Govt announces €15b support following coronavirus epidemic

The Government on Friday agreed on a comprehensive package of EUR 15 billion to safeguard jobs and livelihoods and ease the economic pressure on businesses, said an official press release.

The first supplementary budget will safeguard the resources of the authorities and increase the appropriations allocated to companies.

The scope of the supplementary budget will be around EUR 400 million. Further supplementary budgets will be introduced over the coming weeks.

The government will implement most of the proposals put forward on Thursday by collective organisations in the manner proposed by the organisations.

The measures outlined in the organisations’ proposals aim to secure, in particular, the livelihoods of people who are laid off or lose their jobs.

They will also make it easier for companies to adapt to the difficult situation. In addition to the measures proposed by the collective organisations, the government will safeguard the livelihoods of entrepreneurs and freelancers, regardless of their form of enterprise, through unemployment security.

Companies’ financing will be secured through a number of billion-euro measures.

New direct payments will also be introduced. The purpose of these measures is to ensure the liquidity of companies during the crisis and to prevent bankruptcies.

The measures will be in place in all sectors.

News agency Xinhua adds: A total of 12 billion euros will be allocated to Finnvera, a Finnish state-owned financing company, in order to support businesses in overcoming difficulties caused by the virus. Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä underlined at a press conference that the actual loans will be granted by the banks. Lintilä said he hoped that "the banks will now recognize their responsibility."

Prime Minister Sanna Marin said at a press conference that restrictions on both layoffs and the mandatory staff talks will be eased, while unemployment benefits to those affected will be paid out faster. Entrepreneurs will be temporarily recognized as unemployment benefit recipients, as the country's unemployment benefit system is normally restricted to wage earners only. The employers' pension fund payment obligations are also relaxed temporarily.

The changes to the labor market rules are based on a joint suggestion by the employers', employees' and entrepreneurs' organizations earlier this week.

The government also announced a plan to grant the majority state-owned airline Finnair a 600 million euro loan guarantee. The aid is subject to parliament's approval.

Aki Kangasharju, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Research Institute of the Finnish Economy, commented on national broadcaster Yle that the latest measures were just what the Finnish business sector needs to restore confidence.

Furthermore, the public funding agency Business Finland's grant authorizations will be increased by 150 million euros to permit immediate business support measures.

Earlier this week, Finance Minister Katri Kulmuni had said the government would launch a five-billion-euro package to alleviate the impacts of the outbreak on the country's economy. After Friday's announcement, the various measures announced totaled 50 billion euros, Yle reported.

Earlier this week, the Bank of Finland projected that the country's gross domestic product (GDP) will drop by between 1.5 percent and 4 percent in 2020 because of the pandemic.

To date, Finland has reported 450 confirmed cases of COVID-19.