Press releases

Ukraine is at war because of Russia's invasion of the country. Ukraine has made an international appeal to support the country and its citizens in the face of the massive humanitarian emergency caused by the military actions. Many actors, including the State of Finland, as well as several cities and municipalities, have already made support decisions to help Ukraine. The Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities also encourages municipalities and provincial federations to support Ukraine's twin municipalities and local government, if possible, through reliable bodies. For its part, the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia wants to help Ukrainians in the midst of the humanitarian crisis caused by the military actions. On Monday 14 March, the Government of Northern Ostrobothnia will decide on the provision of humanitarian aid to Ukraine through a relief organisation decided by the Government of Northern Ostrobothnia. The provincial government hopes that the municipalities of the province will participate in supporting organisations operating in Ukraine, such as UNICEF, the Red Cross or Save the …

The Secretariat of the Northern Ostrobothnia Provincial Cooperation Group held a Teams meeting on Tuesday 22 February. Anne Pulkkinen, Business Finance Review of the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment of Northern Ostrobothnia, presented the status of business development grant funding granted by the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment of Northern Ostrobothnia from 1 January to 31 December 2021. The EAFRD's topical review Tiina Suutari told about the EAFRD applications received at the North Ostrobothnia Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centre) and the Leader projects being processed. The results of the application round for the North Ostrobothnia Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment at the North Ostrobothnia Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment ended the application period on 20 January 2022. Eight REACT-EU applications were submitted to Northern Ostrobothnia, one of which was trans-regional. Applications for support amounted to more than EUR 2 million. The secretariat of the regional cooperation group supports the following ERDF and ESF projects to be funded under the Finnish Structural Funds Programme for Sustainable Growth and Jobs 2014-2020: Rapid determination of mechanical properties/ERDF Applicant University of Oulu. Total cost estimated at EUR 112 000. The requested ERDF and state funding is EUR 78 400. Digitalisation of the bioeconomy and circular economy in Northern Ostrobothnia…

The Government of Northern Ostrobothnia held a hybrid meeting on Monday, 21 February 2022. Markus Erkkilä, Head of Planning at the Regional Council of North Ostrobothnia, was elected to the post of Head of Planning at the Regional Council of North Ostrobothnia. Erkkilä has been the planning director of the Federation of Central Finland since 2020. Prior to that, he has worked as a vs. planning director of the Regional Council of South Ostrobothnia and as a land use planner. The Director of Planning acts as the Director of the Regional Planning and Competence Division. Jussi Ylitalo, Chairman of the Provincial Government, was appointed as a member of the Euregio Karelia Administrative Committee, and Tuomas Okkonen, 3rd Vice-Chairman of the Provincial Council, was appointed as an alternate member. The Transport Working Group was elected as a member of the working groups of the Baltic Sea Commission: Jouni Jussinniemi (deputy member Kaarina Kailo) Maritime Working Group: Sari Nurro (deputy member Harri Karjalainen) Energy and Climate Working Group: Rami Rauhalla (deputy member Esa…

The Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia has decided to fund ten projects from the Regional Aid for Sustainable Growth and Vitality (AKKE) appropriation. Projects funded: North Ostrobothnia Change Capability Assessment Applicant: Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia Granted funding: 28000 € Callio Waste-free mining Applicant: Pyhäsalmi Quantum Properties Ltd (owned by the City of Pyhäjärvi 100 %) Funding provided: 100,000 € EMMI-Energy transition and climate impact assessment of land use in Northern Ostrobothnia Applicant: Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia Granted funding: 70000 € North Ostrobothnia Digital Wellbeing and Inclusion Development Project Applicant: Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia Granted funding: 67200 € Targeting and effectiveness of regional R&D investments in Northern Ostrobothnia Applicant: University of Oulu Granted funding: A regenerating and prosperous countryside: Enabling business growth Applicant: Haapavesi-Siikalatva Region Joint Municipal Authority Granted funding: 55746,60 € Foresight based…

The meeting of the North Ostrobothnia Regional Cooperation Group was held on Wednesday 16 February. Project presentation: Go global – invest and export Oulu Petri Karinen and Sanna Savolainen from BusinessOulu presented BusinessOulu's activities and the Go global – invest and export Oulu project. BusinessOulu, together with other regional developers, develops international Oulu and the region of Northern Ostrobothnia. Export measures and the international know-how and development of companies and organisations are key to the success and strong growth of companies in the global market. Business Finland's operations and RRF Teija Pakanen presented Business Finland's operations. Business Finland is a key player in the practical implementation of the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). Recovery funding promotes the renewal of the industrial structure and the competitive advantage of Finnish companies based on sustainable solutions. … has been presented to Business Finland

