Press releases

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

Decisions of the Regional Government of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia 19.4.2021 Renewable and Skilled Finland 2021-2027 Programme proposal for EU regional and structural policy The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has requested an opinion on the Renewable and Skilled Finland 2021-2027 Programme proposal for EU regional and structural policy. The programme proposal includes actions supported by the ERDF and ESF funds. The statement issued by the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia was submitted on 16 April 2021. Preparation of the Just Transition Fund (JTF) The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has requested an opinion on the start of the preparation of the Just Transition Fund (JTF) and the related environmental assessment. The opinion of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia was submitted on 16 April 2021. Karelia Programme 2021-2027 The implementation of cooperation programmes will continue at the EU's external borders also during the 2021-2027 programming period. Three separate cooperation programmes will be prepared for the Finnish-Russian border in accordance with the current programme division, and Karelia will be one of them. the Program …

On 13 April, the Northern Ostrobothnia Youth Council held an organizing meeting through Teams. Due to the remote meeting, the election of the President of the Youth Council was postponed to the next meeting after two persons had registered as candidates for the chair. According to the Youth Council's rules of procedure, voting in individual elections takes place by a closed ballot as a majority vote. Ilpo Tapaninen from the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia was elected as the Secretary of the Youth Council. The Northern Ostrobothnia Youth Council had a lively discussion on communications and elected its members to the Communications Group. The social media guidelines prepared with the support of the POPnuva project and the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia were approved. Other items presented at the meeting can be found here: Agenda of the Northern Ostrobothnia Youth Council.