BRUSSELS Finland announced on Sunday that it would tighten access to basic social assistance as part of a welfare reform under Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's government, as the country faces the highest unemployment rate in the European Union. The changes, introduced in two stages on Feb. 1 and March 1, increase the conditionality of basic social assistance, a last-resort benefit administered by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela), public broadcaster YLE reported. In 2025, the