6 pm on Tuesday 31 December and 2 am on Wednesday 1 January.
 The Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes) said that safety goggles are compulsory for people who use fireworks; observers should also take precautions to protect their eyes and face. Fireworks cause 10-30 people to be hospitalised every year.
 Tukes found that 13 people were injured by fireworks on last New Year's Eve, only one of whom was wearing goggles at the time. Ten of the victims were setting off fireworks when they were hurt.
 A citizens' initiative to ban the non-professional use of fireworks gathered more than 65,000 signatures in 2018; Parliament's legislative director  Tuula Kulovesi  received the initiative in November.
 The initiative's proposal – which includes concerns over animal rights and the environmental damage caused by thousands of chemical explosions and the resulting debris – is currently under parliamentary deliberation.
 The initiative would not prohibit the use of small pyrotechnics such as sparklers, squibs and Roman candles.
 The value of the annual fireworks market is some 30 million euros, according to the pyrotechnic artists' association PITE.
 Zero major parties on board
 In early December daily Uutissuomalainen published the results of a poll of Finland's political parties on the subject of fireworks. The only group to support the full ban of consumer fireworks was Movement Now (Liike Nyt) and its lone MP,  Harry Harkimo .
 The Finns Party, National Coalition Party and Centre Party all oppose the ban outright.  Hanna-Leena Mattila , the Centre parliamentary group's vice chair, said a prohibition may lead to a rise in dangerous homemade fireworks.
 Responses from the Social Democratic Party, Greens, Swedish People's Party and the Christian Democrats indicated that they would investigate the matter before deciding. The Left Alliance did not respond to the poll.


President  Sauli Niinistö  has rejected all applications for criminal pardons this year, according to daily Helsingin Sanomat.
 HS  reported on Monday  that Niinistö did not exercise his power to free any inmates this year. He denied all fifty applications that came across his desk in 2019, saying that none of them fulfilled the criteria for a presidential pardon.
 "I have used the right to pardon in situations where the circumstances in a convict's life, relating to health or family for instance, have significantly and substantially changed. That was not the case in any of this year's applications," Niinistö said.
 The Supreme Court of Finland (KKO) provides an official statement on the pardon applications as a basis for the president's decision, though the president may override these recommendations. The Supreme Court did not recommend any criminals for pardon in 2019.
 Niinistö has used his power to pardon offenders far more sparingly than previous presidents, giving special consideration to just two people in 2018 and a total of twenty people during his seven years in office. The number of clemency applications from prisoners has also gone down, from over 300 in the 1980s and 90s to fewer than one hundred in recent times.
 Historic powers may shift
 President  Mauno Koivisto  pardoned about fifty people per year in the 1980s. His successor  Martti Ahtisaari  pardoned some thirty people annually, and  Tarja Halonen  pardoned an average of twenty criminals each year she was in office.
 This is the first time in at least 56 years that not a single prisoner was offered clemency, secretary  Johanna Nyberg  from the Ministry of Justice told HS.
 "Presidents of Finland have offered at least one pardon every year since 1951, until now. We could not find any instances of zero-pardon years before that," Nyberg said.
 The Constitution Act of 1919 grants the president the power of pardon. However, Niinistö has stated consistently that he believes special pardons should be within the purview of the Supreme Court instead. His position is still the same, he said.
 "It's not a top priority, but if the Constitution comes under scrutiny in some other context, this is a feature that should be addressed."
 The President's Office  website describes  the appeal process.
 "In an individual case, the President of the Republic can remit a sentence or other criminal penalty imposed by a court. The President cannot waive obligations based on public or civil law, such as taxes, maintenance payments or bank loans. Anyone can submit a petition for a pardon, which does not require the consent of the person to whom it applies."


