Finland and Sweden have officially approved the establishment of the Kvarken Council EGTC, a European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation. The Council’s objective is to develop cross-border cooperation and improve competitiveness in the Kvarken region, i.e. in the northern part of the Baltic Sea.
Finnish Minister of Economic Affairs, Mr Mika Lintilä, approved the participation of Finnish members in the grouping on November 26th, 2020, and the Swedish Government approved the participation of Swedish members also on November 26th, 2020. Ms Jennie Nilsson, Swedish Minister for Rural Affairs, will sign the convention on behalf of Sweden.
– I’m extremely proud that the Ostrobothnian counties formed the first fully Nordic EGTC together with our Swedish friends in Västerbotten and Örnsköldsvik. This will strengthen the Kvarken region in both the capitals and the EU, rejoices Mr Joakim Strand, Member of Parliament, Chairman of the Kvarken Council, and Chairman of Vaasa City Council.
– A long process has finally reached its finish line, and this new legal entity lends us far better opportunities to promote the region’s interests at Nordic and European levels, explains Mr Mathias Lindström, Director of the Kvarken Council.
Founding members of the Kvarken Council EGTC:
in Finland:
Regional Council of Ostrobothnia City of Vaasa City of Jakobstad Regional Council of South Ostrobothnia City of Seinäjoki Regional Council of Central Ostrobothnia City of Kokkola
in Sweden:
Region Västerbotten Umeå Municipality Örnsköldsvik Municipality
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Mr Joakim Strand, MP, Chairman of the Kvarken Council, Chairman of Vaasa City Council, tel. +358 50 310 0076
Kvarken Council – Cross-Border Cooperation
The operating area of the Kvarken Council is called the Kvarken region. The Kvarken region consists of the counties of Ostrobothnia, Southern Ostrobothnia and Central Ostrobothnia in Finland and the county of Västerbotten and the municipality of Örnsköldsvik in Sweden.
The Kvarken Council is developing the region by supporting the cooperation between various actors in the Kvarken region, reducing and eliminating border barriers, increasing the visibility of the region at national and European levels, working actively in several European networks and by utilising the region’s strengths and supporting the development of the region. The Kvarken Council has worked with over 100 cross-border projects during almost 50 years within e.g. business, education, tourism, research and development, health care, culture, environmental issues, sports, children and young people as well as communications and transport infrastructure. One of the region’s joint projects is the Midway Alignment infrastructure project. More Information about European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation (EGT’S) on the European Parliament’s webpage