Candidates in the European elections

Internationality and language proficiency to Brussels.

I am a deputy member of parliament as of the 2023 parliamentary elections and have been involved in politics for over 25 years. During my studies in Greece, in Athens, the birthplace of democracy, I was already getting involved in politics in a local youth organisation.

I worked at the embassy in Athens. Later, I worked as an EU official during Finland’s presidency of the EU and after that in the cabinet of Greek Foreign Minister G. Papandreou, as a member of the RDI working group.  I have now stepped into the race to fight for democracy, human rights and freedom of speech. As a candidate from Eastern Finland, I want to promote the border security and vitality of our Eastern and Northern Finnish region. The future also needs spokespeople for the green transition, education and workforce mobility, and peace in Europe. I believe that my international work experience, my language proficiency and my knowledge of working life as well as positions of trust and university studies give me a good foundation to work as a member of the European Parliament.

I am an entrepreneur and development director at Aisti Health Oy, which is focused on research and promotion of work productivity and well-being at work. I am one of the most well-known nutrition and obesity experts in Finland, and I have worked as a food policy expert and obesity prevention policy researcher in my career. I have also been involved in founding companies in the food industry and the field of well-being, such as Suomen Painoklinikka Oy, which focuses on remote obesity treatment.

I am an expert in well-being, preventive health care, well-being in working life and human productivity. Admittedly, I have been able to contribute a lot to improving things on these themes, but the political dimension has been left to research and expert roles – and now it is time to influence these issues politically in the European Parliament.

I am a former youth leader, now a member of Lagtinget (the parliament of Åland) and vice chair of Mariehamn City Council on Åland. I am running in the European Parliament elections with a passion for democracy, the climate and the rights of employees, and I am doing so completely in Swedish. In the 2019 parliamentary election, I received the second most votes in Åland.

Peace, stability and faith in the future, my Europe rests on these.

I am the chair of SDP’s party council and I work in Turku as the deputy mayor for education and training. It is particularly important to me to create a good future and promote everyone’s right to learn, develop and feel well. Investing in young people is in the interest of our society as a whole. Young people must have faith in the future, belief that life will carry them forward, support to make meaningful life possible and help when their own wings are not quite enough. They must have faith that society bears responsibility for everyone, strives to promote harmony and well-being between people, and strives in every way to curb climate change.

I am international, experienced and skilled, used to networking, negotiating and thinking about guidelines. I am a 46-year-old mother of teenagers and a dog owner, and I am ready for new challenges.

The years I have worked in politics have only strengthened my social vocation. I believe in the power of cooperation and working together. This is a time of far too many raging arguments and talking over each other. We need more listening to each other and seeking joint solutions. The big problems of Finland, Europe and the world threaten to go unaddressed when far too many approach politics in a short-sighted and populist manner.  The experience of five terms as a member of parliament has taught me that solutions can be found if you have the patience to engage in discussion based on facts and focus on solutions.

I am a social democrat born in Kokkola, as well as being a husband and a father to three adult children. I have served as an MP for the past term – speaking for ordinary Finns in Europe.

I am excited to continue my work in the next term as well. I have been the main negotiator of my group in more than 20 legal projects and formal opinions of the Parliament. My latest task is to act as the budget committee’s chief negotiator in the EU’s new defence industry programme.

I bear the nickname given to me of Mr. Money with a little amusement. The name goes back to my history as a former minister of finance and my responsibilities as a member of the budget, economic and monetary affairs and security and defence policy committees of the European Parliament, as well as the S&D group.

My extensive experience in politics helps in my tasks. I have been a member of parliament for 17 years, four years as speaker of the Finnish Parliament and three years as minister of finance. I was the Chair of the Social Democratic Party for three years and General secretary for three years. Before that, I was in various positions at the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions for almost 20 years.

I am Miina-Anniina Heiskanen (born 1986), human rights defender and dancing economist from Oulu. I am the second vice-chairman of Oulu City board, a city councillor and SDP’s deputy member of parliament in the Oulu electoral district. I have a master’s degree in economics and I am also a dance teacher (BA).

Important issues in politics for me are the issues of families with children, the environment, the economy, employment and well-being. My decision-making is based on facts and values. I grew up surrounded by sign language culture through my grandparents. It is a great asset, the basis of my world of values and a useful skill in life.

