Finland’s Recovery and Resilience Plan

Finland’s Recovery and Resilience Plan was published on 26 May 2021. The Plan forms part of the
Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland.

For the Sustainable Growth Programme, the Government has selected investment projects and reforms
that can achieve a long-term positive impact. The aim is to promote structural adjustment of the
economy through particular packages of measures.

The preparatory work has focused on major packages with a significant impact rather than distributing
resources among projects that are too small and have too little impact. The reforms are aimed at
encouraging private investment and supporting systemic solutions.
Finland’s Recovery and Resilience Plan is centred on four priorities:

1. Green transition
2. Digitalisation
3. Employment and skills
4. Health and social services.

The European Commission published a positive assessment of Finland’s Recovery and Resilience Plan  on
4 October 2021. The finance ministers of the EU Member States discussed Finland’s plan in their video
conference on 28 October. The Council of the EU formally approved the plan by written procedure on 29
October 2021.

Sustainable Growth Programme’s reforms and investments to start (press release 26 May 2021)

Finland's Recovery and Resilience PlanLink to an external websiteOpens in a new tab (in Finnish)

Proposal for an implementing decision and other EU documentsLink to an external websiteOpens in a

The Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland strongly supports digitalisation and the data economy in
public and private service provision, enabling improved productivity and cost-effectiveness. Under the
Programme, secure, everyday services will be made available to everyone throughout the country.

Goals

The goals are to create a competitive operating environment for businesses and to turn Finland into a
world-class producer of data-driven services for digital societies, together with secure solutions for
these services. This includes solutions that promote digitalisation in the transport sector. The
Programme will strengthen the digital transition in society through measures that boost digital,
technological and data investments.

Funding

EUR 217 million (excluding Åland’s share and funding for administration, supervision and audit)

Project examples

‘Digitalisation’ projects focus on areas such as:

 rail transport digitalisation (Digirail project)

What practical benefits will there be?

Digitalisation in rail transport will enable more efficient use of rail capacity, and will reduce disruption
and improve safety. The project will make rail travel more attractive and improve flexibility in goods
transport – while also supporting climate objectives.

With fast internet access throughout the country, it will be possible to work conveniently in the
workplace, at home or even at a summer cottage or other secondary residence. Self-employment and
studying on a location-independent basis will also be possible. The Programme will bring connections to
areas not served by the market.

Businesses especially will benefit from the development of new leading edge technologies, such as 6G
and artificial intelligence. The aim is to create expertise in these sectors in Finland, which will generate
jobs and open up study opportunities. With top-level expertise, Finland will be able to compete
successfully in the global marketplace.
Saving receipts and invoices in electronic form online in a standard, machine-readable format is
something that should be possible in the future. This means customers will be able to find their receipts
in a single location and business operators can conveniently get an overall picture of their financial
situation. This will allow real-time taxation, which means that businesses would no longer get
unexpected tax refunds or requests for back taxes. This will also reduce the grey economy, as the tax
authorities will have real-time information on purchases.

At the same time as developments in technology enable new digital practices and services, it is also
important to ensure that these operate smoothly and have no cyber or information security problems. It
is also important to ensure that people know how to use the digital services available in society.
Cybersecurity research will help the smooth functioning of a digital society and help with raising
people’s level of expertise.

Employment and skills

The Programme will raise the employment rate and skill levels, enabling sustainable growth to gather
pace. Funding will be directed at e.g. employment services, study opportunities, research, development
and innovation activities, and sectors particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Goals

The goals include renewing jobseeker services by making them more customer-oriented and taking
advantage of digitalisation in such services. Work-based immigration will also be streamlined and
wellbeing at work promoted, and people with impaired capacity for work will be able to find
employment more successfully.

Long-term growth will be promoted by raising skill levels among both young people and adults. Further
opportunities will be created for continuous learning, with a focus on opportunities that are not location
dependent.

The Programme will promote the joint use of research infrastructures and will increase research and
development intensity, enabling growth to pick up over the longer term as well.
The goal is to accelerate renewal, recovery and sustainable growth in sectors most affected by the
pandemic crisis, i.e. travel and tourism, the creative economy and the events sector. This work will focus
on innovative approaches and making use of research information.

