The Regional Council of Ostrobothnia – Key International Functions
The Regional Council of Ostrobothnia is responsible for the international relations and issues related to its work. Since Finland entered the European Union, the role of the Regional Council as an international player has become increasingly important - international relations and interregional interaction have become part of the daily routine. The Regional Council of Ostrobothnia is - along with the other regional councils in Finland - involved in developing EU regional policy. The Regional Council of Ostrobothnia has e.g. participated in the drawing up of the Objective 2 programme for Western Finland and the Interreg III A programme for the Kvarken region. The Regional Council of Ostrobothnia, together with the other Regional Councils in the West Finland Alliance (WFA), will draw up the new Objective Programme called Regional Competitiveness and Employment, as well as a new cross-border development programme called the Bothnia programme for the Kvarken region.
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Developing European regional policy.
Mr Stig Östdahl (centre), former Chairman of the Board of the Regional Council of Ostrobothnia, presided at the CPMR General Assembly in Oporto, Portugal, September 2001. To the left Ms Elisa Ferreira, Planning Minister of Portugal, and to the right Mr Michel Barnier, the then EU Commissioner of Regional Policy.
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The Regional Council of Ostrobothnia is participating also in the following international organisations:
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The Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe (CPMR) is one of the oldest associations for areas with common interests. Mr Stig Östdahl, former chairman of the Board of the Regional Council of Ostrobothnia and Municipal Manager of Kronoby, was president of CPMR 2000 - 2002.
The CPMR was founded in Saint-Malo in 1973 on the initiative of the Region of Brittany, at the same time as the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark entered the European Community. The Regional Council of Ostrobothnia joined CPMR in 1995. |
The CPMR's membership includes 156 Regions from 27 States - both members and non-members of the EU - all located in one of Europe's main sea basins. Promoting together a more balanced development of the European Union highlighting the value of all its geographical areas with a view to strengthening its economic, social and territorial cohesion, is the goal that the CPMR's member Regions have set themselves.
Outlining the future of Europe.
Mr Stig Östdahl, former chairman of the Board of the Regional Council of Ostrobothnia, discussing the role of the regions in future Europe with Mr Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, chairman of the European Convention and former President of France. The two met at the convention of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) Valencia, Spain in March 2002.
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The Association of European Border Regions (AEBR) has been promoting cross-border co-operation in Europe for more than 30 years now. Ms Ann-Sofi Backgren, a member of the Board of the Regional Council of Ostrobothnia, is Vice President of the Board of AEBR. To this post she was elected as the first woman ever to the General Assembly in Strasbourg in September 2001. Thereafter, she has been repeatedly re-elected to the position.
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The Kvarken Council is a Nordic cross border co-operation association for the Ostrobothnian regions in Finland as well as for the province of Västerbotten and the municipality of Örnsköldsvik in Sweden. Presently, the Kvarken Council focuses mainly on issues concerning food industry, university co-operation, culture, traffic, tourism and the environment. |
The foundation of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) at the beginning of 1994 formalised the representation of local and regional interests in the European Union. The Ostrobothnia region is currently represented by a deputy member in the Committee of Regions: Mr Håkan Nordman, chairman of the city council of Vaasa.
The five regions in Western Finland (Ostrobothnia, South Ostrobothnia, Tampere region, Satakunta and Central Finland) form an alliance – West Finland Alliance (WFA) - with a joint office (West Finland European Office) in Brussels, Belgium. The Brussels office was made permanent in the beginning of 2006. The office is administered by the Regional Council of Ostrobothnia.
Ostrobothnia, South Ostrobothnia and Central Ostrobothnia have been in close co-operation with the Schleswig-Holstein region in Germany since spring 1994. The work focuses on marine development, rural development, education, culture and the Baltic Sea co-operation.
Membership of the Finnish Regional Councils in European Organisations in May 2004, The Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities (PDF file)