22.09.2021
European Union featured in various events in Northern Ostrobothnia
Issues related to Europe and the European Union have been reflected in the events of the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region in recent weeks. Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen made a virtual regional trip to Northern Ostrobothnia, Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering Tytti Tuppurainen opened the annual studia generalia lecture series, and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen's State of the Union speech was reviewed live.
Arctic and Africa speak in Northern Ostrobothnia
The Arctic, the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, Participation and Inclusion, Africa and young people in the European Union were widely discussed when Commissioner Urpilainen made a regional trip to Northern Ostrobothnia on 20 September.
Commissioner Urpilainen's visit began in cooperation with a question-and-answer session, where he was asked about topical issues from the perspective of Northern Ostrobothnia. Pauli Harju, Regional Director for Northern Ostrobothnia, expressed concern about TEN-T funding (trans-European transport network) and wanted to know what the update of the Arctic strategy would look like from the European Commission's point of view.
“During this Commission, Arctic awareness has been good. The intention has been to bring matters to the discussion in the College. I have 126 countries in the world under my responsibility, and the countries in my portfolio also include Greenland," Urpilainen stressed.
Commissioner Urpilainen also answered Harju's question on cooperation in cooperation with Russia as part of Arctic cooperation. Urpilainen considers good communication important, although the dialogue between the EU and Russia also presents challenges.
In addition to Harju, Eija Ruohomäki (Senior Advisor from Oulu Educational and Cultural Services), Jussi Haukkamaa (Project Manager and Lecturer, PINO Network & Oulu University of Applied Sciences) and Janne Siltari (Founder and Member of the Board of Kaira Clan Oy) participated in the Question Time.
In addition to Question Time, Urpilainen visited Kuusamo upper secondary school virtually. You can read more about the high school visit in the Kaleva article (behind the paywall).
Tuppurainen opened the jubilee year lecture series of the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region and the Summer University of Northern Ostrobothnia
Minister of European Affairs and Ownership Steering Tytti Tuppurainen opened the studia generalia lecture series, which is part of the 90th anniversary of the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region and the 70th anniversary of the Summer University of Northern Ostrobothnia.
Mr Tuppurainen spoke about strengthening the EU's resilience to crises, a just transition to a carbon-neutral world and society, environmental, economic and social sustainability, and from many perspectives about the role of the European Union as a global actor. In his lecture, Tuppurainen also emphasized the important national significance of Northern Finland.
The discussion between the Tuppurainen lecture and Regional Director Pauli Harju and Minister Tuppurainen You can look at this link.
You can read more about the Studia generalia lecture series from this link.
2022 is the European Year of Youth
Europe and the future of the European Union also spoke in the ‘follow-ups’ organised by the Northern Ostrobothnia EU Information Point following the speech by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
Ms Tytti Tuppurainen, Minister for European Affairs, Ms Mirja Vehkaperä, Member of the European Committee of the Regions and President of Oulu City Regional Assembly, and Ms Hanna Honkamäkilä, Manager of International Affairs at the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region took part in the discussion. The event was hosted by Ville Koivuniemi, spokesperson for the Northern Ostrobothnia EU Information Point and the Regional Assembly of Northern Ostrobothnia.
President Von der Leyen’s speech highlighted in particular von der Leyen’s remark that 2022 will be Europe’s Year of Young People. As a concrete action in the context of the Year of Youth, von der Leyen raised the ALMA programme, a new international exchange programme for young people in the European Union.
See the aftermath of the State of the Union speech here.
Read about the European Union's ALMA programme here (Yle article on the subject).
