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Preparations for the post-2027 multiannual EU budget and programming period are in full swing. The European Commission has invited all Interreg programmes to consult their stakeholders in order to receive feedback for the future planning of the programming period. It is in our interest, as many people as possible, to give their views and comments, because it affects future cross-border programmes. By replying, you can tell us what is currently working well in cross-border programmes and what could be improved. Or do you want to say what kind of reforms the programmes need so that they can do the things that are needed in the region? This is your chance to contribute to the future of the Interreg Aurora programme and the Interreg Baltic Sea programme. Both surveys will be open until 31 May 2024.   Link to Interreg Aurora survey: https://www.interregaurora.eu/news-events/consultation-interreg-post2027/ Link…

The mandate of the current College of the European Parliament and the Commission will end in 2024 and the future of the European Arctic will play an even stronger role when the new Parliament and the Commission start their work. Looking ahead, a seminar on the Arctic was held in Helsinki, focusing on the green transition and security. Speaking at the event, MP Mari-Leena Talvitie called for cooperation to influence the agenda of the next European Commission. – Security and stability in the European Arctic means security and stability in the European Union. One of the key objectives of the Finnish Government is to better prepare and influence the agenda of the future European Commission in advance, he said. The future role of Northern Finland in the seminar organised by the Arctic Working Group of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia and the CPMR Baltic Sea Commission was attended by several national and local …

The Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia, in cooperation with the City of Oulu, is launching an ERDF project application for the implementation of the ecosystem agreement signed between the State and the City of Oulu. The content of the Oulu ecosystem agreement consists of the strategic focus areas and spearhead programmes of the Oulu Innovation Alliance for 2021-2027. The projects under the ecosystem agreement support the formation of business clusters and ecosystems in selected target sectors, identify the needs and services of the companies belonging to them, promote longer-term concrete goals and broad entities in line with the target sectors and spearhead programmes of the Oulu Innovation Alliance strategy, and provide added value from digital to the everyday services and built environment of residents. The application round is open 5.4. – 31 May 2024. Priority axis 1 is open for this call. Innovative Finland and its specific objectives 1.1: Improving research and innovation capacities and the uptake of advanced technologies, 1.2: Exploiting the benefits of digitalisation…

The call for applications for regional ERDF projects will open on 2 April 2024. The application round is open from 2 April to 31 August 2024. In this call for applications, the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia will fund measures under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) of the EU's Regional and Structural Policy Programme 2021-2027 that implement the Smart Specialisation Strategy for Eastern and Northern Finland. Only projects under Specific Objective 2.1 ‘Promoting energy efficiency measures and reducing greenhouse gas emissions’ and Specific Objective 2.3 ‘Promoting the transition to a circular economy’ of Priority Axis 2 ‘Carbon-Neutral Finland’ will be funded under the call. The aim of the call is to increase cross-regional cooperation in Eastern and Northern Finland. The call will only support cross-regional group projects with co-implementers from at least three different regions of Eastern and Northern Finland. The application period is open at the same time in each Regional Council of Eastern and Northern Finland (Association of Lapland, Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia…

  At its meeting on 11 March 2024, the Board of the Regional Council of North Ostrobothnia approved the implementation plan for the security of supply and comprehensive security of North Ostrobothnia for 2024-2025. Safety and security of supply have become a new issue from the point of view of the vitality of the regions. The changed geopolitics and security situation require consideration of issues related to security of supply and overall security of supply. The priorities of the Northern Ostrobothnia Regional Programme include interfaces for overall safety and security of supply. The implementation plan will clarify the means and instruments of regional development. There are three main elements in the plan. They focus on the development of RDI activities, the development of business and industry sectors, as well as people's smooth everyday life and everyday safety. The challenge in developing and training competence related to overall safety is the identification of competence. The county must promote means and opportunities for identifying and sharing know-how. The region also promotes the participation of companies outside the central region in innovation networks, when this is possible…

