The long-desired Archive would contain material from both public broadcasting company YLE and other broadcasters and will most probably be connected to the Finnish Film Archive, according to Riita Kaivosoja, Director General at the Ministry of Education, responsible for culture politics, in Helsingin Sanomat (4.8.2007).
The Ministry is also willing to support digitalisation of Finnish cultural heritage by 2 million euro. Public libraries will have to make do with the same amount of state funding as in 2007: about 2.5 million euro. The Ministry rejected a request for a 2-million euro state subsidy for culture export.
In total, 209.6 million euro in the draft state budget is allocated to arts and culture. Another 205.1 million would come from the profits of state-owned lottery company Veikkaus.
The Government will decide on the draft budget in negotiations beginning on 30 August.
(Sources: Helsingin Sanomat, Finnish government, draft budget 2008 – Ministry of Finance)