New program period will provide billions to upper Norrland

Region Norrbotten and Region Västerbotten are currently developing a joint program for regional development initiatives for the next seven years. In total, it involves billions of kronor to be used to develop upper Norrland. The money comes from the European Regional Development Fund and enables projects to develop innovation and entrepreneurship, infrastructure, green investments and broadband.

Region Norrbotten and Region Västerbotten, together with the Sami Parliament and the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, are working on a proposal for how EU funds should be used to achieve the most development. The assignment comes from the government.

– Strategic collaboration is something that our regions are used to and we have good conditions to develop a joint regional program to meet our societal challenges, says Nils-Olov Lindfors, regional councilor for Norrbotten.

The current EU program for Upper Norrland ends this year and is renegotiated for each new seven-year period. The exact amount has not yet been decided, but it is clear that it is in the billions.

– The EU's structural funds are of great importance for development in northern Sweden, not least because the funds regulated by cohesion policy are crucial for regional growth and increased employment in Västerbotten and Norrbotten, says Rickard Carstedt, regional councilor for Västerbotten. 

Dialogue and anchoring work will begin this autumn. The dialogue work will consist of a series of meetings within various thematic areas during September and October, to be finally decided by the regions' respective development committees before being submitted to the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth/Ministry of Enterprise at the turn of the year.

On July 1, interested parties are invited to a digital information meeting based on the current situation.