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Ethnic Finns complain about plans to introduce tuition fees in Finland

Xinhua, May 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Finnish Expatriate Parliament convening in Helsinki over the weekend raised concern over plans to require non-EU/EEA students to pay tuition fees in Finnish universities.

Among other grievances, the body also demanded a vote-by-letter system in general elections and the relaunch of a Finnish international media channel.

A new policy has been envisaged in the ongoing talks for a new Finnish government to provide free of charge academic education only to EU citizens.

The Expatriate Parliament pointed out in their resolution that many people of ethnically parallel background as Finns live in Russia. The proposed tuition fees could make their studies in Finland unfeasible.

The Finnish language users in Russia are descendants of emigration that took place in the 17th century upon orders of the King of Sweden.

The Expatriate Parliament is a semi-official body established in 1998 and convenes every two years. Its initiatives are submitted to the Finnish prime minister.

In the 2015 meeting representatives of 139 Finnish societies all over the world took part. There are over 1.5 million ethnic Finns outside Finland, but only 300,000 are Finnish citizens.

For those who want to vote in Finnish elections, a journey of thousands of kilometres may be required. Finland currently allows voting abroad only in embassies and select consulates. There is no direct postal vote.

Voter turnout amongst Finnish citizens abroad has been very low. Risto Soder, the expatriate parliament regional Chairman for Asia and Australia, said that numerous politicians have made promises about a postal vote, but nothing has happened.

The expatriate parliament also demanded that someone should relaunch an international media channel covering Finland for the world. The Finnish national broadcaster closed down its international radio service in 2006 and international satellite TV was pulled off the air in 2012.

Expatriates complained that copyright restrictions often make watching via internet impossible. Endit