Finnish Finance Minister Riitta Puurta has presented a draft budget for 2026 that proposes abolishing integration compensation paid to municipalities and social services for accepting asylum seekers and refugees, Yle reports.
It is noted that as part of the integration compensation, the state compensates municipalities for expenses related to the integration of immigrants. The most important of these services are language training and employment assistance, but they also include, for example, training courses that introduce people to Finnish society and customs.
The abolition of integration benefits will particularly affect those who have fled the war in Ukraine, said Sonya Hämäläinen, Director of Immigration at the Ministry of Employment and the Economy.
According to her, most users of integration services are asylum seekers and refugees.
Currently, most of them are Ukrainians who have applied for temporary protection. Their number is estimated at around 46,000. This year, about two-thirds of the funds spent on integration services will go to services for people arriving from Ukraine, and next year, according to estimates, three-quarters.
The amount of compensation paid by the state for the integration of refugees has increased dramatically. Before the Russian invasion in 2022, compensation payments amounted to $50-60 million per year, and now they exceed $150 million.
At the same time, municipalities have a legal responsibility for the integration of immigrants. This responsibility does not end even after compensation payments cease, according to Mikko Harkonen, Director of Viability at the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities.
“Someone has to take care of integration, and then the municipality will have to use other means to provide these services.
Therefore, services must be financed, for example, by increasing municipal taxes or reducing other services. It may also be necessary to reduce the scope of integration services. Even now, compensation is insufficient to fully finance these services,” he stressed.
The draft budget will be discussed at government budget talks in the fall, after which the government will present its draft budget for next year. The final decision on the budget will be made by parliament.
Finland has announced a new package of military assistance to Ukraine worth approximately EUR143 million.
“Finland continues to provide strong support to Ukraine. The new support package includes the first tranches of a €660 million order program from Finnish defense companies,” Defense Minister Antti Hakkänen wrote on social media site X.
He emphasized that with this support program, Finland is helping Ukraine defend itself.
According to a statement on the Finnish Defense Ministry’s website, a new aid package to Ukraine worth approximately EUR143 million is currently being prepared for approval by the Finnish government and president.
To date, the total value of defense equipment supplied by Finland to Ukraine is EUR2.8 billion.
Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen and Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov held a bilateral meeting on Thursday, during which they announced a 28-package military aid package for Ukraine worth EUR 200 million, and signed a Memorandum of Understanding on defense cooperation between the defense ministries of the two countries, the press service of the Finnish Ministry of Defense reports.
“Three years of war against Russia have made the Ukrainian armed forces one of the strongest in Europe. At the same time, the country has gained extensive experience in defending itself against Russia. Therefore, it is obvious that when developing our own defense, we must listen carefully to the lessons of Ukraine and rely on their experience,” Häkkänen said.
It is noted that the purpose of the Memorandum of Understanding between Finland and Ukraine is to deepen defense cooperation, and the areas of closer cooperation include defense materials, information exchange, research and innovation, ammunition production, and defense-related projects in Finland and Ukraine.
In addition, at the meeting, Finland announced another 28th arms aid package to Ukraine, worth about EUR 200 million, which is still pending approval by the Finnish government and president.
“As before, the content of the aid package is not disclosed in detail. However, we can say that this time it includes, among other things, artillery ammunition, which is in great demand. It is a huge achievement that there is broad political support and national unity in our country to help Ukraine. It is also important that we have been able to combine support for Ukraine with strengthening domestic supply security through the industrial support program,” Heikkanen said.
It is also reported that in January, Finland decided on the 27th aid package worth almost EUR 200 million. In late February, Finland announced an industrial program worth EUR 660 million to order new defense equipment from the Finnish defense industry to support Ukraine.
With the implementation of the latest decisions, the total value of Finland’s material assistance will increase to EUR 3.3 billion.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland has decided to allocate humanitarian aid to Ukraine in the amount of 16 million euros.
According to the Finnish Foreign Ministry, the aid will be provided through UN humanitarian agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
“Finland has been supporting Ukraine’s humanitarian needs since the first day of Russia’s invasive war and will continue to do so. The need for humanitarian aid in Ukraine is enormous and our assistance is important,” said Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio.
Finland also provides assistance to address the serious refugee crises in Africa and the humanitarian situation in the Middle East. Finland is providing €2 million in support of the World Food Program (WFP) operation in Sudan, €2.5 million to the WFP operation in Gaza, and €2 million to the UNHCR regional refugee operation in Syria, among other operations. Support is also provided to Ethiopia, the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes and Sahel regions. In Asia, Finland supports Afghanistan and Myanmar through the International Red Cross Movement.
Finland is also providing €2 million to fund the work of the World Food Program and UNHCR on the inclusion of people with disabilities. The assistance is targeted at people with disabilities, who are often in the most vulnerable situation. In addition, 2 million euros are being provided to develop WFP’s school feeding activities and support school feeding, especially in Africa.
In addition to these decisions, Finland provides core funding to multilateral humanitarian organizations. In addition, preparations are underway for humanitarian assistance to be channelled through Finnish civil society organizations. The rest of the humanitarian funding from the budget will be provided later this year.
Finland has announced the allocation of €20.5 million to support the Ukrainian education system, the Ministry of Education and Science reports.
“20 million euros will be used to support educational reform in Ukraine as part of a project that will run from 2025 to 2028. The cooperation project was developed jointly with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland, and the Finnish National Agency for Education,” the ministry said in a statement.
In addition, Finland will provide 500 thousand euros to support the World Food Program (WFP) school feeding program in Ukraine.
According to the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Oksen Lisovyi, the Finnish government has been one of the key partners in education reform since 2018.
“We have many joint programs aimed at strengthening the social protection of students and providing them with psychosocial support,” he added.
The governments of Ukraine and Finland have signed a Framework Agreement under which Finland will mobilize up to EUR 50 million next year for projects financed under the Finnish-Ukrainian Investment Fund (FUIF) program, according to a press release from the Ministry of Finance.
“Under the agreement, loans of up to EUR 50 million are planned for 2025. Further implementation of the Program will involve the conclusion of relevant loan agreements to determine the amount, terms and conditions of loans,” the release said.
The agreement was signed on behalf of Ukraine by Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko, while the signatory on behalf of Finland was Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio.
It is specified that the grant component of the project will amount to at least 35% of the total cost, which will provide preferential financing terms.
In addition, the ministers discussed current development programs and support for Ukraine’s recovery with the assistance of Finland. Marchenko emphasized the importance of cooperation within the framework of the Ukrainian Donor Platform, whose steering committee Finland joined in April 2024 as an observer.
In his turn, Tavio emphasized that the most promising sectors for investment and recovery for the Finnish side are energy, education, infrastructure, digital technologies and agriculture.
The Ministry of Finance reminded that Finland’s direct budget support since February 2022 has amounted to more than $36 million in grant funding.
