Environment and Climate Minister Sari Multala stated to Uutissuomalainen that current legislation regarding environmental impact assessments does not allow for the imposition of sanctions. This concerns Google’s data center construction near Hamina, Finland, and specifically, allegations of illegal logging activities. Minister Multala explained the legal framework simply doesn’t provide the authority to penalize the company based on the observed environmental violations. The issue revolves around felling trees without proper permits during the preparatory work for the data center in Hamina. Despite acknowledging the problematic nature of the situation, the government’s hands are tied by existing laws. This has sparked debate regarding updating Finland’s environmental regulations to prevent similar incidents in the future concerning projects like the Google data center in Hamina.