Priorities for development in Southern Finland

Finland has launched an EU regional and structural policy programme, 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’ own pages.

Regional cooperation groups

Regional cooperation groups coordinate structural fund activities in their region. They also supervise and monitor the systematic implementation of structural fund programmes. Each regional cooperation group comprises representatives of central organisations, the region’s authorities and largest municipalities. The cooperation group’s secretariat prepares matters handled by the cooperation group and makes independent decisions on some of the issues.