Priorities for development in Eastern Finland

Finland has launched an EU regional structural policy programme called Innovation and Skills in Finland 2021–2027, which includes measures of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and the Just Transition Fund (JTF). The programme applies to continental Finland. Åland has its own programme.

The regions’ own regional programmes and priorities in smart specialisation play a key role in the policy programme’s implementation. Smart specialisation carries increasing weight, and in some projects, addressing it is a prerequisite for funding. You can read more about the regional priorities on the regions’ pages.

Regional cooperation groups

Each region has a statutory regional cooperation group, which contributes to the implementation of regional priorities and their coordination with the opportunities provided by the state and the European Union. The regional cooperation group is a forum where the parties influencing the region’s dynamism – municipalities, the regional council, central government, research and education organisations, labour market and industrial organisations, and representatives of civil society – meet around the same table. Among other things, the regional cooperation group decides on significant projects related to the EU regional and structural policy programme. The regional board appoints the cooperation group for the term of the local councils.

The cooperation group’s secretariat prepares matters handled by the cooperation group and decides on the regional and structural policy programme’s project funding proposals to the regional council or centre for economic development, transport and the environment with an investment value less than EUR 0.5 million. The secretariat comprises representatives of the funders.

The allocation of funding is guided by the Innovation and Skills in Finland 2021−2027 programme, which includes measures of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and the Just Transition Fund (JTF).