The municipality of Pyhäjoki launched the project "Developing clean and stable energy production in the Pyhäjoki economic area" in February 2023. The aim of the project is to explore various possibilities for energy production and further processing in Pyhäjoki. The project aims to find the best solutions, both technologically, economically and on schedule, utilising the infrastructure already built and the local operating environment. The Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia granted AKKE funding for the development of clean and stable energy production in the Pyhäjoki economic area project. The project started in February 2023. A preliminary study on energy production in the Hanhikivi area was completed in March 2024. It is available on the website of the municipality of Pyhäjoki. The preliminary report states that the Hanhikivi area still has excellent opportunities for energy production and further processing. According to the report, electricity demand in Finland will increase significantly as the green transition progresses. Solutions in the Hanhikivi area can be based on nuclear power, renewable energy…

23 candidates applied for the post of Administrative Director of Northern Ostrobothnia by the deadline. The application period ended on Friday 1 March 2024 at 3 p.m. Regional Director Jussi Rämet is delighted that the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia as a workplace is interested in experienced and competent applicants. – Candidates have both administrative and extensive municipal experience. I believe that the selection will not be easy, but I would estimate that we can find a good Administrative Director among the applicants, he says. Jussi Ylitalo, Chairman of the Provincial Government, also states that the number of applicants is of high quality. – A good and representative team is available. From now on, the process will proceed according to plan, and the provincial government will discuss the election. The candidates to be invited to the interview will be selected at a meeting of the Provincial Government in March. The Preparatory Group for Recruitment consists of the Presidium of the Provincial Government and Council, Provincial Director…

The first meeting of the Northern Finland Advisory Board was held on Thursday 29 February 2024. The Advisory Board for Northern Finland is a cooperative body for dealing with matters common to the provinces of Northern Finland. In 2024, the Regional Council of Central Ostrobothnia will hold the presidency. The Government Programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo A strong and caring Finland has written that the Government, under the direction of the Prime Minister's Office, will launch the Northern Programme. The aim of the programme to be drawn up is to promote the full exploitation of the potential of Northern Finland, especially from the perspectives of economic growth, regional vitality, boosting investment, skills development and the availability of labour. In addition, the aim of the programme is to promote Finland's security of supply and self-sufficiency in the changed security policy situation and to strengthen security in Nordic, EU and NATO cooperation so that the new geopolitics and our route to the west are taken into account.  Riikka Slunga-Poutsalo…, State Secretary to the Minister of Finance

The second work package of the EMMI project of the Regional Council of North Ostrobothnia examined the climate impacts of wind power production and electricity transmission in the regional energy and climate phase plan of North Ostrobothnia, as well as the climate impacts of solar power production in general. The regional plan process for the energy and climate phase of Northern Ostrobothnia is underway. The consultation with the authorities at the proposal stage has just ended. North Ostrobothnia is the leading wind power region in Finland. About 40 % Finnish wind power is produced here. Based on extensive studies, a total of 61 new wind power areas, totalling approximately ​1,705 km2, have been identified during the regulatory proposal phase. The assessment of impacts in land use planning is based on the Land Use and Building Act and Decree. Evaluation is an integral part of zoning and its purpose is to produce the information needed for the preparation of the plan and the related interaction and decision-making. The TP2 study of the EMMI project was commissioned to refine the assessment of the impacts of the phase-regional plan in terms of climate impacts. Expert service provider for work…

Figure: Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia. Iijoki's Jurmunlampi in Taivalkoski was one of the subjects of the documentary. ‘In the midst of unbreakable peace, Finland’s sixth largest river system, the Iijoki River, opens up.’ With these words, the short document ‘Iijoki of Possibilities’, which opens the life of the Iijoki River at different times of the year, has just been completed. ‘Iijoki of Possibilities is the story of Iijoki's annual cycle and the interaction between man and nature in the river area. Iijoki is a very beautiful shooting environment along its entire length, and the long-term work done there to restore migratory fish, for example, is awe-inspiring," says Johannes Valkonen, CEO of BrainyDay Visual Oy, who was responsible for the production of the documentary. Located in Northern Ostrobothnia, Iijoki flows through 370 kilometres of northern Finland. Starting from Iijärvi in Kuusamo, Iijoki passes through the areas of Taivalkoski, Pudasjärvi and Oulu and descends to the Bay of Bothnia at the Ii agglomeration. Iijoki has been…