On 4 August 2022, the Government proposed that the President of the Republic approve the Act on Fixed-Term Fuel Subsidy for Transport Companies and, based on a resolution approved by Parliament, decided to study whether it would be possible to support operators using light fuel oil as well.

On 2 June 2022, the Government proposed a new act on a fixed-term fuel subsidy, which would compensate transport companies for the sudden rise in fuel prices caused by Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February. The subsidy would apply to road transport of goods and passengers.

Business cost support granted during the coronavirus crisis increased companies’ turnover, turned them profitable and lowered the risk of debt restructuring. Due to the support for business costs, some of the loss-making companies became profitable during the coronavirus epidemic. However, the new rounds of support have slowed down a beneficial structural change of the economy. These are the conclusions of the report ‘Assessment of Support Policy during the Coronavirus Pandemic,’ published by the Research Institute of the Finnish Economy (Etla) for the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Employment on 17 May 2022.

Finland’s economic growth has fallen clearly behind its peers and there is a risk that the gap will widen further. The main problems are low scalability of innovations and slow productivity growth, according to the final report of the expert working group led by Pekka Ala-Pietilä, which was submitted to Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä on 6 May 2022.

The European Commission is proposing new ways of tackling subsidies granted by non-EU governments that distort competition in the internal market. Finland supports the aims of the proposal calling for level playing field for businesses that receive foreign subsidies and for businesses that do not. The rules must be clear and predictable.