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7.10.2020 | On 8 October, Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo will attend an informal meeting of the EU home affairs ministers via video conference. The main theme of the meeting will be the reform of the EU migration and asylum policy. The ministers will now have their first discussion about the reform and the way forward. No decisions will be made at the informal meeting.

1.2.2021 | Today the Ministry of the Interior has opened a call for proposals under the Internal Security Fund (ISF). About EUR 4.2 million in EU financial support will be made available for projects that meet the objectives of the Fund. The call for proposals will be open until 31 March at 16.15.

31.5.2020 | The restrictions put in place to mitigate the COVID-19 epidemic are being phased out gradually and in a controlled manner starting on 1 June. The aim is to curb the epidemic while minimising the adverse impact on people, businesses, society and the exercise of fundamental rights. From the beginning of June, certain restrictions will be alleviated, including the restrictions on gatherings, the organisation of events and the opening of public spaces.

24.5.2021 | On 24 May, the Ministry of the Interior set up a project to carry out a study on a legislative amendment that would enable the granting of a temporary residence permit and an alien’s passport for a limited period to asylum seekers who have received a negative decision but who have found work. The purpose of the amendment would be to allow a person to travel to obtain a travel document from the authorities of their own country.

16.8.2019 | The Ministry of the Interior proposes a total of EUR 1.53 billion in appropriations for its administrative branch in 2020, which is around EUR 34.7 million more than in 2019.

25.3.2020 | The restrictions concern movement to and from the Uusimaa region. The movement restrictions in the Uusimaa region entered into force on 28 March and remain in force until 19 April 2020.

28.10.2021 | The European Commission issued a proposal for amending the Directive on access to financial information on 20 July. The amendment would allow the competent authorities of the EU Member States to access centralised bank account registries. The Government expressed its position on the proposal in its communications submitted to Parliament on 28 October.

28.4.2020 | This year, the authorities are encouraging people to spend vappu with their families at home, in their yards or nearby. The restrictions on gatherings of more than 10 people are still in force. This year, people should not gather at traditional vappu meeting places, as many small groups can quickly grow into larger groups with hundreds of people.

21.11.2019 | The Government has appointed a new Advisory Board on Gaming for the parliamentary term 2019–2023. According to the Lotteries Act, the task of the Advisory Board is to monitor the achievement of gambling policy goals and development needs in order to maintain and strengthen the exclusive right system.

15.5.2019 | The working group for police cooperation between Finland and Russia met in Petrozavodsk, Russia on 14 May 2019.

7.3.2022 | The EU has activated the Temporary Protection Directive to help people fleeing Ukraine. The Council decision, which entered into force on 4 March, left a certain amount of discretion for Member States to decide the exact category of people to be granted protection. Finland will apply protection more extensively than what is defined in the EU-wide decision. The Government adopted a decision on the matter on 7 March.

24.4.2020 | The Ministry of the Interior and the police have launched the #virtuaalivappu campaign, which encourages people to deviate from traditions and celebrate vappu on the web, in line with the restrictions on gatherings. The aim is to give people alternative ways to spend vappu together while avoiding close contacts. You can check out the online vappu events at virtuaalivappu.fi.

4.11.2021 | Nordic authorities and civil society actors working against trafficking in human beings will meet at a seminar in Helsinki on 18 November 2021. The aim with the seminar is to share information and expertise and thus support the participants in their work for strengthening the anti-trafficking efforts. Registration for the live-streamed parts of the seminar is open until 15 November 2021.

16.10.2020 | Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo will meet her colleague, Sweden's Minister for Home Affairs Mikael Damberg via videoconference today. The Ministers will discuss cooperation between Finland and Sweden in the field of civil emergency preparedness and contingency planning.

14.1.2021 | The new Act on the Marketing and Use of Explosives Precursors will place further restrictions on consumer access to certain explosives precursors. The Government submitted the bill for approval on Thursday 14 January. The President of the Republic is to approve the bill on 15 January.

7.2.2020 | The Ministry of the Interior has set up a project to prepare the national legislative amendments required by the regulation on the European Border and Coast Guard. The regulation entered into force in December 2019.

9.2.2022 | The final reports of the “Capacity of and planning criteria for rescue services and civil emergency preparedness” project have been published on the Institutional Repository for the Government (Valto). The objective of the project was to produce a basis for the national planning criteria for rescue services and investigate how well the resources and capacity of rescue services and civil emergency preparedness correspond to the operating environment, risks and customer needs. 

30.12.2020 | The European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex will have a new operational standing corps starting on 1 January 2021. The standing corps will support the EU Member States in managing the Union’s external borders and the return of third-country nationals. The President of the Republic approved the amendments on 30 December. The new amendments will enter into force on 1 January 2021.

8.7.2021 | On 2 June, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a regulation to reform the Schengen evaluation and monitoring mechanism. The Government expressed its position on the proposal in its communications submitted to Parliament on 8 July.

4.5.2018 | Finland is known around the world as a country with strong expertise in crisis management. Nearly half of the Finnish civilian crisis management experts come from the Ministry of the Interior’s branch of government. The strength of Finnish crisis management is the work done to promote the equality and the integrated approach, in other words cooperation between different parties in stabilising conflict-affected countries.

