[Digest] Study presentation: Cohesion Policy in Northernmost Regions of the EU

Tuesday 25 October 2022

Mr. Gløersen presented to the REGI committee the study on Cohesion Policy in the Northernmost regions of the EU. Mr Gløersen works for Spatial Foresight. His research activities focus on European territorial policies and the analysis of social and economic trends at regional and local scales.

The study targets the regions of northern Sweden and northern Finland. These regions have great economic potential, particularly in the context of the digital and ecological transition of the Union, but they often face challenges of all kinds. In his presentation, Erik Gloersen highlighted that some key challenges need to be overcome in particular the possibility for companies and public authorities to recruit staff with needed skills, and ensuring essential levels of transport infrastructure endowment and connectivity.

Generally speaking Cohesion Policy has successfully supported Research and Development and Innovation activities, helped develop SMEs and contributed to the diversification of local economies.  However, key findings show that limited attention is paid to the preservation of territorial cohesion at the subregional level. Mr Gløersen  explained that more coordinated efforts are needed to address demographic challenges, make these sparsely populated regions more attractive to skilled workers and overcome recruitment difficulties of local companies.