Finnish Prime Minister Requests Extraordinary Parliament Session Amid Corruption Scandal Over Helsinki Arena Project

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has approached the Speaker of Parliament with a request to convene an extraordinary session in response to a corruption scandal linked to the Helsinki Garden project. The project aims to build a new arena for sports events and concerts in central Helsinki.

Orpo stated that the government will report to parliament on its support for the project. The session is scheduled for July 21, 2026. At the center of the controversy is €35 million in conditional state aid promised to the Helsinki Garden project. The project is led by Jan Vapaavuori, a former mayor of Helsinki, minister of economy, and vice-president of the European Investment Bank, who is also a member of Orpo's centre-right National Coalition Party.

Initially, Helsinki Garden applied for a state guarantee on a €110 million loan from the Ministry of Finance. However, Finnish media obtained internal documents indicating that the ministry considered the project a risky investment, citing potential cost overruns and delays, as well as the existence of similar arena projects nearby.

Despite this, Vapaavuori continued to lobby senior officials and politicians, including Orpo, until a support package of €35 million was agreed upon. Vapaavuori did not register his contacts with ministers and officials in the lobbying transparency register, though he later said he would update this information.

In recent weeks, opposition parties have demanded answers from Orpo and Finance Minister Riikka Purra on whether they were unduly influenced.

Separately, on April 16, the Lithuanian Seimas supported the removal of parliamentary immunity from former Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis. He is a figure in a major corruption investigation involving a scheme at the State Plant Protection Service. Skvernelis is suspected of bribery and faces 2 to 8 years in prison.