Press releases

The Regional Council of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia met for the last time on 7 June 2021 with its current composition. The meeting was held via Teams and the audience was able to follow the live stream on YouTube. The current council began its term in 2017. Pirjo Sirviö, chairman of the regional council, thanked the council and the regional government as well as the staff of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia for the past period. After the municipal elections in June, a new regional council will be elected based on the results of the elections. The election will be made at the municipal assembly of the county at the beginning of October. The financial statements and the report of the Board of Directors of the Regional Council of North Ostrobothnia were approved by the Regional Council of North Ostrobothnia. Despite the budget deficit, the result for the financial year ended in a plus. The surplus of EUR 320 348.95 is recorded in the balance sheet surplus/deficit account. The result was largely influenced by the coronavirus epidemic, which caused the Federation's personnel and elected officials to stop travelling…

The national funding legislation related to broadband projects must be amended so that the objectives are in line with EU requirements and municipal funding allocations are completely abolished in order to safeguard regional equality. It is impossible for several municipalities to participate in funding when the costs per taxpayer are unreasonable. The costs of regional specificities, such as long distances and sparsely populated areas, are not taken into account when determining municipal contributions. The definition of minimum speeds is also not in line with EU requirements. If the terms of the legislation are not changed, the objectives of the Act will not be achieved. Well-functioning connectivity is a key infrastructure. They are vital to the vitality of the regions. From the point of view of accessibility, this is also central. Well-functioning broadband connections play a crucial role in the provincial residents' access to public welfare and health and social services through the network. At present, in many places, we are only insecure and …

Finland must comply with the mechanism for calculating the EU's regional and structural policy funds as such, without any national changes. National allocation methods that deviate from the EU allocation criteria should not jeopardise the clear application of sparsely populated areas or other criteria and the continuity across programming periods. According to the country report issued by the European Commission on 27 February 2019, regional development disparities in Finland have not been eliminated. Regional disparities have slightly decreased, but regional inequality remains highest in Eastern and Northern Finland, which has the weakest situation in terms of GDP value. According to the country report, the situation in Eastern and Northern Finland was least satisfactory also in terms of productivity and unemployment. In addition, Eastern and Northern Finland had the weakest results in five major regions (Eastern and Northern Finland, Western Finland, Southern Finland, Helsinki-Uusimaa, Åland) …

Päivi Keisanen told about the state of preparation of the EU's regional and structural policy for the 2021-2027 programming period and the CAP27 plan. According to the current situation, the implementation of the ERDF and ESF funds will start on 1 September 2021 and the implementation of the Just Transition Fund (JTF) on 1 January 2022. The number of climate actions will increase in the new programming period. The focus is on circular economy, energy efficiency and renewable energy. It also includes adaptation to climate change. The programme is implemented on the basis of the Do no significant harm principle, i.e. projects that harm the environment cannot be financed. Timo Lehtiniemi from the North Ostrobothnia Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment told about the current state of play of the CAP27 plan. Finland's CAP programme will be sent for consultation on 17 June 2021. The plan will be revised and supplemented in September-October. The EAFRD project application period ended 16 development project applications were received for completed project applications with a requested amount of EUR 2.5…

The Regional Government of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia held a meeting on Monday, 17 May 2021. The Government of Northern Ostrobothnia will propose to the Regional Council that it approve the new Administrative Regulation of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia. The new administrative regulation meets the requirements of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia's strategy 2020-2024 and up-to-date legislation. The new administrative regulation takes into account changes in the organisation of the Regional Council. Instead of the office, the provincial council has an office. In the future, the profit areas and profit area directors will be responsibilities and responsibility directors. The position of Administrative Director will be changed to Administrative and Human Resources Director. The duties and powers of the Provincial Government and senior officials have been defined in more detail in the Administrative Regulation. The rules on the remuneration of trustees have been revised in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Provincial Government in March. The provincial programme for Northern Ostrobothnia is progressing as planned The Provincial Government proposes to the provincial council that it take note of the state of play of the provincial programme 2022-2025 and hold a referral discussion on the matter.…