I am Sari Helin, entrepreneur and journalist. I am very serious about going to Brussels to be an advocate for Finns.

I am the (bad i.e. huono) mother of the whole country, a small business owner, a restaurateur and during the mining boom, a defender of our clean waters. I am the leader of the Mom of Finland (Huono Äiti) community. Its peer support reaches hundreds of thousands of Finns. You may also remember me as a reporter for Ylen Aamu-tv or A-studio TV programmes.

I have two children and I graduated from the University of Tampere in social sciences.

Brussels and the EU have been familiar to me for years, and we have had an apartment in Brussels for a long time. I also lived in the United States for several years, and worked as a volunteer in the UN peacekeeping presence in the Balkans. I speak English, I can get by in Swedish, I know everyday French. I have also studied Russian.

I live in Helsinki, I come from Tampere and I also live in Saimaa.  I want to defend our wonderful waters, children, adults, special needs children and small business owners. I have been working for accessibility for a long time.

I am a 30-year-old European Parliament election candidate from Lapland. I am a biophysicist by training and I work at the University of Oulu as a doctoral researcher on cellular mechanisms of neurological diseases. I am a first-term city councillor in Kemi, where I currently serve as the third vice-chair of the council and a member of the welfare committee and the board of Kemi Energia ja Vesi Oy. In addition to these roles, I am a member of SDP’s party council. My guiding values in decision-making are equality, justice and solidarity, which are also at the core of SDP’s operations.

I’m Emilia Kangaskolkka, a young Eastern Finn, full-time chair of Social Democratic Youth and town councillor.

My political thinking has been strongly influenced by my childhood and youth in North Karelia, where family poverty with children is the deepest in Finland – it was clearly visible both at school and in my hobbies. In politics, I bear a sense of responsibility for the welfare state and the future of the European Union, where we believe in the pursuit of sustainable development, human rights, security and peace.

I am a sixth term member of parliament from Uusimaa. In the Parliament, I head the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Finnish delegation of the Council of Europe. I have a doctorate in political science. In addition to our domestic languages, I speak fluent English and Russian. I have also written several non-fiction books, especially about foreign and security policy, the EU and the Finnish pension system. I am married, I have four adult children and six grandchildren.

I want to bring my extensive international expertise to the EU. I operate effectively, I have extensive networks and the ability to understand not only political and economic issues, but also the social effects of EU decisions. In addition to a safe Finland and Europe, the cause of pensioners and their opportunities to participate in the digital society are things I want to promote. For me, the best measure of a society is how it takes care of its weakest – this applies to both Finland and the EU.

I am a city councillor from Lahti and chair of the Regional Council of Päijät-Häme. In my day job, I work as a business developer in a regional development company working on issues of electronic transport and regional development.

I have had the opportunity to develop Lahti for 15 years already in responsible positions of trust, leading the city council, a committee and the city board. During this time, we have developed the city and the province together: Lahti is a now a stronger environmental and university city. These development steps have required not only cooperation, but also networking and influencing nationally and internationally.

As a member of the European Committee of the Regions, I get to bring the voice of Finnish municipalities to EU decision-making. It has strengthened my belief that the solutions to many of the big questions of the future are fundamentally European. At the same time, however, we are waging a pan-European struggle for our common values against the far right, populism and cynicism. The danger is that we will fall behind and turn in ourselves.

That is why I feel passionate about being a candidate for a responsible and sustainable EU that believes in its future.

I am Tiina, 40 years old and from Manamansalo, on the shores of Lake Oulu. I am a youth worker and light entrepreneur, mother and family carer. Seven years ago, I got involved in politics because I was shocked by the right-wing government’s weakening of the everyday living conditions of us ordinary people. It felt like we ordinary people were needed in decision-making. Now we ordinary people are also needed in the European Parliament. Currently, I work as the vice-chairperson of the Kajaani City Council and as the regional councillor for Kainuu. I have noticed that things can and should be influenced. My work and the duties of deputy shop steward have taught me about the culture of agreement. I am the type of person who likes to find solutions instead of arguing. I have gained international experience in my work and voluntary work with young people. These tasks take me and my young people around Europe.

