19.12.2023
Meeting press release of the the Board of the Regional Assembly
The county government held its last meeting of the year on Tuesday, December 19. Jarmo Paloniemi, Director-Rector of the Joint Municipal Authority for Education OSAO, had been invited as a guest of the Provincial Government to start a discussion on the current situation in vocational education and training.
Regional Director Jussi Rämet raised the issue of the PÄRM funding decision received by the municipality of Pyhänä in advocacy matters. Jukkatalot Oy's bankruptcy and the significantly worsened employment situation as a result meet the criteria for a local situation of sudden structural change. In order to deal with the PÄRM situation, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has allocated EUR 125 000 to the Regional Council of North Ostrobothnia to be used for projects under the Act on the Development of Territorial Areas and the Financing of Regional and Structural Policy Projects in the European Union. The objective of the measures implemented with the funding is to promote new businesses and businesses.
The Provincial Government took note of the report by Provincial Director Rämet on the additional deduction and sequencing of the state's share of basic municipal services and the equalisation of the property tax on wind power, as well as the report by the President of the Provincial Government, Jussi Ylitalo, on the parliamentary session held at the end of November.
Proposal material for the regional plan for the energy and climate phase for the public authorities' opinion round
The Provincial Government approved the proposal material for the regional plan for the energy and climate phase in Northern Ostrobothnia and requested statements from the relevant authorities. As the consultation is not public, opinions are only sought from those included in the Land Use and Building Regulation. The responses to the statements received will be dealt with by the Provincial Government. The public proposal phase will proceed towards the end of 2024 and the aim is to have the phase-provincial plan submitted to the provincial council for approval in December 2024.
The phase regional plan map presents regionally significant wind power areas, electricity transmission solutions, changes to the transport system, updates to groundwater areas, updates to nationally valuable landscape areas, updates to traditional biotopes, the need for a gas pipeline connection with a development principle marking, and industrial and storage areas. In addition to the general regulations on the construction of wind turbines and solar power plants, regional planning regulations are issued on the construction restriction and, in relation to the energy industry, on special activities containing a hazardous area.
The labelling of wind power has become significantly more precise at the proposal stage, as qualitative studies and more detailed project-specific study data have been used in the assessment of synergies. The theme map for wind power and electricity transmission presents the whole of the authority's proposal phase for wind power areas in Northern Ostrobothnia and neighbouring counties near the provincial border. In the site descriptions of regionally significant wind power areas, entities that had an impact on the planning solution of the proposal phase have been opened.
The investment programme for the fairway network does not meet the objectives of the Transport12 plan in the north
The investment programme presents the most important transport infrastructure projects in the next few years, the economic framework for which is defined by the Transport12 plan. The draft investment programme for 2025-2032 is the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency's proposal for the implementation of new rail, road and waterway projects. Parliament decides on the implementation of the investment programme's development projects. The implementation of the investment programme is monitored annually and the results are used in the annual update of the investment programme.
According to the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia, the investment programme for the state-owned transport network does not meet the objectives of the Transport12 plan in the north in terms of accessibility, sustainability, efficiency and climate change. The investment programme is unable to respond to changes in the operating environment. Russia's war of aggression has changed Finland's geopolitical position and the weight of the north has increased decisively. Changes in mobility flows, military mobility needs, as well as the energy crisis and security-of-supply needs underline the importance of the North. The logistics position of Northern Ostrobothnia and Northern Finland has changed internationally and in relation to the rest of Europe.
The development of the transport system in accordance with the investment programme does not guarantee the accessibility of the north, does not meet the needs of the business sector or security of supply, and does not support sustainable mobility and climate objectives. Northern and Northern Ostrobothnia have the raw materials and know-how needed to achieve the green transition in Finland and Europe as a whole. Just like the western neighbours, there are exceptionally large investments in Northern Finland. The bottlenecks that slow down investment and export growth need to be addressed.
The total investments in the draft programme are completely inadequate, and for Northern Finland they are non-existent. The repair debt is constantly increasing in the road and rail transport network and it reduces the accessibility of northern Finland, increases transport and production costs and significantly reduces Finland's competitiveness as well as national security of supply and overall safety.
Northern Ostrobothnia and the rest of Northern Finland have, as a rule, been ignored in the investment programme. The development of the main line of the TEN-T core network and of Highway 4 is not reflected in any way in the programme. Highway 4 meets the TEN-T target level for only 40% of the journey, which requires significant investment in the northern sections of the route. The significance of the Fourth Road to Finland's national economy is particularly great. Finland is committed to building the TEN-T core network in accordance with the regulation by 2030, and budget funding will not be sufficient to meet the requirements.
The statement and the draft investment programme for the state fairway network for 2025-2032 can be found in: our website.
For more information, please contact Design Director Markus Erkkilä, tel. +358 40 685 4045.
