Regional Council of Ostrobothnia
Functions and Field of Activities
The Regional Council of Ostrobothnia is one of the eighteen regional councils in Finland. We are a joint municipal authority formed by the sixteen 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 also 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.
Geographical Area and Member Municipalities
Ostrobothnia
Ostrobothnia is situated on the West Coast of Finland and is a breathtakingly beautiful region with the international, bilingual city of Vaasa as its centre.
Organisation
The Regional Council of Ostrobothnia and Its Decision-makers
Formed by the 16 municipalities in the region, the Regional Council of Ostrobothnia is a joint municipal authority referred to in the Finnish Local Government Act (365/1999).
The Assembly – the highest decision-making organ of the Regional Council – convenes two or three times a year to decide on the economic frameworks and to set up long-term operational objectives for the Regional Council. The Assembly holds 38 seats. Chairman of the Assembly is Ms Miapetra Kumpula-Natri (Social Democratic Party).
The Board of the Regional Council convenes ordinarily once a month to monitor the regional development and planning operations. The Board has 13 members. Chairman of the Board is Ms Ulla-Maj Wideroos (Swedish People's Party).
The Auditing Committee shall prepare matters related to audits of the administration and finances for decisions by the Assembly and assess whether the operational and financial objectives set by the Assembly have been achieved. The Auditing Committee has five members. Chairman of the Committee is Mr Martin Markén (Swedish People's Party).
The Cultural Committee is responsible for the cultural issues concerning the Finnish-speaking population of the region. The Committee is maintaining close relations with the member municipalities of the Regional Council, with the Cultural Committee of the Association for Swedish-speaking Ostrobothnia, with the Regional Art Council of Ostrobothnia and with a number of cultural institutions and organisations. The Cultural Committee has 13 members. Chairman of the Committee is Ms Oili Airaksinen-Rajala (Social Democratic Party).
The Regional Co-operation Group – set up by the Board of the Regional Council – is responsible for the national administration of EU structural fund programmes on a regional level. The following authorities and organisations are equally represented in the Regional Co-operation Group:
1. the Regional Council and its member municipalities (i.e. the 17 municipalities in Ostrobothnia)
2. the government authorities and other governmental organisations participating in the financing of the EU programmes
3. the labour market organisations as well as the commercial and industrial organisations bearing the greatest importance to the development of the region.
Chairman of the Regional Co-operation Group is Mr Lars-Erik Gästgivars (Swedish People's Party).
The Office of the Regional Council is located in Vaasa. Head of the Office is Mr Olav Jern, Executive Director of the Regional Council of Ostrobothnia.
Contact Address:
Regional Council of Ostrobothnia
Hietasaarenkatu 6
P.O.Box 174
65101 VAASA
FINLAND
Telephone: +358 (0)6 320 6500
Fax: +358 (0)6 320 6550
Email: info@obotnia.fi
