The Service Centre of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs is to be set up in Hämeenlinna, about 100 kilometres north of Helsinki. A ministerial working group has given its approval to the move, and the Foreign Ministry is expected to make a final decision on the matter shortly. The service centre, which focuses on financial management and payroll issues will employ between 10 and 20 people. The decision by the ministerial working group to establish the centre in Hämeenlinna was not unanimous; Minister of Labour Tarja Cronberg and Trade and Industry Minister Mauri Pekkarinen would have wanted to set up the office in the eastern city of Joensuu for reasons of regional development policy. The chair of the working group, Mari Kiviniemi, said that the project had been under preparation at the Foreign Ministry for a long time, and that Hämeenlinna is a more practical and economic alternative. However, she admitted that the ministerial group recommends Hämeenlinna with some reluctance. About two weeks ago the government decided to locate more state positions in the east and north of Finland, noting that regional distribution efforts have mainly benefited Southern and Western Finland - especially the Hämeenlinna region. However, Joensuu is not being completely neglected; the Foreign Ministry is placing its archives in Joensuu, alongside the provincial archives in the city. YLE
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