Cooperation agreement between the Regional Councils of Eastern and Northern Finland approved
The Provincial Government approved the cooperation agreement between the Regional Councils of Eastern and Northern Finland so that the basis for allocating the administrative costs of the Office of Eastern and Northern Finland in Brussels to the Regional Council of North Karelia is an equal distribution among all the Regional Councils involved in the agreement.
Since 2011, the seven Regional Councils of Eastern and Northern Finland (Central Ostrobothnia, Northern Ostrobothnia, Lapland, Kainuu, North Karelia, North Savo and South Savo) have formed a common NUTS2 region in accordance with the statistical regional division of the EU. The Regional Councils of the region have had a joint EU office since 2013.
The agreement is based on the agreement on the EU Office for Eastern and Northern Finland signed in 2012. The agreement defines the establishment of a joint body for the provinces of Eastern and Northern Finland, as well as the arrangements for advocacy, cooperation and administration.
Renewing and competent Finland 2021-2027 The state of play of the implementation of the EU Regional and Structural Policy Programme and the national regions and sustainable growth and vitality funding (AKKE)
The new and competent Finland 2021-2027 EU Regional and Structural Policy Programme was approved in May 2022 and the implementation of the programme has started. The JTF and the Northern Ostrobothnia Just Transition Plan were adopted by the European Commission in December 2022 and its implementation started in April 2023. The programme includes the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF+) and the new Just Transition Fund (JTF). The Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia acts as a financier of the ERDF and JTF funds.
During the 2021-2027 programming period, North Ostrobothnia will receive a total of EUR 356.4 million in granting powers from the EU+State. Northern Ostrobothnia is Finland's most significant region using EU regional and structural policy funds. The volume of funding is the largest in the country.
The appropriation for supporting sustainable growth and vitality (AKKE) will be used for projects promoting the implementation of the provincial programme and the Government's regional development decision, such as small-scale development, experimentation and survey projects based on the strengths and specialisation of the regions.
Impact of the changes in the INTERREG AURORA 2021-2027 programme on the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia
The Interreg AURORA 2021-2027 programme area, funded by the EU, covers the northern regions of Finland, Sweden and Norway, as well as the Sámi region. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 interrupted the implementation of the EU’s external border programmes. In Finland, this concerned three external border programmes: Karelia CBC, Kolartic CBC and South-East Finland CBC.
At that time, the external border programmes planned for 2021-2027, the Interreg NEXT programmes, had not yet been launched, but decisions had nevertheless been taken on their implementation and financing. Under EU regulations, unused funding committed to the 2021-2027 External Borders Programme will be transferred from external border programmes to EU internal border programmes. Funding for the Interreg Aurora programme will increase significantly as funding will be transferred from the Interreg NEXT Kolartic and Karelia external border programmes.
The Managing Authority of Interreg AURORA 2021-2027 in the Provincial Office of Norrbotten has prepared amendments to the Interreg Aurora programme due to the reallocation of funding. Decisions on the amendments have been taken in the Interreg Aurora Monitoring Committee and the proposal has been sent to the EU Commission for approval this autumn. The EU Commission's decision on the matter is expected by the end of the year. The most significant of the decisions is the geographical extension of the Interreg Aurora programme to cover the provinces of Kainuu and North Karelia. The managing authority of Interreg Aurora also manages the secretariat responsible for the implementation of the programme. The Secretariat is composed of programme coordinators based in Sweden, Norway and Finland. At the beginning of 2024, a programme coordinator from the Interreg AURORA 2021-2027 programme secretariat will start working in the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia.
Changes in membership
- Risto Leppänen was appointed as a member of the regional cooperation group and his deputy Ari Kuotesaho.
- Helena Liimatainen, replacing Marjo-Riitta Tervonen, was appointed as Pohte's representative to the Organisational Advisory Board of Northern Ostrobothnia.
- At its meeting on 13 November 2023, Oulu City Council granted Aino-Kaisa Manninen (Green), Heikki Kontturi (Green) and Lyly Rajala (Cod.) resignation from the deputy seat of the provincial council and elected new deputy members to replace them for the remainder of their term of office. The City Council has elected Regional Councillor Paula Himanen (Green) as an alternate member of Esa Aalto (Green), Regional Councillor Aino-Kaisa Manninen (Green) as an alternate member of Susa Vikeväkorva (Green) and Regional Councillor Marja-Leena Kemppanen (Kd.) as an alternate member of Jamal Awadi (Cod.).
In brief
- It was found that the decisions of the provincial council were taken in the prescribed order, that the provincial council did not exceed its powers of action and that the decisions were not unlawful, and that the decisions of the provincial council were implemented.
- The Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia's equality and non-discrimination plan 2024-2025 was approved.
- The Provincial Government approved the appeal lodged by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd against the payment decision of the PrintoDiSe (A76026) project 6.0.1.
- An overview of the international affairs of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia was recorded for information.
- Decisions of the Regional Director for the period 7.11.-11.12.2023
- Statements by the Office for the period 7.11.-11.12.2023
Agendas and minutes
the the Board of the Regional Assembly agenda
the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region agendas and minutes
