Members of the five-party governing coalition began a ninth – and apparently final – day of negotiations on spending plans for the next two years on Thursday.
Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) said that the final package would be ready on Thursday, but perhaps not until evening.
The leaders of the five government parties said at a press conference at Marin's official residence on Wednesday that they had come to an agreement on the main issues.
Key disputes, allegedly pitting the Centre Party against most of the others, extended what were expected to be two-day talks into a drama lasting more than a week and threatening the survival of the government.
Ministers convened at the House of Estates shortly before noon to iron out the remaining details. They are likely under pressure to complete the drawn-out process before the May Day holiday weekend. According to Yle sources, the deal will not be finalised before ministers head to Parliamentary Question Time at 4 pm.
Yle has learned that the government has agreed on a budget deficit of half a billion euros over the next two years, assuming that the Finnish economy bounces back from the pandemic downturn.
Exceeding the pre-agreed budget expenditure ceiling in 2023 was one of the main controversies in the protracted negotiations, along with employment and the phase-out of high-emission peat as energy.
Saarikko: Nation wants stability
Heading into the talks, Centre chair and Minister of Science and Culture Annika Saarikko said that her party ended up agreeing to an "imperfect" compromise out of duty to the country.
"The decision was influenced by my assessment that the people of Finland did not want instability, but rather stability from our decision-makers after a year of the coronavirus," she said.
Saarikko said that the crisis had strengthened cooperation within the government and in particular, the understanding between the Centre and Marin's Social Democrats.
Ohisalo: Peat emissions must be offset
Greens chair and interior minister Maria Ohisalo said that if eliminating the use of peat as energy takes place more slowly than planned, corresponding emissions cuts must be found elsewhere to meet Finland's commitment to carbon neutrality by 2035.
Ohisalo suggested that emissions cuts could be found in agriculture and transport.
The government’s goal had been to halve the use of peat by 2030. Finland is one of only a few countries that still relies on highly-polluting peat as a significant energy source. Peat producers – who are set to receive extra subsidies as part of Wednesday's compromise – plan a lorry protest in Helsinki on Friday.
According to Yle sources, the nation's few thousand peat producers will be supported with subsidies of some 60 million euros this year.
15:39 Corrected date in headline