Finland’s National Coalition Party proposes tuition fees for some degrees, tobacco sales ban, and family benefit cap

The National Coalition Party has unveiled a draft policy programme that includes charging tuition fees for certain higher education degrees, introducing a cap on family benefits, and ending the state alcohol monopoly, Yle reports.

The party’s governing board presented the programme, titled Freedom to Succeed, Responsibility to Care, at a party council meeting in Helsinki on Saturday. The proposals aim to restructure municipal governance, reform social security, and adjust education policies.

Municipal reforms and two-tier system
The programme calls for reducing the number of municipalities to strengthen their capacity to provide services and streamline administration. Voluntary municipal mergers would be encouraged through financial incentives, while criteria for crisis management procedures would be tightened to trigger restructuring more easily.

A two-tier municipal model would be introduced, dividing local governments into “core municipalities” with broader service responsibilities and “local municipalities” with more limited duties. Municipalities could choose their classification, and the system would be phased out once mergers create sufficiently strong basic units. Some state and welfare region tasks would then shift to municipal control.

Social security and tax reforms
The party proposes capping total benefits per family, excluding child allowances, while increasing parental leave payments to fully compensate for lost income—currently set at around 70% of earnings. Unemployment benefits would be tied more closely to prior wages but limited to 300 days, with universal access regardless of unemployment fund membership.

Social security would become more conditional, linking benefits to participation in services, integration efforts, or employment history for immigrants. The party also advocates abolishing gift, inheritance, and real estate transfer taxes while raising “less harmful” taxes to offset revenue losses.

Education and public health measures
In education, the party seeks to start optional second foreign language (A2) studies in primary schools by third grade and maintain specialised class options. It would ban face-covering garments like burqas and niqabs in schools and increase upper secondary graduation rates.

Higher education reforms include charging “reasonable” tuition fees for students pursuing a second degree at the same level. A new model would support adult upskilling for higher qualifications. The programme also proposes ending the state alcohol monopoly (Alko) and banning tobacco sales to curb youth smoking.

Defence and economic policies
The party signals openness to reassessing the demilitarisation of the Åland Islands, a stance previously advocated by its youth wing. Economic proposals include exempting small capital gains from tax, reducing state ownership in non-strategic listed companies, and easing local workplace bargaining while eliminating re-employment obligations for laid-off workers.