Press releases

The Secretariat of the Northern Ostrobothnia Regional Cooperation Group met on 22 March 2022 and supported the following projects to be funded under the Finnish Structural Funds Programme for Sustainable Growth and Jobs 2014-2020: HAiLife - New business from human sciences data/ERDF Responsible authority: Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia Applicant: University of Oulu Total cost: 177 335 € ERDF and state funding requested: 124 135 € Digital Power Plant/ERDF Responsible Authority: Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia Applicant: Joint municipal authority for education OSAO Total costs: 385 117 € ERDF and state funding requested: DROPPI - Bold experimentation with drones in Northern Ostrobothnia/ERDF Responsible Authority: Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia Applicants: Oulu University of Applied Sciences Ltd, University of Oulu Total costs: 307 857 € ERDF and state funding requested: €215 500 AMENDMENT - Resilience for well-being and sustainability in rural business/ESF Applicants: Diaconia University of Applied Sciences Ltd, ProAgria Oulu ry, Oulu Deaconess Institute Foundation Funded by:…

The Northern Ostrobothnia Regional Cooperation Group held a hybrid meeting on Wednesday 16 March 2022 in Oulu, Finland. At the beginning of the meeting, Chairman Matti Heikkilä told about the joint announcement of the chairmen of the cooperation groups of Finnish counties, in which the counties' cooperation projects with Russia are suspended for the time being.  "With sanctions against Russia imposed by the European Union and many other international actors, provincial federations must also refrain from cooperating until Russia ceases military action and Ukraine's national sovereignty is respected," said the co-chairs. Jussi Ylitalo, chairman of the regional government, explained how Russia's invasion of Ukraine has affected the activities of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia. The Karelia CBC programme's press release on the matter can be read here. Professor Matti Muhos, Director of the Kerttu Saalasti Institute at the University of Oulu, presented the micro-entrepreneurship entity at the University of Oulu. Microentrepreneurship Centre MicroENTRE® is a research group…

The war in Ukraine has had a direct impact on Finland's energy production. Significant quantities of oil, natural gas and energy chips are imported into Finland. About a quarter of the energy chips used in Finland come from Russia. We are now in a situation in Northern Ostrobothnia where energy production is facing significant challenges in terms of fuel availability. The price of energy is a crucial factor for all parties involved. The rise in price treats industry, agriculture and forestry as well as service production and the community in the same way. The share of companies' income, municipal income and citizens' wages that goes to the price of energy will increase if energy self-sufficiency is not immediately improved through support measures to overcome the acute crisis. In addition to managing the change in the short-term energy situation, plans must be prepared to return to a fossil-free, climate-resilient and self-sufficient environment once the situation stabilises…

The Regional Government of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia held a hybrid meeting on Monday, 14 March. In Oulu, Finland. The report of the Board of Directors and the financial statements will proceed from the meeting of the Provincial Government to the Provincial Council in June for approval. The Regional Council of North Ostrobothnia has a surplus of EUR 213,026.22 for the financial year 2021. When EUR 69,006.38 is credited from the development fund, it is proposed that EUR 282,033.22 be recorded in the surplus/deficit account of the balance sheet. The preparation of the regional plan for the energy and climate phase of North Ostrobothnia proceeds with the adoption of the responses to the participation and assessment plan for the regional plan for the energy and climate phase of North Ostrobothnia as the basis for the further preparation of the regional plan. 31 feedbacks were received on the participation and evaluation plan. The prerequisites for emission-free and renewable energy production in the region, as well as the transmission and storage of electrical energy, became the most important subject of feedback. It is proposed that the potential of decentralised and centralised solar energy be investigated for the whole province. Electricity transmission, i.e. new…

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