Finland To Use EU Fund For Renewal, Rather Than Recovery

Finland will use the European Union (EU) fund for renewing the economy rather than for recovery, Minister of Finance Matti Vanhanen said at a government press conference here on Monday while announcing the Sustainable Growth Program for Finland

HELSINKI, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Mar, 2021 ) :Finland will use the European Union (EU) fund for renewing the economy rather than for recovery, Minister of Finance Matti Vanhanen said at a government press conference here on Monday while announcing the Sustainable Growth Program for Finland.

According to the program, Finland plans to use half of the EU recovery fund for climate projects and a fourth for digitalization. Meanwhile, part of the 2.1-billion-euro (2.5-billion-U.S.-dollar) funding will also be used for speedier access to healthcare and employment, announced Vanhanen.

The program, which is mainly on how to use the EU recovery fund, was prepared by a ministerial group representing all the five parties in the current government coalition, aiming at a strong public-private partnership to promote the Finnish economy.

Finland expects that each one euro from the EU recovery fund would attract nine Euros as matching investment from the Finnish industries, the minister indicated.

Krista Mikkonen, Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, said at the press conference that a six percent decline in the country's annual climate emissions could be reached with the help of the program.

She described the plan as the largest Finnish climate measure so far.

Commenting on the program, the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) welcomed this ambitious investment by Finland to be a frontrunner in environmental measures and digitalization, with a view to creating new export opportunities.

The preliminary total of funding that Finland could receive from the EU recovery package for 2021-2023 is approximately 2.1 billion euros, at current prices. Finland will also receive funding for other programs under the EU recovery package, including the Just Transition Mechanism and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. These would increase the overall amount of EU funding for Finland to an estimated total of 2.9 billion euros, according to the government.

The Finnish spending plan of the EU recovery fund is subject to EU Commission approval. Vanhanen said changes could be accommodated.

Finnish economy was hit by COVID-19 comparatively less than some other countries. The economic decline in 2020 has been estimated to be 2.9 percent in GDP.