FINLAND Trends and Developments Contributed by: Tarja Pirinen, Marius af Schultén, Fiiu Linninen and Noora Ahonen, Castrén & Snellman
landscape, reflecting wider European and global trends towards sustainability and climate neutrality, as well as current geopolitical developments. Increased demand for raw materials in the defence industry and the implementation of green transition projects have been recognised, and efforts have been made and are planned to streamline permitting and other adminis - trative processes related to mining operations. Finland’s new National Mineral Strategy, published on 19 December 2024, also aims to respond to the changing environment, promoting a green and digi - tal transition while emphasising supply security, self-sufficiency, and responsibility. Key goals include growth of the mineral cluster, development of exper - tise, and strengthening of international co-operation. Concrete measures include streamlining authorisation processes, mapping mineral potential, and supporting the circular economy. The strategy highlights that five billion tonnes of mining waste is produced annually worldwide, representing a significant market oppor - tunity for Finnish solutions. Interest in reprocessing mining waste has increased in recent years, with many companies investigating this avenue. In November 2025, a company specialising in min - ing, quarrying and construction machinery received the Long-Term International Investor Award from the President of the Republic of Finland, indicating that mining has consolidated its position as one of Fin - land’s key industries. Streamlining of Permitting and Other Administrative Processes Related to Mining The importance of efficient permitting procedures in attracting investment capital and facilitating the tran - sition to a sustainable economy is recognised in Fin - land. Projects with environmental implications often necessitate multiple separate permits, authorisations and approvals, and these have traditionally been pro - vided by various governmental bodies or authorities under different environmental statutes. To address the challenges posed by protracted and increasingly complex authorisation processes, on 18 June 2025, the Finnish Parliament approved comprehensive leg - islative reforms. A key element of these reforms was the creation of the new national permit and supervi - sory authority, the Finnish Supervisory Agency ( Lupa-
ja valvontavirasto ), which commenced operations on 1 January 2026. This new nationwide authority will consolidate the functions previously carried out by multiple permitting and supervisory bodies including: (i) the six Regional State Administrative Agencies as the environmental permit authorities; (ii) the 15 local Centres for Economic Development Transfer (“ELY Centres”) as the environmental supervision authori - ties; and (iii) environmental permit authorities (eg, in relation to derogations from nature conservation), replacing the fragmented system with a unified nation - al agency. The regional state administration reform is based on Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government Programme. The aim of the reforms is to create a mul - tidisciplinary regional state administration that stream - lines the services for citizens and companies. The Permit and Supervisory Agency will assume most of the responsibilities of the Regional State Adminis - trative Agencies, and the majority of the environmental and natural resources functions from the Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environ - ment. The Finnish Permit and Supervisory Agency’s remit therefore includes environmental licensing and supervision, environmental impact assessment (EIA) tasks relating to land use, nature conservation and environmental protection, water management, marine management and water economy, and public interest monitoring. The Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agen - cy “Tukes”, as a separate authority, will continue to serve as the mining authority; its jurisdiction includes, among other things, the processing of mining permits. Alongside the establishment of the new authority, the Act on the Processing of Certain Environmental Mat - ters at the Finnish Supervisory Agency was enacted to integrate various permit application procedures. The Act also entered into force on 1 January 2026. This legislation introduces a “single-window approach” ( yhden luukun periaate ), enabling multiple authorisa - tion applications for a project to be processed through one consolidated procedure. This streamlined frame - work will facilitate joint hearings for different permits and result in a unified permit decision with a single avenue for appeal, rather than separate processes for each individual authorisation.
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