- We see this as an excellent possibility to promote our region to the rest of Europe but also to learn and to cooperate with other regions, explains Anne Berg, director of the Northern Norway European Office in Brussels.
During the Open Days, her office more than anything else tries to draw attention to the plan to establish a permanent rail-transport link between China and Narvik, the ice-free harbour in Northern Norway. – There will definitively be a lot of money and time saved compared to present transport arrangements, she underlines.
North Finland or Lapland Oulu, as they present themselves, is represented in Brussels by Seppo Heikkilä. He explains that his region is 'The home of Nokia' and that the region remains 'in the top bracket' when it comes to research and development: - In our region we spend the equivalent of 1800 euros on research and development per inhabitant per year, and that is almost double the average for Finland, he underlines.He says that Lapland Oulu wants to keep it that way: - One of our two seminars during the Open Days also focused on research and develop-ment, and it was a great success, he concludes. It is perhaps also worth noting that in Finland, no less than 19 journalists from the local and/or regional media level received free trips to participate in the Open Days.
The Director of the Office for North Sweden in Brussels is Inge Andersson. He likes to draw attention to the fact that the money transferred from the EU's Structural Funds sometimes – through the principle of 'additionality' among others - grows by as much as 300% by the time it comes to be spent locally, as EU-transfers generate additional funds from central governments and private investors.
By Odd Iglebaek