Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s New Year’s message, 31 December 2025

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's New Year's message, 31 December 2025

Fellow citizens, The darkest part of winter is now behind us - every day is a little bit longer than the last. Winter storm Hannes, which raged through Finland, has now subsided. I would like to thank the authorities and everyone else who has worked hard to repair the damage caused by the storm. We can be proud of the way Finland comes together in these situations.

The mood leading up to the new year is serious, but not hopeless.

When we look forward at the year to come, many of us have one wish above all others: a ceasefire and a lasting peace in Ukraine. Four years of Russia's brutal war of aggression is far too long. Millions of Ukrainians have been forced to leave their homes. The war has claimed the lives of more than ten thousand civilians, hundreds of them children. And we must not forget those who have died in battle.

The war has transformed the security environment in Europe. This transformation is permanent.

In recent weeks and days, there have been intense discussions on the conditions for peace in Ukraine. Europe continues to stand with Ukraine so that the outcome of the negotiations is one that Ukraine can accept.

Unfortunately, Russia has shown no signs that it wants to work towards peace. Putin's threatening rhetoric has only intensified.

At our summit before Christmas, the EU leaders made a necessary and important decision: Ukraine will receive EUR 90 billion in support for the coming years. Without external support, Ukraine's funds could dry up by spring.

Finland and most other EU Member States would have liked to mobilise the frozen Russian assets to benefit Ukraine. We did not reach an agreement on this at the summit. Finland was open to raising joint debt to finance Ukraine, we considered it a possibility, but we did not think it would receive consensus. After lengthy negotiations, we agreed on a hybrid model: We will take out a joint loan, but the frozen Russian assets will remain frozen and will ultimately be used to repay the loan.

This model allowed us to achieve our most important goal: to give Ukraine the funds it needs to continue to defend itself. Without these funds, Ukraine would not be negotiating peace, it would be negotiating surrender.

The situation will be serious even if we achieve a ceasefire and peace in Ukraine. Russia will not change.

Russia will continue to be a threat to all of Europe - today, tomorrow and far into the future. I have said this several times, and I want to say it again: we are not afraid of Russia. We are prepared.

One part of our preparedness is seeking strength through cooperation. With this in mind, I organised the first Eastern Flank Summit in Helsinki just before Christmas. Europe is being defended on its eastern edge, from the far north to the Black Sea. We Eastern Flank States need to step up our cooperation in both the EU and NATO. It is up to us to keep the eastern border regions high on the agenda; nobody else will do it for us.

The summit attracted a lot of positive attention from NATO and the EU. Here, too, we were able to play a bigger role than our size would suggest.
Finland will be taking the lead on Eastern Flank cooperation together with Poland. The EU's next multiannual financial framework proposes EUR 135 billion for defence. The long-term budget will also be used to improve military mobility. Our goal is to ensure that these funds are used where they are needed most - in the east.

Fellow citizens,
The situation with Finland's general government finances is also serious. This is an inescapable fact. We have had to make historically difficult adjustments to general government finances, to the tune of around EUR 10 billion. Even this has not been enough; our expenditure is still higher than our revenue. That said, these adjustment measures have prevented our debt from spiralling out of control.

In spring 2023, experts estimated that economic growth would begin to pick up. Time and again, these forecasts have proved wrong. Russia's war in Ukraine and the permanent closure of our eastern border have affected Finland's economy, and the minds of Finns, in a way no one could have predicted. The war has filled us with uncertainty and concern.

Our economic growth has stagnated while our ageing population, greater defence needs and rising interest expenses have increased public expenditure. We will continue to face these challenges next year and for many years to come.

Many households are now saving money for a rainy day. Our Government has sought to allocate general government savings to the working-age population, who have the best opportunities to influence their situation. The difficult employment situation has stifled these opportunities. Savings are also being felt in many families with children. The Government is doing everything we can to improve employment - so that as many mothers and fathers as possible can find work and earn a living for their families.

This coming January, the EU's Economic and Financial Affairs Council will decide on opening an excessive deficit procedure for Finland and will adopt recommendations to rectify the situation. The European Commission's message to Finland is that we have taken the right steps. We have made the necessary structural changes and have taken countless measures to boost growth.

We have invested in competence, accelerated clean industry investments, streamlined permit procedures and improved access to financing for growth companies.
With the economic cycle holding us back, even this will not be enough.

It is clear that we will not be able to complete the overhaul of Finland's general government finances within the parliamentary term. That doesn't mean our Government is throwing in the towel. We will once again look into what can be done to boost growth and promote employment. If the European Commission's recommendation is even more savings, that is what we will do. We will do this so that Finland can continue to provide the services of the welfare society to its citizens in the years to come.

From Finland's point of view, one of the most important decisions of the past year was the commitment by a clear majority of the parties in Parliament to the debt brake, which will help keep expenditure under control in the current and coming parliamentary terms. Before the next elections, we will agree on an adjustment target, which all parties have pledged to adhere to. Political parties may have different views on how to get there, but we all share the same goal: to get Finland back on its feet.

The debt brake is a good example of the parties' ability to set aside their political differences and work together when necessary. In a small country like Finland, this is very much in our interest.

Getting our health and social services in order also requires us to work together. The Government has repaired many of the faults in the wellbeing services county reform. We have already seen some great development, and our work will continue. That said, the model still has major structural and financial problems. We need to start discussing them jointly in Parliament ahead of the next parliamentary term.

Here, too, we share the same goal: to provide high-quality, well-functioning health and social services to Finns, and to ensure sustainable funding for them.

Fellow citizens,
Especially in difficult times, it's important to focus on the positive things. There is actually a lot to be happy about.

The Government has taken a number of measures to improve the conditions for investments and entrepreneurship. The past year brought quite a bit of good news: icebreaker deals with the United States, a long-term contract to build cruise ships, billion-euro orders for Patria, data centre investments and thriving startups. We have every reason to expect more news like this in the coming year.

Growth starts when there is demand for Finnish products abroad. When our companies can make full use of everything we have to offer in the defence industry, clean energy and artificial intelligence.

Growth starts when uncertainty subsides and demand picks up for homes, cars, household appliances and services. When people renovate their homes.

The conditions for growth are in place. Companies' balance sheets are in order. The purchasing power of Finns has improved, and we are seeing an increase in investments and savings. Lowering the taxes on work will improve the purchasing power of wage earners next year, too.

We have continued to invest in education and expertise, increased the intakes of higher education institutions and boosted funding for research and development.

I am especially pleased with the concrete decisions to increase the number of classes in reading and arithmetic and to prohibit the use of mobile phones in schools. This will ensure that our classrooms are a peaceful place to teach and learn. These decisions have been met with a great deal of praise. We Finns are united in our concerns about the wellbeing of children and young people.

In the coming year, we need to be willing to succeed together. We need more things to work for together. That way, we will succeed. When we look for solutions together and believe in our potential, we can overcome even the most difficult challenges.

I wish you all a Happy New Year!

Petteri Orpo
Prime Minister