Regional Council of Ostrobothnia

The Regional Council of Ostrobothnia is one of the nineteen regional councils in Finland. We are a joint municipal authority formed by the seventeen municipalities in the region of Ostrobothnia.

The Regional Council of Ostrobothnia has two primary functions: regional development and spatial planning, which both form the basis for supporting regional interests. We promote the interests of our member municipalities in various fields and are responsible for the cultural issues concerning the Finnish-speaking population.

Our work has a strong international dimension. We are responsible for a wide range of international issues and contacts in the Nordic countries, the Baltic Sea region, the EU and Europe. Together with three regional councils in Western Finland we run the common West Finland European Office, which is the most important base for promoting our interests at EU level. 

What awaits us in 2010?

In 2010, the Council will be assigned additional statutory tasks. These include, among others, the responsibility for coordinating the making of regional traffic system plans and comprehensive natural resource plans. When it comes to regional development, our main focus is to draw up a new regional strategic programme 2011–2014 and to implement the EU Structural Funds programmes. A new regional scheme 2040 will be presented in the Assembly for approval in the first half of the year. Our department of spatial planning is working on two stage plans. A plan suggestion for the location of commercial services is expected to be completed in this autumn while the first steps for outlining a plan for energy management in Ostrobothnia are being taken. The department of culture is improving the cultural services for children through the network Aladdin’s Lamp. As a new task the Council’s Cultural Committee will undertake the development of language services in Ostrobothnia. Promoting the regional interests is a vast field. The Council aims to influence government decision-making so that Ostrobothnia can enhance its competitiveness nationally. Of a particular importance are improving transportation, ensuring research and educational resources, caring for the Kvarken Archipelago world heritage site and ensuring adequate supply of labour.