Foreign Minister  Pekka Haavisto  is a clear favourite to become Finland's next president, according to a poll by tabloid daily Ilta-Sanomat. Some 17 percent of poll respondents threw their support behind the former Greens chair to win the presidential election in 2024.
 Haavisto has come under intense scrutiny in recent times for  his handling of government's plans to repatriate Finnish citizens  at the al-Hol refugee camp in Syria. He later  won a confidence vote  in parliament over the furore.
 Haavisto was a candidate in the 2018 election but came second when incumbent  Sauli Niinistö   won an overwhelming first-round majority of votes  to secure a second term in office.
 Respondents' second-favourite option for president was Centre Party politico and Bank of Finland governor  Olli Rehn , with 10 percent backing. He was followed by current Left Alliance chair and Education Minister  Li Andersson  as well as the Social Democratic Party's EU Commissioner  Jutta Urpilainen  – both of whom claimed seven percent approval to become president.
 Finns Party and National Coalition Party chairs  Jussi Halla-aho  and  Petteri Orpo  respectively both attracted the support of six percent of respondents. A sizeable proportion of the 1,000 respondents surveyed -- 16 percent -- said that could not name a favourite for the next presidential contest, while another 11 percent said they would not vote for any of the alternatives presented.
 Niinistö serving final term
 A similar poll by Alma Media during the autumn also found Haavisto to be a favourite for president, with 33 percent backing him for the post. The Alma Media survey also had Rehn in second place with support from 11 percent of voters. In this poll however, Halla-aho and Helsinki mayor  Jan Vapaavuori  claimed third spot with 10 percent support. The polls are not comparable because the number of respondents and candidate line-up were different.
 Pollster Taloustutkimus conducted the survey for IS, and research head  Tuomo Turja  told the paper that the al-Hol flap did not seem to directly influence the outcome, but he speculated that it may have.
 Niinistö is currently in his second and final term in office and cannot stand for re-election in 2024. After the last presidential election in 2018, another IS poll found that 27 percent of voters backed Haavisto for president.
 Taloustutkimus interviewed 1,004 respondents for the poll between 9 and 17 December. The poll's margin of error was +/- 3.2 percentage points. The Alma Media poll was conducted last autumn by Tietoykkönen and surveyed 1,500 people.


In her Prime Minister's traditional New Year message, Sanna Marin said that Finland’s strength lies in "its people and their knowledge", with education playing a key role in the country’s success.
 Marin also lauded changes her government brings in from 1 January, which she says will raise the incomes of some 70 percent of Finns.
 "The strength of a society is measured not by the wealth of its most affluent members, but by how well its most vulnerable citizens are able to cope," writes Marin. "The question we need to ask is whether everyone has the chance to lead a life of dignity."
 The premier said that she wants to make Finland "a financially responsible, socially equitable and environmentally sustainable society".
 Carbon neutrality work to do
 She cited the government’s goal to make Finland  carbon-neutral by 2035 , which is one of the most ambitious goals in the world.
 "We are entering a decade during which we must find solutions for combating climate change," wrote Marin. "This calls for decisions that reduce emissions and strengthen carbon sinks. We will rely on scientific data, while taking account of the social and regional impacts of the solutions proposed."
 She stated that Finland and Europe have the chance to be trailblazers in finding climate solutions, and suggested that bold decisions will need to be taken.
 "There is enormous demand and a huge market for new climate technology," wrote Marin. "Will our country have the bold pioneering spirit needed to prosper?"
 Koivisto guidance
 Finland has been criticised for maintaining subsidies for  high-emission peat extraction and failing to implement measures to meet its lofty climate ambitions .
 Closing out her message, Marin said she had enjoyed an Yle documentary series about former president  Mauno Koivisto , which she said put  recent turbulence in Finnish politics  in its proper perspective.
 She then quoted his guidance in uncertain times: "If we can’t know for sure how things will go, let’s assume that all will go well."
 You can read Sanna Marin's New Year message in English in full  here .


