Finland

Finnish workers begin strikes against labour reforms, welfare cuts

HELSINKI, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Some 290,000 Finnish workers will begin two days of strike action on Thursday to protest against the right-wing government's planned labour market reforms and proposed…

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Olli Rehn to return to Bank of Finland, ECB Jan. 31

HELSINKI, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Olli Rehn, whose campaign to become Finnish president ended on Sunday, will on Jan. 31 return to the position of governor of the Bank of…

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Stubb and Haavisto continue to second round in Finland’s presidential race

By Anne Kauranen and Essi Lehto Centre-right Stubb wins first round Stubb will face liberal Haavisto in 2nd round Second round will be held on Feb. 11 HELSINKI, (Reuters) -…

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What you need to know about the 2024 Finnish presidential election

By Elviira Luoma and Canan Sevgili (Reuters) - Finland holds a presidential election on Jan. 28 in a new era marked by the country joining the Western military alliance NATO…

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Finland’s presidential hopefuls vie to offer toughest stance on Russia

Finns vote in first NATO-era presidential election on Jan 28 President leads foreign and security policy Finns' stance toward Russia hardened since Ukraine war By Anne Kauranen HELSINKI, (Reuters) -…

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Finland’s Stubb extends lead in opinion poll ahead of election

By Anne Kauranen HELSINKI, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Finnish centre-right presidential front-runner Alexander Stubb slightly extended his lead against liberal Green Party member Pekka Haavisto in a new opinion poll…

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Finland to extend Russia border closing

Finland will extend the closure of its border with Russia, which had otherwise been set to end on Jan. 15, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah told national broadcaster…

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Snow, cold spell to hit Italy over the weekend; Finns urged to limit power use amid cold weather

The above-average temperatures Italy has had so far this winter are set to end with a wave of cold weather and snow that is coming following a rainy Epiphany national…

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One dead in Belgium as heavy rainfall hits the country; Sweden and Finland freezing in minus 40C

A 59-year-old woman died in Belgium's East Flanders province on Tuesday after being hit by a blown-away fence during a period of heavy rainfall in the country, local governor Carina…

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Finland to sign defence pact with US

By Anne Kauranen and Essi Lehto HELSINKI, (Reuters) - Finland will on Monday Dec. 18 sign a defence cooperation agreement with the United States, the Finnish government said this week,…

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Kremlin, on reported Polish plan to send troops to Finnish border, says it will stoke tensions

MOSCOW, Nov 29 (Reuters) - The Kremlin, commenting on media reports that Poland plans to send troops to Finland's border with Russia, said on Wednesday that such a move could…

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Finland to close entire Russian border for 2 weeks to stop asylum seekers

By Essi Lehto Finland will close its entire border with Russia to travellers for the next two weeks in a bid to halt the unusually large flow of asylum seekers…

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Finland has closed all passenger border crossings with Russia but one

HELSINKI, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Finland has temporarily closed all but one of its eight passenger crossings to Russia in response to an unusually high inflow of migrants for which…

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Finland to close all but northernmost border crossing with Russia

By Essi Lehto HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland will close all but the northernmost crossing point on its border with Russia from midnight on Friday in a bid to halt a…

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Finland’s president says impossible to return asylum seekers

HELSINKI, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Finland's President Sauli Niinisto said on Monday it had become impossible to return asylum seekers who do not meet the criteria for protection, and that…

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EU Commissioner Urpilainen to run for president in Finland

Jutta Urpilainen, the EU commissioner for international partnerships, on Sunday announced she would run for the presidency of her native Finland. “I want that we Finns can continue to commit…

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UPDATED: Finland closes Russia border posts after days of asylum inflows

By Essi Lehto and Anne Kauranen Finland early on Saturday closed four crossings on its border with Russia as Helsinki seeks to halt a flow of asylum seekers it says…

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Finland closes four Russian border crossings to stop asylum seekers

HELSINKI, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Finland will close four of the nine crossing points on its border with Russia to stem a flow of asylum seekers to the Nordic nation,…

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Nordic countries to cooperate more on returning migrants to countries of origin

By Johannes Birkebaek COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The Nordic governments intend to step up their cooperation to return immigrants without legal residence in the region to their countries of origin, ministers…

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Finland blocks Russian property acquisitions

