Parliament shifts two Social-and-Health Committee bills to other panels, sparking criticism

On Thursday, the speaker council of Finland's Parliament, backed by a government-party majority, decided to transfer two pieces of legislation out of the Social and Health Committee. The pension-system reform will now be handled solely by the Work and Equality Committee, while revisions to the tobacco law will be examined by the Environment Committee, which will also receive statements from the Social and Health and Constitutional Law Committees.

Krista Kiuru, chair of the Social and Health Committee, described the move as a serious breach of the Parliament's customary division of responsibilities. Opposition leader Tarja Filatov accused the governing parties of arbitrarily reallocating government proposals without proper expertise, and Centre Party member Jouni Ovaska echoed the criticism, calling the action unprecedented in one outlet parliamentary term. Both opposition figures warned that repeated violations of committee rules could undermine the Parliament's authority.