The sale of fireworks for the New Year's season began on Friday, but Finnish consumers are increasingly calling to ban retail sales of the seasonal pyrotechnics.
 A poll by paper Maaseudun Tulevaisuus found that nearly half of respondents (47 percent) said they would support a ban on the retail sales and personal use of fireworks.
 A gender analysis of the results found that 57 percent of women and 38 percent of men are against the use of fireworks by anyone except trained professionals. The results are also relative to age: 60 percent of respondents over the age of 64 would ban New Year's rockets, compared to just 37 percent of those under 30.
 The survey conducted by TNS Kantar Agri interviewed 1,089 Finnish residents. The margin of error for the results is +/- three percentage points.
 Health, safety, environment concerns
 For now, individuals in Finland may set off fireworks between 6pm on Tuesday 31 December and 2am on Wednesday 1 January.
 The Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes) said that safety goggles are compulsory for people who use fireworks. Observers should also take precautions to protect their eyes and face. Fireworks cause 10-30 people to be hospitalised every year.
 Thirteen people were injured by fireworks last New Year's Eve, according to Tukes. Ten of the victims were setting off fireworks when they were injured.
 A citizens' initiative to ban the non-professional use of fireworks gathered more than 65,000 signatures in 2018. The initiative's proposal – which includes concerns over animal rights and the environmental damage caused by thousands of chemical explosions and the resulting debris – is currently under parliamentary deliberation. The initiative would not prohibit the use of small pyrotechnics such as sparklers, squibs and Roman candles.
 The value of the annual fireworks market is some 30 million euros, according to the pyrotechnic artists' association PITE.
 Little political support for ban
 In early December a poll by Uutissuomalainen found that Movement Now (Liike Nyt) was the only political group to support the full ban of consumer fireworks.
 The Finns Party, National Coalition Party and Centre Party all oppose the ban outright.  Hanna-Leena Mattila , the Centre parliamentary group's vice chair, said a prohibition may lead to a rise in dangerous homemade fireworks.
 Responses from the Social Democratic Party, Greens, Swedish People's Party and the Christian Democrats indicated that they would investigate the matter before taking a position. The Left Alliance did not respond to the poll.


The Finns Party and National Coalition Party are the most popular political groups in Finland, finds a poll commissioned by daily Helsingin Sanomat
 The Finns Party’s popularity is rising and is now drawing 22.7 percent support, reports Helsingin Sanomat on Saturday. The other main opposition group, the National Coalition Party, garnered 17.2 percent.
 The continued growth in support for the populist Finns Party is  linked to a rise in anti-immigrant sentiment ,  Emilia Palonen ,a lecturer from the University of Helsinki, told Yle in November.
 Prime Minister  Sanna Marin ’s Social Democratic Party’s backing fell behind the opposition parties with support of 15.1 percent. Enthusiasm was also relatively low for the SDP’s government partners, with the Greens and Centre Party attracting 12.5 and 11.1 percent respectively. This was the Centre’s worst result in the history of Helsingin Sanomat’s political party polls.
 The Left Alliance meanwhile polled 8.4 percent and Swedish People’s Party 4.5 percent.
 Among the opposition, the Christian Democrats and Movement Now had 4 and 1.7 percent support.
 The survey, carried out by Kantar TNS, interviewed 2,226 people. The margin of error was around 2 percentage points. The poll was carried out between the end of November and mid-December as Sanna Marin  took over  the premiership from  Antti Rinne  and while the new government  came under fire  for the repatriation of Finns from Syria's al-Hol refugee camp.


President  Sauli Niinistö  and his Russian counterpart  Vladimir Putin  exchanged traditional New Year greetings by phone on Monday, according to a statement from Niinistö’s office.
 The president’s staff said that the heads of state also discussed bilateral relations during the call as well as international issues, particularly the situations in Syria, Libya and Ukraine.
 According to Russian state-owned news agency Tass, Putin spoke to Niinistö of how Moscow aims to resolve the crisis in Ukraine. Tass reported that Niinistö described  a prisoner swap  between Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists on Sunday as a welcome gesture.
 Tass also reported that the presidents expressed satisfaction with bilateral relations, which the Kremlin said was due to “regular political dialogue” and “mutually beneficial trade cooperation”.
 According to Tass, President Niinistö initiated the phone call. Niinistö and Putin  last met in Helsinki in August , when the agenda included bilateral relations as well as pro-democracy protests in Moscow over local elections due in the autumn, among other issues.