On Wednesday 26 January 2022, the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency published the State Road Network Investment Programme for 2022-2029. The most important projects for the municipalities of the Oulu region and Northern Finland are completely missing from the programme. The investment programme for the fairway network does not include the Liminka-Oulu twin track, the development of the Oulu station centre and railway yard, or the development of the northern sections of VT4. The investment programme for the state-owned transport network does not meet the objectives of the Transport 12 plan in terms of accessibility, sustainability, efficiency and combating climate change in the Oulu region and Northern Finland. The programme also fails to meet the EU's transport policy objectives. The lack of Finland's main line and highway 4 in Northern Finland does not support the recently adopted TEN-T core network corridor decision and the objective of making full use of EU CEF funding enshrined in the Transport 12 plan. In the investment programme, the development of rail traffic is focused only on southern Finland, although by far the majority of industrial …, which requires large rail capacity

The Northern Ostrobothnia Regional Cooperation Group held its first meeting of the year on 26 January 2022. Maria Vuorensola and Ari Saine from BusinessOulu presented the innovation ecosystem agreement 2021-2027, to which the City of Oulu and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment are parties. The objectives and measures are based on the Oulu Innovation Alliance (OIA) Framework Agreement for 2021-2027. Kari Rönkä and Juha Hast from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd were appointed as expert members and Topi Hanhela and Katri Kärkkäinen from the Natural Resources Institute Finland were appointed as expert members. Taina Pihlajaniemi was appointed as the representative of the university and Emma Pirilä as her deputy. Expert members have the right to attend and speak at meetings. Their task is to bring a broad view of the themes that are central to the development of the region. Regional selection criteria The regional cooperation group proposes to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment that the regional … of the European Union:

The Secretariat of the North Ostrobothnia Regional Cooperation Group held a Teams meeting on Tuesday, 18 January 2022. Business Oulu representatives presented the operating model for sustainable urban development in Oulu, the strategic priorities of the Oulu Innovation Alliance and the decision-making system for granting authorisations. Eight per cent of Finland's ERDF funding is allocated to sustainable urban development. The authorisation is allocated to the Finnish cities of universities and university centres for activities in accordance with the ecosystem agreements between the state and the cities. In Northern Ostrobothnia, the City of Oulu is involved. The estimated grant power of Oulu is EUR 1 million per year (ERDF). The regional cooperation group has decided to allocate EUR 0.195 million per year for the ESF+ allocation for 2021-2022. With regard to the granting powers for sustainable urban development, the representatives of the City of Oulu make the selection of projects in the steering group of the Oulu Innovation Alliance's funding. The legality and programme conformity of ERDF projects is checked by the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia, which funds the projects in the order of priority established by the City of Oulu.…

On 17 January 2022, the provincial government held its first hybrid meeting of the year in Oulu, Finland, where six applicants were interviewed for the position of Planning Director. The provincial government decided to invite the following applicants for an interview: M.Sc. (Econ.) Kari Aalto, M.Sc. (Econ.) Markus Erkkilä, M.Sc. (Econ.) Janna Kumpula, architect, M.Sc. (Econ.) Anu Syrjäpalo, M.Sc. (Econ.) Ilpo Tapaninen and architect Kai Tolonen. The Regional Financing Plan 2021-2022 of the Renewable and Skilled Finland 2021-2027 programme for Northern Ostrobothnia has a total allocation of EUR 355.4 million for the 2021-2027 programming period. The breakdown is as follows: European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) EUR 152,7 million, European Social Fund (ESF+) EUR 84,2 million and Just Transition Fund (JTF) EUR 119,4 million. The allocation of ERDF and ESF+ funding is described for the next two years on the basis of a regional angular number.…

The application period for the position of Planning Director of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia ended on 5 January 2022 at 12 noon. There are 11 candidates for this post. Applicants: Aalto Kari, Oulu Erkkilä Markus, Puuppola Kumpula Janna, Oulu Kuukasjärvi Mari, Oulu Malinen Rauno, Oulu Possakka Tiia, Oulu Suopanki Ensio, Oulu Syrjäpalo Anu, Raahe Tapaninen Ilpo, Oulu Tolonen Kai, Oulu Väisänen What, Muhos For further information, please contact Regional Director Pauli Harju, tel. +358 400 389 152