Finland will take in 500 quota refugees next year as part of the UNHCR's resettlement programme, the Interior Ministry confirmed in a press statement released on Thursday.
The statement also revealed the allocation of the quota, meaning which refugee groups will be included.
"Finland will receive 150 Afghan refugees from Iran, 120 Congolese refugees from Rwanda, 100 Syrian refugees from Turkey and 50 Venezuelan refugees from Peru under next year's refugee quota. In addition, Finland will receive 30 refugees who have been evacuated from Libya to Rwanda and 50 persons from any nationality or region who require evacuation in emergency cases," the ministry's statement said.
The decision represents a reversal in previous policy, as Finnish media had reported earlier in the autumn that Interior Minister Mari Rantanen (Finns) and acting interior minister Lulu Ranne (Finns) had directed ministry officials to prepare to exclude quota refugees from Muslim-majority countries, while increasing the quota for Christian-majority nations.
This led to Finland's Non-Discrimination Ombudsman issuing a warning that such a move would likely be discriminatory on religious grounds, before the ministry said last week that it would review its plans.
In Thursday's press release, the ministry noted that this decision was made because of "suspicions surrounding the previous preparation" but declined to comment further while the investigation by the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman is ongoing.
Emphasis on vulnerable groups
The background to the allocation of the quota places was made on the basis of a proposal submitted to Finnish authorities by the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, and the ministry said a particular emphasis was placed on vulnerable groups.
"The government's asylum policy is based on helping the most vulnerable people, which is why special attention is paid to children, women and people with disabilities," the statement noted.
The final decision was made following consultation with the Finnish Immigration Service Migri, the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (Supo) as well as the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
Motion of no-confidence in Minister Rantanen
Later on Thursday, the opposition Left Alliance and Green Party filed a motion of no confidence in Interior Minister Rantanen, citing her handling of the refugee quota process.
The motion was submitted by Left Alliance leader Minja Koskela and Greens MP Fatim Diarra during a plenary session in parliament on Thursday afternoon.
The investigation by the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman seeks to determine if Minister Rantanen and acting-Minister Ranne sought to favour refugees from Christian-majority countries during the planning process.
Minister Rantanen has denied that there was a plan to select refugees on the basis of religion.
Article updated at 18:14 on 28.11 to include the motion of no confidence in Minister Rantanen.