COPENHAGEN, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Finland's ministry of defence said on Thursday it had blocked three planned property transactions involving Russian buyers on grounds that allowing the acquisitions to take…

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Lockheed Martin F-35A fighter jets land on motorway

OSLO, Sept 22 (Reuters) - A pair of F-35A Lockheed Martin fighter jets have landed on a motorway for the first time, footage from the Norwegian military showed, a step that enables…

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Finnish government survives no-confidence vote over racism scandal

HELSINKI, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Finland's government survived on Friday a no-confidence vote in parliament called by the opposition over a racism scandal that has rocked the ruling coalition since…

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Finland’s ex-PM Marin to join Blair think tank, leave parliament

HELSINKI, (Reuters) - Finland's former Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who narrowly lost an election in April and stepped down from the leadership of her party last week, plans to leave…

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Finland’s Marin, once the world’s youngest premier, steps down as party leader

By Essi Lehto HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland's former Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who narrowly lost an election in April, stepped down this weekend as chair of the centre-left Social Democrats,…

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Newest NATO member Finland to spend 2.3% of GDP on defence

NATO's newest member Finland plans to spend 2.3% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defence next year, its defence ministry said on Monday. In July, NATO's 31 member-nations agreed…

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Finnish academic Mika Aaltola to run for president

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish foreign and security policy think-tank chief Mika Aaltola, a political outsider whose profile has been boosted by his role as a TV commentator on the Ukraine…

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Norway, Finland battle rapid spread of bird flu

By Louise Rasmussen COPENHAGEN, July 28 (Reuters) - Norway and Finland face record outbreaks of bird flu this year which have killed thousands of seagulls and other species, put livestock…

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Biden arrives in Helsinki to welcome Russian neighbor Finland to NATO

HELSINKI, July 13 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday closes out a week focused on rallying NATO unity behind Ukraine with a day-long visit to new member and…

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Finnish minister resigns over Nazi references

HELSINKI, June 30 (Reuters) - Finland's economy minister Vilhelm Junnila resigned on Friday after just 10 days in office, the nationalist Finns Party said, over earlier statements he had made…

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New Finnish minister survives no-confidence vote over Nazi references

By Anne Kauranen HELSINKI, June 28 (Reuters) - Finland's economy minister Vilhelm Junnila survived a no-confidence vote in parliament on Wednesday called by the opposition over references he made that…

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Finland’s central bank governor to run for president

HELSINKI, June 21 (Reuters) - Finnish central bank Governor Olli Rehn said on Wednesday he plans to run for president next year when Finland is due to elect a new…

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Finland’s parliament backs Petteri Orpo as PM, replacing Sanna Marin

Finland's newly elected parliament on Tuesday voted in favour of National Coalition Party leader Petteri Orpo to become prime minister, as widely expected, ushering in a right-wing government and ending…

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Finland’s right-wing parties strike deal to form government

HELSINKI, June 15 (Reuters) - Finland's conservative National Coalition (NCP), winner of April's parliamentary election, has reached agreement to form a majority government with the eurosceptic, anti-immigration Finns Party and…

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Finland’s Foreign Minister Haavisto to run for president

HELSINKI, June 8 (Reuters) - Finland's Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said on Thursday he will run for president in next year's election, hoping to succeed Sauli Niinisto who is stepping…

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NATO launches Arctic manoeuvres, vowing to protect newest member Finland

By Anne Kauranen ROVAJARVI, Finland, (Reuters) - NATO countries are in the middle of Arctic military manoeuvres, vowing on Tuesday to defend their newest member, Finland, which is hosting its…

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Sweden’s Handelsbanken to sell Finnish businesses for $1.4 bln

OSLO, May 31 (Reuters) - Sweden's Handelsbanken said on Wednesday it has agreed to sell parts of its Finnish operation to three local companies for about 1.3 billion euros ($1.43…

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Finland says Russia set to terminate agreement on military visits

OSLO, May 24 (Reuters) - Russia has informed neighbouring Finland that it will terminate a bilateral agreement on mutual visits to military installations, the Finnish defence ministry said late on…

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Around 27 injured in Finland bridge collapse, many of them children

HELSINKI, May 11 (Reuters) - Around 27 people, a majority of them children, were injured on Thursday when a pedestrian bridge collapsed in the Finnish city of Espoo, just outside…

