The state of public finances; How can the municipalities of Northern Ostrobothnia withstand? Juha Majanen, Permanent Secretary of the Bank of Finland; Heikki Niemeläinen, Director of the Ministry of Finance; Sanna Lehtonen, Director of the Municipal Guarantee Centre; Marjukka Manninen, Director of the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities; Difficult challenges in forecasting municipal finances; Mayor Päivi Laajalla, Mayor of Oulu; Jouko Manninen, Mayor of the City of Oulu; Ilkka Luoma, Director of Social Impact in Municipal Economy; Sanna Lehtonen, Director of Development; Sanna Lehtonen, Staff moving from the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities to the welfare areas; Financial risks and challenges; Henrika Nybondas-Kangas, Head of Negotiation; KT, Local Employers Establishment of the Northern Ostrobothnia Welfare Area; Ilkka Luoma, Director of the Northern Ostrobothnia Hospital District

North Ostrobothnia Provincial Day 2.11.2020 Dear Minister, Members of Parliament and Members of Parliament, I am very pleased to welcome you to the traditional Provincial Parliament! This year, exceptionally, we have only one provincial day and we meet each other through telecommunications connections. Today's theme is The state of public finances - how can the municipalities of Northern Ostrobothnia withstand? We focus strongly on the municipal economy and changes and opportunities in the operating environment, and we end the day with social and health care discussions. In particular, I would like to welcome today's speakers. We have a really versatile and great programme, thank you to the office holders of the Regional Council for that! Oh, my good friends. Last spring, the COVID-19 pandemic hit our society and the whole world unexpectedly and violently, regardless of national borders. Corona has caused a lot of trouble and worries. It has exposed the vulnerability of our society. On the other hand, it has challenged us to do things in a new way in our everyday life, at work and in our free time. Even this opportunity and our meeting together has changed form, but only technically. I hope that we will maintain active discussion and participation, even though, thanks to advanced technology, we are now meeting online. This also shows that we can boldly change and adapt to new situations, as well as find solutions to today's challenges. In Northern Ostrobothnia, the situation has been made easier by the fact that, in terms of technology, infrastructure has been put in immense shape in recent years. We have fiber optic networks in almost every municipality. In addition to Corona, this year has been a year of great change. All of our foundations have been under review. We have created a new strategy for the federation, which is now being implemented in the federation. I would like to thank all stakeholders for their active participation in its preparation. During the various stages of the work, we received a very clear and strong message that our owners and the people of the county see the union's most important task as advocacy and communication closely connected to it. We have wanted to respond to this and will, in addition to statutory duties, forcefully raise provincial advocacy and information-based communication. It will be visible both in the organization and in external activities. In addition to the strategy, regional development legislation has been under reform and, with regard to the Structural Funds, the debate will continue to be lively, both nationally and with new elements, also at European level. The management and fight against the COVID-19 pandemic has had a drastic impact on the state of public finances and not even the private economy…