27.05.2021
Regional Assembly of Oulu Region: The special status of Eastern and Northern Finland must be maintained
Finland must comply in cooperation with the mechanism for calculating the EU's regional and structural policy funds as such, in cooperation 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's results were the weakest of the five major regions (Eastern and Northern Finland, Western Finland, Southern Finland, Helsinki-Uusimaa, Åland) in terms of population growth, accessibility of the region by road and rail, and use of the internet. The population density in Northern and Eastern Finland is very low (8 inhabitants/km2 or less). Eastern and Northern Finland has the lowest innovation performance and the lowest number of 30-34 year-olds in cooperation with tertiary education. The national legislation has been adapted to comply in cooperation with the EU criteria, including assisted areas and other solutions, and there are no other criteria officially in use or generally accepted in Finland that reflect regional differences in development.
The Grand Committee of Parliament considers it important that the circumstances in Eastern and Northern Finland, such as lower GDP levels, sparsely populated areas and other special challenges, are taken into account. Efforts must be made to ensure the sustainability of the aid and its level in line in cooperation with the funding for the current programming period. National territorial specificities must not lose their relevance as part of cohesion policy. Finland's remote and northern location, sparse population and long distances must continue to be taken into account. This requires continued support for northern sparsely populated areas.
According to Prime Minister Marin's Government Programme, the EU's cohesion policy aims to secure the level of European European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) (ERDF)ing as well as the special status of sparsely populated Eastern and Northern Finland and the permanence of subsidies. Based on this policy, the starting point for the financing calculation should be that the amount of aid for Eastern and Northern Finland will not decrease.
The Just Transition Fund (JTF) is a much more limited fund than the European European European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) (ERDF) (ERDF) and the European European European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) Plus (ESF+) (ESF). In particular, ERDF funding is more useful and wide-ranging than JTF funding for the modernisation of the regional economy and job creation. In Northern Ostrobothnia, JTF funding should not replace ERDF funding in the allocation of funds by region, but should be considered as a separate contribution. In the case of ERDF and ESF funding, it must be ensured that the aid is permanent and that its level corresponds to that of the current programming period.
NORTH NORTH APPLICATION
Matias Ojalehto
President of the the Board of the Regional Assembly
Chairman of the Northern Finland Advisory Board
Pauli Harju
Region Mayor
