In July 2025, the European Commission presented its proposal for the next multiannual financial framework (MFF) of the European Union. The proposal for a new method of distributing funds lacks specific funding for northern sparsely populated areas, which differs from previous funding proposals.
The Finnish Government is of the opinion that: The NSPA special funding for northern sparsely populated areas with severe and permanent handicaps, based on the Accession Treaty of Finland, should continue to be secured in the future.(U 53/2025 vp 20.11.2025)
The 1994 Accession Treaties between Finland and Sweden have identified the special conditions in Eastern and Northern Finland. Few settlements, long distances and cold climates cause a permanent competitive disadvantage.
The provinces of Eastern and Northern Finland are calling for NSPA funding to be restored to the EU's future financial framework. It is a political will and has a legal basis in the Treaty of Accession and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and in all the multiannual financial frameworks and their regulations during Finland's membership.
The vitality, regional competitiveness, competence, overall security and sustainable growth offered by Eastern and Northern Finland are prerequisites for success for Finland and the EU as a whole. Eastern and Northern Finland produces a significant share of the EU's raw materials and clean energy. Regional and structural policy programmes help regions to develop and ensure that different regions are not left behind. At the same time, they support the EU's common internal market.
A fair, well-functioning and competitive single market is the EU's biggest pull factor. However, cohesion policy is essential for a well-functioning internal market. Targeted long-term investments in regional and structural policies to address economic asymmetry allow for a level playing field.
The Treaty on European Union obliges the Union to support regions with permanent handicaps, such as northern sparsely populated regions. The legal basis for this is Article 174(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which provides that, in order to promote the overall harmonious development of the EU, particular attention shall be paid to regions which suffer from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps, such as the northernmost regions with very low population density.
Article 176 TFEU defines the objectives of the ERDF as follows: “The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) aims to contribute to overcoming the main regional imbalances in the Union by contributing to the development and structural adjustment of regions whose development is lagging behind and to the regeneration of declining industrial areas.” Thanks to EU regional and structural policy, much positive development has taken place in Eastern and Northern Finland. The region's GDP has risen towards the level of the rest of Finland, but the GDP per capita in Eastern and Northern Finland is still clearly and proportionally lower than in the whole country.
