Press releases

At its electronic meeting on 14 December 2020, the Regional Council of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia discussed, among other things, the proposal for a maritime spatial plan for the northern part of the Bothnian Sea, the Kvarken and the Bothnian Bay, and the Regional Council's action and economic plan for 2021-2023. Maritime spatial planning promotes the sustainable use of marine areas The provincial council approved a maritime spatial plan for the northern part of the Bothnian Sea, the Kvarken and the Bothnian Bay for the North Ostrobothnia region. The decision will enter into force once the Regional Councils of Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia and Lapland have made the corresponding approval decisions. Maritime spatial planning supports the sustainable use of the sea and the achievement of good environmental status in the marine environment. Finland is divided into three marine regions. North Ostrobothnia belongs to the areas of the northern Bothnian Sea, the Kvarken and the Bothnian Bay. The maritime spatial plan has no legal effect; it is a strategic tool for spatial planning that supports regional planning. More information on maritime spatial planning: The maritime spatial planning website of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia can be found here…

Docent, University Researcher Timo Liimatainen from the University of Oulu presented the Teaching and Testing Laboratory for Medical Imaging project and Project Manager What Vierimaa from the City of Oulu TechArt project. Päivi Keisanen, Development Manager at the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia, told about the preparation of the EU's regional and structural policy for the 2021-2027 programming period. A public consultation on the programme is being launched on the basis of the sixth draft programme. The target schedule for the start of the programme is likely to be postponed to autumn 2021. The Just Transition Fund (JTF) will be included as a separate priority in the funding programme currently under preparation for the 2021-2027 programming period. Timo Lehtiniemi, Head of the Rural and Energy Unit at the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment for Northern Ostrobothnia, told about the current situation of the rural development programme. The preparation of the CAP27 regional rural development plan proceeds during the winter through surveys and focus group work.…

The lease agreement of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia with Technopolis has been terminated on 31 July 2021. Office premises have also been mapped outside the city centre. The Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia has today signed a lease agreement with Katri Antell Oy for the premises of Poratie. Due to changes in the operating environment, it was time to start mapping out new premises. With the move, we are seeking not only better accessibility, but also cost savings," says Pauli Harju, Regional Director. The move will take place in the summer of 2021. The new address as of 1 August 2021 is Poratie 5, 90140 Oulu.

The Regional Government proposes to the Regional Council that it approves the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia's economic and operational plan for 2021-2023 and the budget for 2021. The budget is balanced and the result for the 2021 financial year is EUR 0. The budgetary amendments made focus on staff salary costs, appropriations for organising events, purchases of services in the performance areas and other operating costs. In order to achieve the operational objectives, some activities require the acquisition of funding outside the scope of member invoicing. The Regional Government proposes to the Regional Council that EUR 300,000 be transferred from the surplus/deficit account of the balance sheet to the Development Fund of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia. In order for the federation to be able to act in accordance with the strategic objectives set and the operational objectives set for the coming years, the federation will obtain project funding for the implementation of its activities. Almost all project funding…

The European Commission's work programme for 2021 has been published. The work programme shall include the actions to be carried out by the Commission in the course of the following year. It informs citizens and the legislative institutions of the Commission's political commitments to present new initiatives, withdraw existing proposals and revise existing EU legislation. The work programme for the coming year foresees a shift from a strategic level to implementation for the six political priorities of the Commission. Priorities include the European Green Deal, Europe’s digital readiness, an economy that works for people, strengthening the EU’s role on the world stage, promoting the European way of life and giving a new impetus to European democracy. Concrete actions to be implemented in the course of 2021 have continued to be placed under the priorities. Annex 1 to the work programme lists…

Finland's main railway group presents three reasons for investing in the main railway to the Finnish government and the authors of the national 12-year transport system plan (transport12). The proposals of the main railway group are intended for the preparation of traffic12, the state budgets and amending budgets for next year and for the coming years, as well as the national proposal for EU recovery funding. The main railway group is urging Finland to meet the quality criteria for the core network of the Connecting Europe Facility (TEN-T) programme and proposes influencing the reform of the programme Finland is committed to meeting the criteria for the core network by 2030. With the current decisions, Finland will not meet the requirement of sufficient track capacity on the main line. In the reform, Finland must propose Tampere (rail terminal and airport and logistical service level), Oulu (airport and port and logistical service level) and Seinäjoki (rail terminal and logistical service level) as hubs of the core network. Today Helsinki is the only … in Finland

The Regional Government of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia held a hybrid meeting in Oulu on 19 October 2020. At the beginning of the meeting, Kari Aalto, Director of the EU Office for Eastern and Northern Finland, presented current issues, the EU's multiannual budget proposal and the Office's 2021 work plan in preparation. The task of the EU Office for Eastern and Northern Finland in Brussels is to monitor and promote the interests of actors in South Savo, Kainuu, Central Ostrobothnia, Lapland, North Karelia, North Ostrobothnia and North Savo. Through advocacy in cooperation with the Regional Councils, the EU Office improves the competitiveness and operating conditions of the business sector in Eastern and Northern Finland. The evaluation of the Regional Programme for Northern Ostrobothnia 2018-2021 is being completed The evaluation of the Regional Programme for Northern Ostrobothnia 2018-2021 has been carried out in cooperation with the Provinces of Northern Finland and the Regional Development Consultancy MDI, which implements the evaluation. The aim is to obtain information on the implementation and effectiveness of the programme and, in particular, to provide recommendations and views…

The regional leaders commented on the state of preparation of the Land Use and Building Act: A well-functioning design system only needs to be upgraded. Instead of new and partly overlapping planning levels, conditions must be created for the development of planning cooperation and more efficient resourcing. The current Land Use and Building Act and the land use plan system have been functional in our country's different circumstances and varying control needs. Since 2014, the regional plans have coordinated and solved the needs of renewable energy, especially wind power, for other areas. Due to its territorial and content coverage, it is not possible to replace a regional plan with legal effects. The change in the situation of unequivocal legal effect proposed in the draft would lead to constant interpretation and difficulty of interpretation. The role of the authorities becomes more difficult if statements and permit decisions concerning cultural environments or energy production cannot be based on a regional plan with legal effect. Point-based …

In the statement of the Eastern and Northern Finland Summit, clear guidelines for achieving the objectives of the Government Regional Development Decision 2020-2023. The provinces of Eastern and Northern Finland met on 9 October 2020 for their annual summit. This time the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia was responsible for organising the meeting. Due to the COVID-19 situation, the theme of the webinar was "Smart and international Eastern and Northern Finland". At the summit, the counties published a joint statement listing, among other things, measures that respond to the objectives of research, development, innovation and carbon neutrality set out in the Government's decision on regional development 2020-2023. In order to achieve these objectives, it is particularly important that Finland follows the orientations of the European Council summit of July 2020: The new special funding of EUR 100 million for Eastern and Northern Finland and the increase in the special allocation for northern sparsely populated areas, NSPA (EUR 10 per person per year), should be fully directed towards the development of these areas. Provinces…

The personnel of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia have been given a recommendation on teleworking as of 12 October 2020. Union employees can also continue to work in the office. Meetings and workshops are recommended to be held at Teams. At meetings attended by persons outside the union, safety distances and hygiene instructions are taken care of. If necessary, the organizer of the event will provide respirators. You can reach us by phone and e-mail. The telephone switchboard 040 685 4000 will be open on working days from 8.30 a.m. to 3 p.m. You can find our contact information here.