How Parliament works

The supreme decision-making authority in Finland is exercised by Parliament. The 200 Members of Parliament are elected every four years using a direct proportional system. Parliament enacts legislation, approves the state budget, ratifies international treaties and oversees the Government.

Parliament has three key arenas: the plenary session makes final decisions, the committees prepare matters and the parliamentary groups shape policy. Legislation is enacted according to the Constitution and the Procedure of Parliament. The Speaker directs parliamentary work together with the Deputy Speakers and the Speaker's Council. The Parliamentary Office provides services for MPs and is headed by the Secretary General of Parliament.

The public can learn more about Parliament and its work in many ways. For instance the public is welcome to observe plenary sessions, with no need for advance registration. Parliament's website provides plenty of timely information on Parliament and legislative work. Guided tours of Parliament House are arranged for visitors, and the Visitor's Centre in Little parliament is open Monday through Friday.

Plenary session - legislation and political discussion

The plenary session is where Parliament performs its key task of enacting legislation. There the Parliament also decides on the state budget, handles Government reports and statements and approves international treaties.

Legislative proposals are presented to Parliament in the form of Government bills or Members' initiatives. The handling of Government bills or Members' initiatives begins with a preliminary debate in plenary session. After which the bill is referred to a committee.

Following the committee handling, a bill returns to the plenary session where it is handled in two readings. In the first reading the content of the bill is decided section by section. In the second reading the bill is either approved or rejected. Once it has been ratified by the President of the Republic, an Act is published in the Statutes of Finland.

The plenary session is Finland's most important forum for political debate. This is ensured by the question hour held every Thursday, topical discussions and statements by the Prime Minister. An interpellation is the most effective means to test the confidence the Government enjoys, and usually revolves around a timely subject.

All of these are important to ensure political openness, the focusing of attention on social problems and the proper functioning of democracy. Question hours in particular provide an occasion for timely debate - sometimes quite heated - between Government ministers and the opposition.

All the speeches during a plenary session are recorded, and the minutes are posted on the Parliament website within hours of the end of each session.

Preparatory work is performed in committees

The plenary session is the most visible aspect of Parliament's work. Less visible but very important is the work done in committees. Reports drafted by committees provide the basis on which Parliament takes nearly all of its decisions.

Parliament has 15 permanent special committees. Their task is to prepare Government bills, legislative initiatives, reports and white papers. Committees also issue statements when requested to do so.

Committees generally deal with the matters referred to them as soon as possible. This includes preliminary and final handling of the matter. Preliminary handling begins with hearings at which experts present their views.

After hearings have been concluded the committee conducts a general debate and then tentatively decides on details. In the case of legislation this includes going over a bill section by section. The committee secretary drafts a report and then final handling of the matter begins.

If a committee has been divided and the opinions in its report have been put to a vote, the minority can have their views appended to the report. When a committee report has been completed, handling of the matter continues in plenary session. The committee chairperson has the right to take the floor first to outline the committee's views.

The state budget

Along with its legislative role, exercising budgetary power is one of Parliament's basic tasks. Parliament exercises this power by approving the state budget, which outlines revenue and expenditure during the following year.

Each spring Parliament discusses the budget framework on the basis of spending limits approved by the Government. Agencies and ministries draft their own budgets within this framework during the spring. The Ministry of Finance conducts negotiations with each of the other ministries and in the summer the Government works out final details in its budget session.

After the Government has submitted its budget proposal, Members can submit budgetary initiatives within a period of ten days. In a budgetary initiative a Member can propose that an appropriation in the Government's budget proposal be increased or reduced or that a new appropriation be added for a specific purpose.

In connection with the budget proposal the Government submits a number of budget bills. These are bills whose content determines the level of spending in one or more parts of the budget. For instance, the Child Allowance Act determines how much family benefit will be paid each month in the form of child allowance and how long it will be paid.

The Finance Committee is mainly responsible for handling the budget proposal and for this purpose it has nine sub-committees. Each of these handles the part of the budget that is in its own sector. The Subcommittee for Tax Affairs deals with the revenue side of the budget as well as tax laws, while the other subcommittees focus on expenditure.

Handling of the budget begins with a preliminary debate in plenary session. This is one of the most important debates in Parliament. At the end of the preliminary debate, the proposal is referred to the Finance Committee.

After the committee stage, the budget proposal returns to the plenary session, where Parliament approves the budget in a single reading. This includes a thorough debate on each sector and votes on Members' initiatives. Handling the budget in plenary session takes several days and includes hundreds of votes.

Parliament's role in EU decision-making

On the national level the Finnish Parliament plays a strong role in decision-making on EU affairs, compared to many other member states. According to the Constitution, the Government and each minister must enjoy the confidence of Parliament in all of their activities. This principle of accountability to Parliament also applies to the Government's activities within the EU.

The Grand Committee serves as Parliament's EU committee. Its most important task is to ensure that Parliament has a proper say in EU decision-making and that parliamentary scrutiny is effective in this regard. In the case of the EU's common foreign and security policy, Parliament's views are expressed by the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Before attending Council meetings, ministers inform the Grand Committee of the items on the agenda and the positions that Finland's representatives intend to take in the Council. Council meetings are attended by the minister responsible for the administrative sector in question.

The Foreign Affairs Committee has the same right to be kept informed and to speak for Parliament with regard to the common foreign and security policy as the Grand Committee has in other EU affairs.

The special committees play a significant role in the handling of EU affairs, which is a distinctive feature of the Finnish system. The special committees issue statements to the Grand Committee on EU affairs in their own fields. The Grand Committee generally concurs with the special committee's views.

EU legislation and especially directives usually require the amendment of national legislation. This legislation is enacted in the normal order. International treaties, including amendments to the Union's treaties, must be approved by the plenary session.