According to Helsingin Sanomat, MPs are complaining about the poor workload distribution in the Parliament due to the number of committees assigned to each member.
"There are simply too many committees, or there are too few members. I belong to five committees or divisions, all of which require mandatory attendance," first-time MP Pauli Aalto-Setälä (NCP) wrote in a recent blog post.
Over the past 30 years, the number of committees in Parliament has significantly increased, leading representatives to generally serve as full members of two committees, plus alternate memberships.
Former Speaker Matti Vanhanen (Cen) told HS he hoped representatives would voice their concerns on the matter. Vanhanen tried to reform committee work during his tenure but was unsuccessful.
"The current system is completely absurd, hopping from one committee to another," he said.
Parliament members conduct legislative work in committees that typically meet on plenary session days, before the sessions begin at 2 pm.
Aalto-Setälä is a regular member of the Environment Committee and two divisions of the Finance Committee. He also is an alternate member of the Commerce Committee and the Grand Committee.
"Meetings often overlap, making it impossible to fulfil one's responsibilities properly. One, or at most two, committees would suffice for each representative," Aalto-Setälä said.
This situation is problematic when a committee needs a specific number of representatives for a quorum. During budget discussions, committee members have unusually heavy workloads.
This year, numerous budget-related legislative proposals have piled up in the Social Affairs and Health Committee, where member Ville Merinen (SDP) recently took sick leave, citing an "sick" work environment.
Vanhanen's proposal to reduce the number of required members in each committee failed due to opposition from smaller parties that would lose equal representation in the bodies.
Immigration-fuelled population growth
Just three years ago, Statistics Finland projected that the country's population would begin to decline by 2034.
However, Ilta-Sanomat reports that the agency's latest population forecast says that net immigration is sufficient to maintain Finland's population growth.
If net immigration remains at its current level, Finland's population could reach 6.5 million by 2070, according to the forecast.
Its 2024 forecast anticipates that the working-age population will increase by nearly 300,000 by 2040, peaking at around 3.84 million in the early 2050s.
Foreign meat at Kotipizza
Finland's largest pizza chain, Kotipizza, which has always emphasised its strong domestic sourcing, has made a surprising decision to include foreign meat in its offerings. Maaseudun Tulevaisuus was the first to report on the matter.
According to information on Kotipizza's website, the meat used in its products is no longer 100 percent domestically sourced. In November, the chain will introduce a new pizza featuring nduja sausage produced by a Danish meat producer, with meat sourced from Denmark, Germany and Poland.
Kotipizza said its decision stems from the chance to participate in international ingredient sourcing tenders through its parent company, the Norwegian Orkla Group, which acquired the chain in 2019.
According to the paper, Kotipizza may increase its use of foreign meat as it is currently tendering for chicken, salami, pepperoni, ham and bacon, with both domestic and international suppliers involved in the procurement process.
"In recent years, inflation and cost pressures in particular have affected how we can simultaneously ensure reasonable prices for our products and the profitability of our restaurant operators," Kotipizza said on its website.
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