Parliament starts work, set to tackle economic slump next week

Immigration law and “Lex Nokia” to be decided late this month

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Ceremonies to open this year’s session of Parliament were held on Wednesday, but actual legislative work will not get into full swing until next week, when debate begins on the government’s stimulus package.
      Matters affecting the nation will be discussed more extensively on Tuesday, when Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) initiates a debate on government plans.
     The government’s stimulus budget proposal will come before Parliament on Thursday, and decisions will be made in early March. There will also be a vote on a bill for the capitalisation of banks, and a proposed amendment that would allow the state to take over a bank that is in trouble.
     
The security and defence policy report will be on the agenda on Wednesday next week. There will be no lack of comment on NATO, as the question of sending 100 more Finnish peacekeepers to Afghanistan to help guard elections to be held in that country will also be debated.
     At the end of the month Parliament will vote on a bill for a new law on immigration, which the populist True Finns are expected to oppose, even though the text has been modified from a form that many considered to be too lax.
     Also on the agenda will be the contentious Lex Nokia, which would give employers access to information on senders and recipients of employee e-mail. The bill has sparked extensive civil liberties concerns.
     
University reform is also scheduled for debate in late February, changing the status of universities, turning them from state offices into public law communities or foundations. Disagreements are expected on matters of administration and funding.
     A bill on election campaign funding and its supervision is expected this month, if the government can agree on the dispute on a proposed ceiling for election campaigning.
     
Election law reform, aimed at improving the proportionality of Parliamentary elections, also hinges on whether or not agreement can be reached within the government. The measure could go before Parliament in the late spring.
     The question of moving the National Agency for Medicines from Helsinki to Kuopio is to come before Parliament.
     Regional issues will be debated in proposals to establish new regional administration offices, as well as new Business, Transport, and Environmental Centres (ELY).
     
A stricter bill on firearms licences is coming to Parliament later in the month, and the government also hopes to have a proposal to relax rules on store opening hours.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Vanhanen denies knowledge of Nokia threat over privacy legislation (2.2.2009)
  Government stimulus measures aimed at halving growth in unemployment (2.2.2009)
  Minister Hyssälä calls time: National Agency for Medicines to be moved to Kuopio (20.1.2009)
  Interior Minister would compromise on data protection for gun licence applicants (11.11.2008)
  PM Vanhanen hopes immigration issue will not become blunt instrument in Finnish politics (28.10.2008)

Helsingin Sanomat