Funding

EUR 636 million (excluding Åland’s share and funding for administration, supervision and audit)

Project examples

‘Employment and skills’ projects focus on areas such as:

 adoption of a Nordic employment service model: additional staff for the Employment and
Economic Development Offices and modification of information systems
 smoother recruitment of top talent from abroad
  flexible new opportunities for continuous learning, along with digital services to support these,
and use of digitalisation to open up study opportunities in higher education institutions
 additional funding for research and development, and for research and innovation
infrastructures
 support for renewal and revival of travel and tourism and the creative and cultural sectors.

What practical benefits will there be?

Jobseekers and businesses will benefit from a customer-oriented service when the online services of the
Employment and Economic Development Offices are improved and additional staff hired. Work-based
immigration will operate more smoothly through the creation of convenient digital services. The
Ohjaamo one-stop guidance centres will widen the range of their youth services. In addition, people
with impaired capacity for work will be able to find employment more successfully when structural
reforms supporting this are brought forward.

A skilled workforce will improve the prospects for achieving reforms in working life. There will be more
opportunities for continuous learning, and it will be easier to find these, which will help people acquire
new skills and find employment. There will be more equitable participation.

In higher education institutions it will be possible to study flexibly and on a location-independent basis
when digital learning environments are developed further. Flexibility will also attract foreign students to
Finland. Higher education institutions will have more student places available.

Research, development and innovation will bring improved productivity and boost the international
competitiveness of businesses. Additional funding will focus especially on skills and innovation that
support the green transition. Investment will also be made in research and innovation infrastructure. As
businesses succeed in the competitive environment, the Finnish economy will grow and employment
will rise.

Sectors most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic will recover and cope with future crises only if they are
able to renew and regenerate. This is why the Programme aims to support the revival of travel and
tourism and the creative and cultural sectors, focusing on competency and research as the basis for this
renewal. Financial support will be available for exporting and for internationalisation, among other
things. This will secure jobs – and at the same time offer services and leisure-time experiences to the
public at large.
Health and social services – Recovery and Resilience Plan

The Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland will improve the availability of health and social
services. It will also increase the cost-effectiveness of services, producing better health and wellbeing for
every euro spent

Goals

During the COVID-19 pandemic many people have not had access to health and social services or have
had to wait to access services. An important aim of the Programme is to reduce the backlog in care,
rehabilitation and other services which has built up as a result of the pandemic. 

The key goals also include adopting new multidisciplinary and multi-professional practices in healthcare
and social welfare for promoting the health and wellbeing of the population. New digital services will
also be introduced. Low threshold services will also be used to better meet various needs, for example
the needs of those who are vulnerable.  

The aim is quicker access to treatment and care, especially in primary healthcare. The Programme
focuses on shortening the maximum waiting times for access to primary healthcare (treatment time
guarantee) as referred to in the Government Programme, and on improving access to mental health
services.

Measures under the Programme will support the goals for health and social services reform. 

Funding

EUR 400 million (excluding Åland’s share and funding for administration, supervision and audit)

Projects

To improve access to health and social services and increase cost-effectiveness, four areas of investment
are identified:

1. promoting the implementation of maximum waiting times and reducing the backlog in care,
rehabilitation and other services
2. strengthening prevention work and early identification of problems
3. reinforcing the knowledge base underpinning health and social services and the management
of these services
4. bringing new, efficiency-promoting digital services to service users and health and social
services professionals.

What practical benefits will there be?

The reforms will mean people have quicker access to care, rehabilitation and other healthcare and social
welfare services. For example, quicker access to mental health services will be made possible
throughout the country. It is important to receive help at an early stage so that minor problems do not
become more serious.
Improved availability of primary-level services will reduce the need for specialised medical care and
demanding special services. This will curb the growth in health and social services expenditure.

The availability of health and social services and the accessibility of these services will improve as more
digital service options are offered, such as online discussion with professionals and remote
appointments. Mobile services can be brought to people's homes or to shopping centres, for example.
This will also support locally accessible services. It will be easier to meet people’s needs when
professionals in different fields can cooperate more closely and information is transmitted more
effectively.

It will be possible to manage health and social services more effectively when common operating
models are established along with procedures for locally managing appointments, queues, resources
and other matters.