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Finland prime minister divorces husband

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland's outgoing Prime Minister Sanna Marin has filed for divorce jointly with her husband of three years Markus Raikkonen, they said on Instagram. "We are grateful for…

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Finland’s election winner seeks to govern with anti-immigration party

HELSINKI, April 27 (Reuters) - Finland's conservative National Coalition, winner of this year's parliamentary election, said on Thursday it hopes to form a majority government together with the anti-immigration Finns…

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Finland starts fence on Russian border amid migration, security concerns

By Anne Kauranen IMATRA, Finland (Reuters) - Finland is building the first stretch of a fence on its border with Russia, less than two weeks after it joined the NATO…

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After 18 years, Europe’s largest nuclear reactor starts regular output

Construction of Finland's OL3 reactor began in 2005 Work was originally schedule for completion in 2009 Completion boosts Finland's energy security Reactor is expected to produce for 60 years or…

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Russia plans air defence reform, to bolster defences near Finland – commander

MOSCOW, April 10 (Reuters) - Russia plans to overhaul its air defence forces after gaining new experience in the war in Ukraine and will also bolster its air defences to…

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Far-right Finns Party moves to ECR group in EU Parliament

The far-right Finns Party has decided to leave the nationalist Identity and Democracy (ID) group in the European Parliament to join the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), the party…

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What can Finland’s armed forces and arsenal offer NATO?

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland joined NATO on Tuesday, bringing the Western defence alliance significant military capabilities developed over the years. Finland is one of few European countries to have retained…

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Finland’s Marin steps down as party leader

HELSINKI, April 5 (Reuters) - Finland's outgoing Prime Minister Sanna Marin is stepping down as leader of the Social Democratic party, she said on Wednesday, adding she will serve as…

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Finland joins NATO in historic shift, Russia threatens ‘counter-measures’

Finland ends military non-alignment adhered to since 1945 NATO accession spurred by Russia's invasion of Ukraine Finland has made dangerous historical mistake, Russia says By Anne Kauranen and Andrew Gray…

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Finnish centre-right eyes coalition talks as defeated Marin considers future

Outgoing Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin was left to consider her future after she conceded defeat in a tight parliamentary election on Sunday that handed her centre-right rival Petteri Orpo…

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Russia says it will beef up military in northwest as Finland joins NATO

Russia will strengthen its military capacity in its western and northwestern regions in response to Finland's expected accession to NATO on Tuesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said, state-owned…

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Petteri Orpo, Finland’s likely next prime minister

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Here is a profile of Finland's conservative National Coalition Party leader Petteri Orpo, who said he would have the first chance of forming a coalition government after…

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UPDATED: Finland to officially join NATO on Tuesday

Finland will officially become a member of NATO on Tuesday, the Finnish president's office has announced. The announcement was also confirmed by NATO's secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, who said the…

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UPDATED: Finnish centre-right eyes coalition talks as defeated Marin considers future

HELSINKI, April 3 (Reuters) - Outgoing Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin was left to consider her future after she conceded defeat in a tight parliamentary election on Sunday that handed…

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Finland’s Marin faces tough re-election bid in national election

By Anne Kauranen and Essi Lehto HELSINKI, April 2 (Reuters) - Finns cast ballots in a closely contested parliamentary election on Sunday that could cost left-wing Prime Minister Sanna Marin…

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Finland’s Marin in battle over state spending to stay in power

Polls show three parties running neck-and-neck Opposition calling for cuts in government spending Early results due when polls close at 1700 GMT on Sunday By Anne Kauranen HELSINKI (Reuters) -…

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Turkish parliament ratifies Finland’s NATO accession as Sweden kept waiting

ANKARA, (Reuters) - Turkey's parliament approved a bill on Thursday to allow Finland to join NATO, clearing the way for the country to become part of the Western defence alliance…

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Hungary parliament backs Finland’s NATO accession, Swedish bid pending

Hungary's parliament approved a bill on Monday to allow Finland to join NATO once its application has been ratified by all 30 members of the alliance, ending months of foot-dragging…

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Nordic countries plan joint air defence to counter Russian threat

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Air force commanders from Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark said on Friday they have signed a letter of intent to create a unified Nordic air defence aimed…

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