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Photo: Max Englund from left, Senior Adviser in European Affairs, North Sweden European Office, Hanna Honkamäkilä, Secretary General of NRPP Preparation for Eastern and Northern Finland, Dr Jorge Núñez Ferrer, Director for Cohesion Policy and EU Budget, CPMR, Tiina Rajala, Development Director, Katja Sukuvaara, Head of International Affairs and Laura Kelhä, Regional Development Manager at the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia. Representatives of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia participated in the European Week of Regions and Cities 2026 in Brussels on 12-14 October. Organised by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy and the European Committee of the Regions, the event is Europe's largest annual event on regional and urban policy. This year's theme was strong regions, a strong Europe. The key message of the event was that strong regions are the whole of Europe...

The European Commission has published updated Horizon Europe work programmes, which open up funding opportunities for 2026-27. On 29 September, the Commission announced an additional EUR 500 million for the last years of the programme. Funding will be allocated through two application programmes: Transformative Change Towards a Nature-Positive Economy and Society (with a budget of EUR 237 million) Transitional measures (Bridging Actions 2027 with a budget of EUR 260 million) The updated work programmes direct funding towards areas such as industry, climate and energy solutions, mobility, the bioeconomy, digital technologies and the development of innovation ecosystems. In addition, the EU wants to streamline the transition between the current and future funding periods (MFF 2028-2024), moving to the EU’s 10th Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP10). The objective of the work programmes...

Interreg Aurora's application rounds for 9th development projects and 7th small projects ended on 7 October 2026. A total of 71 applications were received, of which 60 were received by Interreg Aurora and 11 by Sámi. Of these, there were 70 development project applications and one small project application. The most active organisation in Northern Ostrobothnia was the University of Oulu, which was the main applicant in five applications. Other main applicants in Northern Ostrobothnia were Oulu University of Applied Sciences, Finnish Environment Institute, Natural Resources Institute Finland, Joint Municipal Authority for Education OSAO and Diakonia University of Applied Sciences Ltd. The projects to be funded will be decided at the Steering Group meeting on 20-1-21 January 2027 in Haaparanna. Additional information: Interreg Aurora Programme Manager Niko Auer, niko.auer@pohjois-pohjanmaa.fi

The deadline for submitting proposals for the Northern Ostrobothnia Association Award has expired. A total of 20 proposals from all parts of the province were received by the deadline. The decision on the recipient of the prize is made by the Regional Government of Northern Ostrobothnia. The prize will be awarded at the Regional Parliament of Northern Ostrobothnia on 3 November 2026. The prize is EUR 1,000. The theme of the 2026 NGO campaign is 'Cultural Action without Thresholds'. The prize will be awarded for the eighth time this year. Additional information: Strategy Manager Ilpo Tapaninen, Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia, tel. +358 50 301 7546.

The eighth application period for sustainable urban development of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia for the 2021-2027 programming period closed on 9 October 2026. During the application period, 12 new applications were received by the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia. The applications applied for funding from the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia totalling approximately 1,685 M€. Decisions on applications for positive follow-up will be delivered in November 2026. Project selections are made by the City of Oulu's evaluation team. The next application period for sustainable urban development projects will take place in spring 2027. Approximately EUR 1,500,000 in funding will be applied for at the time

The Northern Food Economy Strategy and Development Days gathered in Oulu from 6 to 7 October 2026 a wide range of actors in food economy, research, education and development to discuss the future of the sector and common development priorities. The aim of the event was to bring together actors in the field to build a shared vision of the future of the food economy in Northern Ostrobothnia and more broadly in Northern Finland. The first day of the workshop focused on food strategy work in Northern Ostrobothnia. The day started with two introductory speeches: Research Director Tuomas Kuhmonen from the University of Turku focused his speech on the food system of the future, highlighting the views of young people in particular. After Kuhmonen, Elina Ovaskainen, Senior Specialist at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, spoke out about the national food strategy (2040) and gave tips to support the provincial work. After the introductory speeches, Regional Development Manager Laura Kelhä from the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia presented the preliminary results of the...

In english below. How can the green economy support the sustainable and holistic development of rural areas? This issue was addressed in the Green Economy as a Driver of Integrated Territorial Development webinar of the Rural COOP project, organised by the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia as part of the Interreg Europe Rural COOP project. The webinar brought together participants from across Europe, including Finland, Sweden, Norway, Latvia, Poland, Italy, France, Switzerland, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina. José Enrique Garcilazo, keynote speaker at the OECD, said that rural areas are often viewed in terms of population decline and ageing. However, many rural areas play an important role in economic growth and renewable energy production, as well as valuable natural resources. Successful green transition solutions must take into account rural areas...

Statement by the Presidents of the Regional Governments The Presidents of the Finnish Regional Governments propose that the Regional Councils be involved without delay in the preparation of Finland's National and Regional Partnership Plan (NRPP or NRP Plan) as equal partners and stress the need to take greater account of multi-level governance and the subsidiarity principle. Utilising the regional knowledge and strong EU experience of regional councils in the preparation and implementation of Finland's NRPP is essential in order for the plan to strengthen growth throughout Finland and meet the different needs of the regions. Finland's NRP plan should focus on investments and reforms that strengthen economic growth. At the same time, it should be noted that the core function of EU cohesion policy is to reduce disparities between the levels of development of the regions and to strengthen economic, social and territorial balance. Reducing regional development disparities is not the opposite of economic growth, but opens up the possibility of making full use of Finland's potential.

The Mayors of Northern Ostrobothnia and representatives of the Regional Council made a study trip to Dublin, the capital of Ireland, from 30 September to 3 October 2026. Ireland currently holds the presidency of the EU. During the study trip, the delegation became acquainted with current themes, such as the promotion of international investments, the development of rural areas and communities, and the regional economic importance of tourism. These themes are also topical in the municipalities of Northern Ostrobothnia at the moment. The North Ostrobothnia Group visited the Irish State Investment Agency, whose mission is to attract foreign investment to the country. “Ireland is known for its active investment policy. It has helped Ireland attract a lot of international investment, which has been a key factor in the recovery of the Irish economy since the 2008 financial crisis," points out Jussi Rämet, Regional Governor of Northern Ostrobothnia. Ireland has succeeded very well in raising GDP. About the size of Finland in terms of population...

From 28 September to 1 October, the European Commission organised Connecting Europe Days, the European Union's flagship transport policy event in Brussels. The three-day event brought together policy makers, transport system experts and stakeholders, as well as representatives of the European Commission. Discussions focused on the future of the European transport system and its development. The aim is to create a competitive, safe and sustainable transport system in Europe. The event was opened by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who highlighted the role of the European transport system in a post-Cold War integrated Europe. In her speech, Ms von der Leyen also highlighted the increase proposed for the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) financial instrument in the transport budget. The budget proposed for the development of the transport system (CEF-Transport) would increase to more than EUR 50 billion. “The most important message for Northern Ostrobothnia is that the next CEF season needs to be completed...