Varsinais-Suomen liitto
VSL
Varsinais-Suomen liitto on 27 kunnan muodostama kuntayhtymä, joka toimii aluekehitysviranomaisena sekä suunnittelu- ja edunvalvontaorganisaationa.
ID: 310898619985-67
Lobbying Activity
Response to 9th Report on economic, social and territorial cohesion
21 Dec 2023
The Regional Council of Southwest Finland is a regional authority that serves Finland's third largest region and has approximately 490,000 inhabitants. We are responsible for the regional development and planning, as well as for the general development of the area and the representation of the interests of the region. The largest employers in the region represent maritime, bio-, ICT-, food-, medicine- and metal industry, as well as service and tourism. During 2016-2022, Southwest Finland received an average of EUR 36.8 million in EU funding per year. There is some year-to-year variation. The majority, or 72%, of the funding for the projects launched in 2022 came from the EU's separate programmes, in particular Horizon Europe. The Regional Council of Southwest Finland supports the view of the 9th Report on cohesion that not all regions are equally equipped to respond to the long-term challenges related to the green and digital transitions and demographic change. In our view, the distribution of national structural funds within a country is unequal and is not necessarily based on regional disparities in development. The Regional Council of Southwest Finland believes that cohesion policy must be changed to correspond to the new global political situation. It must take into account the geographical position of Finland as a whole as a country bordering the EU's external borders. Factors that particularly affect the economy, employment and development of our region include immigration, an ageing population, and the consequent challenge of the availability of skilled labour, as well as remote location from the perspective of developing connections. Climate change and environmental challenges, especially the poor state and pollution of the Baltic Sea and the Archipelago Sea, contribute to the challenges faced by the region. The allocation of investments in the green transition is uneven, and especially for smaller companies, the utilisation of the opportunities brought by the green transition is perceived as limited in relation to the costs it requires. We would like to give feedback on the current cohesion policy, with a view to the next funding period. Southwest Finland calls for the recognition of regional special characteristics and the strengthening of the role of regional actors at EU level so that we can respond to this challenge. It is important that cohesion policy funds are available in all EU regions. The distribution of cohesion policy resources must be fairer, more balanced, and more effective. From our point of view, the EU should develop cohesion policy during the next period, especially by further simplifying administration, investing in competitive RDI and other development funding in the long term, and enabling small actors to be better involved in larger projects. EU must continue to be a pioneer in climate policy and support piloting in cities and regions. Funds should be allocated to subsidies that fund knowledge, energy and clean transition, security and security of supply, digitalisation, research, and new innovations. This creates a basis for renewing and vibrant regions. In addition, cohesion policy must support the resilience of the regional and local level to prepare for future challenges and rapid unforeseen changes, as well as to cope with them flexibly and regeneratively (e.g., the pandemic, Russia's unjustified invasion of Ukraine, global challenges in production chains, etc.).
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