16.4.2020 | Different parts of Finland are reporting engagement in activities by violent extremist movements. Violent non-parliamentary far right movements are active in the areas of all police departments. In some areas, there are also reports of activities of violent non-parliamentary far left groups, mainly anarchists and anti-fascists. These conclusions are presented in the new situation overview of violent extremism.

10.1.2019 | The Government will strengthen the powers of the Finnish Border Guard to quickly and effectively intervene in hybrid threats. Better preparedness for hybrid threats will improve the Border Guard's crisis resilience and capacity to manage large-scale incidents. The Government submitted the amendments to the Border Guard Act, the Aliens Act and certain related acts for approval on 10 January. The President of the Republic is to approve the amendments on 11 January.

29.4.2020 | On Labour Day 1 May, flags will be flying in honour of Finnish work. In these exceptional times, many people are working in demanding conditions to fight coronavirus.

11.7.2018 | Minister of the Interior Kai Mykkänen will attend the informal meeting of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council in Innsbruck on 12–13 July. The topics to be addressed at the meeting include European border management, a crisis-resilient asylum system and themes related to police cooperation. As part of the work to reform the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), the Council will also discuss m...

27.3.2019 | Regardless of where they live in Finland, young people must have the opportunity to receive help when, for example, they are displaying signs of criminal behaviour, use drugs or are exposed to possible radicalisation. The purpose of the new Anchor manual is to support professionals in their work, so that activities are standardised throughout the country. Anchor work refers to multi-professional cooperation targeted at children and adolescents to promote their wellbeing and prevent crime.

28.9.2017 | The European Union has appointed Director General Kauko Aaltomaa of the Police Department, the Ministry of the Interior, as Head of the EUPOL COPPS civilian crisis management operation on 28 September 2017.

27.5.2019 | Prevention of violent radicalisation and extremism in Finland is based on joint efforts by public authorities and other bodies. The aim is to produce services that help people who have become or are in the process of becoming radicalised disengage with violence. These services are provided by a wide range of government agencies and non-governmental organisations.

20.12.2018 | The start of 2019 will see the entry into force of amendments to acts and decrees related to the police, immigration, rescue services and civilian crisis management. This press release provides a summary of the most important changes.

15.8.2018 | Radicalisation is not a crime, but when it leads to violence, a radicalised person may be a threat to other people and society. The challenge is how to deal with radicalised persons who cannot be subjected to measures under the Criminal Code. The effective prevention of violent radicalisation requires not only that the police can take the necessary measures but also that the person can be referred to other relevant services, if necessary.

3.4.2019 | Permanent Secretary Ilkka Salmi and Alexander Gorovoy, First Deputy Minister of the Interior of the Russian Federation, met in Tampere on 2–3 April. This a was Deputy Minister Gorovoy’s first visit to Finland.

29.4.2021 | Obliged entities, which are entities with reporting and other obligations, do not always examine the background to customers' transactions or the source of funds adequately enough for the purpose of preventing money laundering. Finland’s national risk assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing finds that all sectors experience challenges in identifying signs of terrorist financing.

28.1.2021 | On Thursday 28 January, the Government appointed Antti Pelttari, Master of Laws, to continue in his post as the Director of the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service. The post will be filled for the period from 1 March 2021 to 28 February 2026.

17.3.2020 | The Government resolution to slow the spread of coronavirus infections and to protect at-risk groups, issued on 16 March 2020, states as follows (section 2):

29.5.2019 | The Finnish Government laid down two decrees today concerning civilian intelligence. The decrees will take effect on 1 June at the same time with the intelligence legislation.

18.2.2021 | According to the annual report, work on preventing violent extremism and radicalisation has proceeded well despite the coronavirus pandemic.

12.9.2019 | Legislation concerning the processing of personal data in the field of immigration administration to be collected into a single act. Government proposal on the Personal Data Act in the Field of Immigration Administration and related acts was given to parliament on 12 September.

5.10.2020 | The Ministry of the Interior has sent the draft government proposal on legislation supplementing the EU regulations on the use of the Schengen Information System (SIS) out for comments. The aim is to amend the personal data legislation of the police, the Border Guard and Customs as required by the EU regulations on the SIS.

12.2.2021 | The Ministry of the Interior has prepared legislative amendments to implement the EU directive on access to financial information at national level. The directive contains rules to facilitate the use of information held in bank account registries by the authorities for the purpose of preventing, detecting, investigating or prosecuting certain offences.

18.7.2018 | The introduction of the online service under the Firearms Act will be postponed. The reason for the postponement is that the police’s system for information on weapons is still incomplete. The Ministry of the Interior set up a legislative project on 18 July to amend the law with respect to the entry into force of the online service. The legislative proposal will be sent on a round of consultations at the same time.

16.4.2018 | The position and role of women and children in radical Islamist terrorist organisations are under special review in the new situation overview of violent extremism. According to the 2017 overview, more than half of the suspected crimes reported to the police where an extremist motive was indicated were associated with violent right-wing extremism.