The North Ostrobothnia Regional Cooperation Group held an electronic meeting on Wednesday, 5 May 2021. At the beginning of the meeting, Esa Niemi, Head of Education Services at the University of Oulu, presented the project ScalED, Digital Education Solutions in Education Exports. The aim of the project is to develop products related to distance learning, digital content and technical solutions. The project will create scalable digital education solutions. The key themes of the solutions are teaching and education, as well as sustainable development, and the focus is on basic and vocational education and continuous learning. As a result of the project's measures, cooperation between public education organisations and private actors in the region will intensify and produce new solutions for education exports. The Provincial Cooperation Group supports the project ScalED, Digital Education Solutions in Education Exports (ERDF) to be funded under the Finnish Structural Funds Programme for Sustainable Growth and Jobs 2014-2020. The final decision on the financing of the project will be made by …

Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia: The proposal for a national programme for the EU's regional and structural policy promotes vitality and digitalisation The proposal for the Renewable and Skilled Finland 2021-2027 programme is well suited to the development needs of Northern Ostrobothnia. The Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia has led the regional programme preparation for Eastern and Northern Finland, so the opportunities to influence the content of the programme have been good. The contents highlight important entities for North Ostrobothnia, which have taken into account business-oriented development, support for SMEs, and research, development and innovation activities. The programme provides municipalities with resources to promote vitality. The policies of the European Social Fund include a series of measures for the development of employment, skills and inclusion. Broadband investments should be included in the programme in accordance with the Government's policy of November 2019. The construction of broadband infrastructure has progressed slowly and funding needs to be available towards the end of the programming period. Sustainable Growth (RRF)…

The secretariat of the North Ostrobothnia Regional Cooperation Group held a Teams meeting on Thursday, 22 April 2021. The preparation of the 2021-2027 EU regional and structural policy programming period and the CAP27 plan by Päivi Keisanen from the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia presented the preparation of the regional plan of the Just Transition Fund (JTF). Reforming the regional economy and supporting the green transition are at the forefront of the plan. Tiina Suutari from the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment of Northern Ostrobothnia told about the preparation of the regional CAP27 plan for Northern Ostrobothnia. The focus is on active agriculture and food production, environmentally and climate-smart agriculture, rural areas and regenerative rural areas. Current EAFRD issues Tiina Suutari from the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment of Northern Ostrobothnia presented EAFRD statistics for 2020. REACT-EU funding application period The REACT-EU funding application period, which was open for just over a month, ended on 19 April 2021. REACT-EU funding supports regions to repair the damage caused by the COVID-19 crisis. At the same time, the funds are laying the foundations for the economy's green, digital and …

Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia: The Just Transition Fund (JTF) is a new EU fund that will be mobilised alongside the ERDF and the ESF. In line with the Commission's proposal, the focus of JTF funding is on the Finnish Government's policy of halving the burning of peat by 2030. The sharp fall in demand for energy peat will lead to a rapid structural change in the industry. The Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia considers it important that JTF funding is directed to actions that can affect the business and regional impacts caused by the change in the energy use of peat. The JTF is much more limited in scope than the Structural Funds. In particular, ERDF funding is more useful and wide-ranging for the renewal of the regional economy and job creation. The JTF should not replace ERDF funding allocated to the region and thus weaken the region's wide-ranging development.  Supporting just transition…

Regional Government of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia: Entrepreneurs in the peat sector need support! According to the Government Programme, the halving of the use of energy peat was to take place in a controlled manner during this decade, but the change seems to be happening uncontrollably over the next couple of years. For those who lose their businesses and jobs, a one-off phasing-out package is needed to replace peat stocks in the hands of companies in the sector, unused production areas and production machinery. Entrepreneurs are in dire need of adaptation allowance and older entrepreneurs have access to early retirement. As part of rescuing the peat sector, it would be important to be able to raise the lower limit for the tax-free use of peat per plant from 5000 megawatt hours to 10,000 megawatt hours. In addition, it would make sense to complement the floor price mechanism with a flexibility mechanism in which the tax on energy peat would inversely depend on the development of the price of emission allowances. Decisions are needed now! ANNUAL OF NORTHERN NORTHERN NORTHERN AFRICA Provincial Government