The European Entrepreneurship Promotion Awards (EEPA) recognise the most successful promoters of entrepreneurship across Europe, highlight the best entrepreneurial practices, raise awareness of the importance of entrepreneurship and encourage Europeans to become entrepreneurs.

At their meeting of 11 March, the EU ministers for employment and social affairs approved the agreement reached with the European Parliament on the Platform Work Directive. Minister of Employment Arto Satonen represented Finland at the meeting in Brussels.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment proposes appropriations of EUR 4.4 billion for its administrative branch for 2024, which is about EUR 448 million more than in the 2023 budget.

Appropriations of around EUR 3.78 billion are proposed for the administrative branch of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment for 2023, which is EUR 236 million more than in the 2022 budget. In connection with the implementation of the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Plan, a total of EUR 346.13 million in appropriations and EUR 101.5 million in budget authority will be allocated to the administrative branch of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.

​​​​​​​The economic recovery that began in Finland during the summer has stalled. The near-term outlook for the service sectors have started to deteriorate amid rising coronavirus infections and a shift towards the acceleration stage of the epidemic. The outlook for industrial production remains subdued, but recovery measures and a pick-up in demand are expected to give some boost to industry.