The European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) have imposed sanctions on several states as well as on separately named groups (companies, private persons, institutions) with links to them. In addition to the sanctions imposed in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the project or activity receiving the grant must comply with all other valid sanction imposed by the EU and the UN on finances, financing and other activities.

The beneficiary of a discretionary government grant shall ensure that the grant awarded by the Finnish National Agency for Education is not, directly or indirectly, used in a way that would be in violation of the imposed sanctions or would mean channelling the grant or financial support to parties identified in the UN Security Council Consolidated Sanctions List or in the EU’s sanctions regulations, or that such parties participate in the implementation of the project. 

The recipient must also ensure that the grant is not used for circumventing the sanctions or for activities that may in actual fact ultimately benefit parties in the sanctions lists.

Under the Constitution of Finland and the Non-discrimination Act, citizenship as such is not a justification for placing an individual person or group of people into an unequal position, which must be taken into consideration in addition to sanctions in the grant-financed activities. 

The beneficiary of the discretionary government grant must notify the Finnish National Agency for Education immediately if the grant has been used in violation of the sanctions or the prohibitions concerning their circumvention.

Updated