FINLAND REPORT Decisions regarding Finnish shipping policy is still not corresponding to the line approved years ago within the European Union. To date, the Government has only partly fulfilled its promises. Finnish shipowners have been worried about their competitiveness for a long time. The law on tonnage tax, accepted by the Parliament before summer, has not received applause from the shipping community. Until now, not a single shipping company has chosen this option and will not do so. The present Government's programme contains a special clause to the effect that they will draw up a programme whereby the Finnish merchant fleet's competitiveness is to be safeguarded. The Ministry of Transport and Communications has also launched an extensive research project, based on the cluster concept, to develop a shipping policy strategy for Finland. In accordance with this, a net wage system complying with the EU guidelines is still in use for cargo vessels. In respect of passenger vessels, there are subsidies involving refunds of 97 % of the tax deducted at source, but not social and other employer's contributions. The system is also called the net pay system and includes all Finnish flagged passenger vessels in international trade. The solution is still far from the arrangements applicable in competing countries. This may lead to a continuous process of flagging out of Finnish vessels. Newbuildings for the Finnish shipping industry are mainly put under a foreign flag, usually a EU flag. According to statistics from the Finnish Maritime Administration, Finnish Shipping (ships over 500 gt) consisted of 152 ships with a total deadweight of 1.13 million tonnes at 1st of July 2002. The corresponding figures for 1st July 2001 were 152 ships and 1.29 million tonnes deadweight. Only 1 newbuilding, of 19 625 dwt, was delivered to Finnish shipowners during 2001. Finland's own foreign trade shipments rose to nearly 80 million tons, transit shipments being some 6 million tons. Last year, the Finnish fleet still transported 37.4 % of the exports and imports of the country. The number of passengers transported by sea between Finland and other countries was about the same as in 2001, being around 15,5 million passengers. The Finnish fleet is still almost totally manned by Finnish seafarers due to strong opposition from the Seamen's' Union against foreign employees. However, the number of foreign employees is slightly growing. The Finnish seafarers in international traffic numbered some 7400, with the number third countries being around 40 as in January 2002.