Reforming investment protection with Vietnam
The approval and bringing into force of the investment protection agreement between the European Union and its member states, of the one part, and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, of the other part, and on the repeal of the act on the bringing into force of the provisions of a legislative nature of the agreement with Vietnam on the promotion and protection of investments
Finland will adopt the investment protection agreement between the European Union and Vietnam, which safeguards investments between the countries. The new agreement replaces the previous bilateral investment agreement between Finland and Vietnam.
- Status
- Passed
- Submitted
- 6 Oct 2022
- Latest event
- 24 Nov 2022
- Votes
- 0
- Speeches
- 10
- Confirmed
- 3 Feb 2023
- Statute
- 150/2023
- Source
- eduskunta.fi ↗
What is proposed
Finland will approve and bring into force the investment protection agreement between the EU and its member states and Vietnam, and will repeal the act bringing into force the earlier bilateral agreement. The agreement defines a minimum level of investment protection and establishes a reformed two-tier investment court system for resolving investment disputes.
What it means
The change will increase legal certainty and improve investment protection for Finnish companies and investors operating in Vietnam, while safeguarding states' right to regulate in areas such as environmental and health policy. In 2019, Finland's stock of foreign direct investment in Vietnam was 2.4 million euros, and 12 subsidiaries of Finnish companies employed 842 people in the country. The agreement will enter into force by a separate decree once national ratification processes are completed.
How Parliament voted
The bill passed without a vote – no MP proposed rejecting or amending it in plenary.
Debate in the chamber
What was argued and where each group stood, followed by MPs' speeches verbatim from the parliamentary record. Speeches are shown in their original language.
10 speeches · 1 debate
Key points of the debate
Parliament considered the investment protection agreement between Finland and Vietnam in a unanimous spirit. The debate broadened into general reflection on trade relations and dependencies on authoritarian countries, as well as the conditionality of development aid. All parliamentary groups taking part in the debate supported the approval of the agreement.
- To what extent should trade and investment be conducted with countries that violate human rights?
- Should development aid be conditional on how the recipient country approaches Russia's war of aggression?
- Social DemocratsIn favour
The Social Democrats considered international trade and the agreement important, but stressed that human rights and labour standards must be taken into account in economic relations.
”Silti tunnistan, että me joudumme hyvin monenlaisten maiden kanssa tekemään taloudellista kanssakäymistä, mutta tämän kysymyksen avaaminen on minusta tärkeää.”
— Kimmo Kiljunen - Centre PartyIn favour
The Centre Party supported the investment protection agreement because it builds a fair treaty culture and protects responsible development cooperation and business investments.
”Pidän tätä Vietnamin kanssa tehtyä sopimusta siinä mielin hyvänä.”
— Hilkka Kemppi - National Coalition PartyIn favour
The National Coalition Party supported the proposal because it promotes investments and exports in a rapidly growing economy, although caution is warranted regarding dependencies forming on authoritarian countries.
”Ulkoasiainvaliokunnassa pidimme ja pidämme tätä esitystä tarpeellisena ja tarkoituksenmukaisena.”
— Jaana Pelkonen - Finns PartyIn favour
The Finns Party accepted trading with Vietnam, but emphasised the need to dismantle dependencies on authoritarian states and criticised how development aid is targeted.
”Todella hyvää ja harvinaisen yksimielistä keskustelua ollaan käyty tähän aiheeseen liittyen.”
— Sebastian Tynkkynen
This digest was generated by AI from 10 speeches 13 Sep 2026. Group positions are read from the speeches, not from votes; quotations were checked verbatim against the record.
Keskustelu ja asian käsittely keskeytettiin.
Stages of consideration
The bill's path from the preliminary debate to the decision, as recorded by Parliament.
- 6 Oct 2022Eduskuntakäsittelyn vireilletulo · Ulkoministeriö
- 12 Oct 2022Lähetekeskustelu · Täysistunto
- 26 Oct 2022Valiokunnan mietintö tai lausunto · ulkoasiainvaliokunta
- 8 Nov 2022Ensimmäinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 15 Nov 2022Ainoa käsittely · Täysistunto
- 23 Nov 2022Eduskunnan vastaus ja kirjelmä
Decisions by law proposal2
- 1Laki Euroopan unionin ja sen jäsenvaltioiden sekä Vietnamin sosialistisen tasavallan välillä tehdystä sijoitussuojasopimuksestaHyväksytty · 150/2023 · 3 Feb 2023
- Euroopan unionin ja sen jäsenvaltioiden sekä Vietnamin sosialistisen tasavallan välinen sijoitussuojasopimusHyväksytty
Proposed law text
The law proposals in the bill as the Government presented them. The final act may differ after committee consideration.
The law text is shown in Finnish or Swedish from Parliament's official documents; it is not translated into English.
Laki Euroopan unionin ja sen jäsenvaltioiden sekä Vietnamin sosialistisen tasavallan välillä tehdystä sijoitussuojasopimuksesta
Eduskunnan päätöksen mukaisesti säädetään:
1 §
Euroopan unionin ja sen jäsenvaltioiden sekä Vietnamin sosialistisen tasavallan välillä Hanoissa 30 päivänä kesäkuuta 2019 tehdyn sijoitussuojasopimuksen lainsäädännön alaan kuuluvat määräykset ovat lakina voimassa sellaisina kuin Suomi on niihin sitoutunut.
2 §
Sopimuksen muiden kuin lainsäädännön alaan kuuluvien määräysten voimaansaattamisesta säädetään valtioneuvoston asetuksella.
3 §
Tämän lain voimaantulosta säädetään valtioneuvoston asetuksella.
Tällä lailla kumotaan Vietnamin kanssa sijoitusten edistämisestä ja suojaamisesta tehdyn sopimuksen lainsäädännön alaan kuuluvien määräysten voimaansaattamisesta annettu laki (277/2009).
Main content of the bill (official)
The summary and title were produced with AI on 13 Sep 2026. They are not official documents – check the details in the original bill. The title and summaries are machine translations of the Finnish AI summaries. Speeches and quotations are always shown in their original language.