Helsingin Sanomat has a feature on Jerzy Jasielec, a Turku resident from Poland who opted to focus on Swedish-language studies rather than Finnish when settling in Finland.
Swedish is enshrined in the Constitution as a national language with equal status to Finnish, officially making the country bilingual.
"Swedish is just so much easier to learn if you already know English. Swedish grammar is also much easier than Finnish, English or Polish," he said.
Jasielec, who completed the required language test in Swedish for his Finnish citizenship, said he was pleased to realise his Swedish skills have also given him an elementary understanding of Danish and Norwegian.
He acknowledged, however, that although Turku is officially a bilingual city, it isn’t possible to manage with only Swedish.
Finnish immigration authority Migri does not have figures on how many of those applying for citizenship have fulfilled the language requirements in Swedish instead of Finnish, according to HS.
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Baku blunder
Former Finnish president Tarja Halonen is headed to the ongoing UN climate conference in Baku next week. Hufvudstadsbladet reports that the "dictatorship is paying her way," saying she is a guest of conference host Azerbaijan.
Halonen told HBL that her upcoming trip relates to her long-standing involvement in the Minsk Process, which sought a resolution to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, a territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told the UN climate conference that oil and gas are a "gift of God". Fossil fuels are, however, a major driver of climate change because they emit greenhouse gases that warm the planet.
Halonen maintained that while Azerbaijan is footing her travel costs, she is not attending the conference on their behalf, but for the UN and climate efforts.
Billing double
Male-owned small businesses invoice on average more than twice the amount of those owned by women, reports Kauppalehti, citing a report by financial services provider Holvi.
Male entrepreneurs invoice, on average, between 1,600 and 2,500 euros per month, while female ones bill between 600 and 1,000 euros.
Holvi explained that the discrepancy is due to structural factors, as industries tend to be either male- or female-dominated. The business daily noted that many women in business for themselves work in the service sector, including the beauty industry.
Holvi's report examined the monthly invoicing of over 6,000 Finnish small businesses between 2023 and 2024.
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