I have lived on the border all my life and I know the needs of the border. The importance of the eastern border has been emphasised as NATO’s security border. It is in the interests of all of Finland and Europe that these areas remain vibrant and safe. I have long warned about Russia and successfully pushed for restrictions on land and real estate transactions to non-EU countries since 2007. Although Europe needs to strengthen defence self-sufficiency, it is important to remember that it is above all about securing peace in Finland and Europe.

For me, social justice means, above all, fair rules of play in working life, including at European level. Everyone should have the experience of being heard, participation and livelihood. The best way to fight poverty is to keep everyone involved in our society. Europe must do a better job of addressing the growth of inequality and invest in preventing marginalisation. The integrity of Europe has a direct impact on internal security. When external boundaries are challenged, internal integrity must be strong.

The whole of Finland and Europe benefits from a vibrant, populated border region. The sanctions imposed by the EU on Russia are causing considerable financial losses and problems on the eastern border. Almost a million euros a day! Support packages have been found in the EU for many kinds of challenges and now there is a clear need for support in Eastern Finland. This would not be at the cost of the development of the rest of Finland, but rather on top of everything else. We must be able to develop the whole of Finland equally.

I am a health and well-being professional, an optician from Häme. I am the vice-president of social democratic women (Demarinaiset), a member of the board of the women’s organisation of the Party of European Socialists (PES Women) and a municipal and regional decision-maker. I am married and we have two school-age daughters. I enjoy jogging, reading, textile recycling and vintage.

We must bring social media problems under control now.

The growth of mental health problems among young people is significantly influenced by the use of social media and smartphones. It is important for the European Union to continue the regulation of social media giants and artificial intelligence and dialogue with social media companies in such a way that usage becomes healthier and safer.

I am an experienced decision-maker and influencer, whose values are fairness and respect for others. I have years of experience of influencing Finnish and European politics and legislative work, as well as decision-making. I have been doing employee advocacy work in Finland and Europe for more than 20 years in various positions, including as the president of a trade union. I currently work in a trade union as the director of social relations.

I have a master of arts degree as well as an executive master of business administration and certified board member degrees.

I am an eternal jogger and gym regular.

I am a 27-year-old equality-oriented member of parliament from Hyvinkää, and I am passionate about sustainable development, fair working life, justice and internationality. Someone wise once said that “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” – and that is also what June’s European Parliament elections are all about in many respects.

The EU elections are about sustainable development, peace, liberty and cooperation. It is not even in Finland’s interest to take steps backwards, instead we must move forward.

Many threats today and in the future are invisible and cross borders. Whether we are talking about the development of the rule of law, digitalisation or, for example, securing a skilled workforce, it is worthwhile to cooperate throughout the EU.

The EU and we Finns will be fine, provided we do not erode development, curl up and close ourselves off from the world in a time when challenges have to be solved across the borders of nation states.

I am Dimitri Qvintus, father of two small children, member of SDP’s Party Executive Board and chair of the European working group. I am the chair of the Finlands Svenska Socialdemokrater (Finnish-Swedish social democrats). I work as a strategic communications manager in the private sector. Before that, I managed communications, social relations and responsibility in the Nordic and Baltic countries of the international listed company Bayer Nordic. Before that, I worked as a special adviser to Prime Ministers Rinne and Marin.

The EU can enter the 2030s only as a defender of the rule of law, human rights and Western democracy. That is what elections are all about. That is why I am running.

Europe is now living through years of danger. Europe currently faces two significant threats: Russia and the extreme right. The best way to respond to an external threat is to strengthen support for Ukraine. The best way to deal with an internal threat is to strengthen the rule of law. When European politicians are a strong counterforce to the extreme right, then the EU is a strong counterforce to Russia.

I am 44 years old, an active influencer who has been involved in politics for a long time, a member of parliament and the second vice-chairperson of the SDP parliamentary group. I am a nurse by profession and a forest owner as a hobby. I want to put myself out there in the name of justice and fairness. I am going into the EU elections in earnest to speak in particular about working life and forest issues, which I have a lot of expertise in. I have good networks, the ability to speak with common sense and I am a respected operator across party lines. #usecommonsense