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PM summons cabinet for extraordinary session on Garden Helsinki funding

The PM has faced weeks of growing controversy over the government's approval of €35m in support for a sports venue project led by former NCP cabinet minister.

Composite image featuring the faces of two men with a blurry artist's rendition of a planned sports arena between them.
Veteran National Coalition Party politicians Jan Vapaavuori (on the left) and Petteri Orpo with an artist's rendition of the planned Garden Helsinki hockey arena. Image: Benjamin Suomela / Yle, Petteri Bülow / Yle, PES-Arkkitehdit, kollaasi: Nanna Särkkä / Yle
  • Yle News

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) has called the government ministers in for an extraordinary plenary session on Monday afternoon.

The point of the meeting is to discuss the government's presentation to Parliament on Tuesday, it said in a press release on Friday afternoon.

Speaker of Parliament Jussi Halla-aho (Finns) has decided to convene Parliament in the middle of its summer holiday at the request of Orpo and the opposition parties.

Cabinet ministers are to explain to the legislature "the conditional decision to support regarding the Garden Helsinki project and the construction of cultural and sports venues in Finland", it said.

The PM has faced weeks of growing controversy over the government's approval of 35 million euros in support for a sports venue project led by former NCP cabinet minister and Helsinki mayor Jan Vapaavuori.

Orpo has denied allegations of corruption or impropriety in the case, or of making misleading statements about the process.

Tuesday's unusual summer session is to include a vote on confidence in the right-wing government, which has less than a year left in its legislative term.

The four governing parties hold 108 seats in the 200-seat legislature, so the cabinet is expected to survive that vote, barring any significant defections by government-party MPs.

Orpo plans to hold a press conference after Monday's cabinet meeting.

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