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Finland’s transport infrastructure must be more closely integrated with the rest of Europe – Objectives of the metropolitan area for EU elections
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The joint EU election themes of the Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council, the Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce and the cities of Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa, are:
1. The European Union needs vibrant cities – Urban policy in the EU must be strengthened
80 % of Europeans will live in cities by 2050. Growing cities should be given the opportunity to seek more direct EU funding, as the prerequisites for competitiveness, new jobs, and green transition solutions are created in the cities.
The funding share received by regions and cities from EU’s structural funds should be assessed through productivity. For example, only a fraction of the European Regional Development Fund’s financing has been allocated to the European Urban Initiative, which supports cities’ capabilities to develop a sustainable urban environment. Cities must be supported in promoting sustainable development and reducing inequality.
2. Strengthening and connecting our transport infrastructure to the rest of the EU
In other Nordic countries, the state invests significantly more in the transport infrastructure of their own capital regions. In Finland, the scarcity of state investments weakens the competitiveness of the Helsinki-Uusimaa Region compared to our peer regions and cities.
The state must increase its funding in nationally significant infrastructure projects in the Helsinki-Uusimaa Region and also make better use of EU funding in this respect. The state must seek EU CEF funding (Connecting Europe Facility) more actively to promote the competitiveness of the capital region. National co-funding must also be secured.
Finland is an European border region, and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has further increased Finland’s remoteness. European border regions must be supported in this significantly changed situation. The implementation of the TEN-T regulation and CEF funding for the European-wide transport network must take Finland’s long Eastern border into account by improving transport connections both to the west and south. The planning of the Tallinn tunnel from Helsinki to Tallinn, Estonia, must take into account not only the economic assessments, but also security of supply, the functioning of the EU single market and the geopolitical significance of the new connection.
3. Doubling the R&D funding in Helsinki-Uusimaa Region
Our goal is that by 2030, research and development (R&D) spending will account for 5% of the region’s gross domestic product. This requires doubling the EU funding received by the Helsinki-Uusimaa Region.
In addition to this, national counterpart funding must be secured, a new form of EU project preparation support must be created and EU funding must be increased in all sectors and across all financial instruments.
Metropolitan policy objectives discussed at MetropoliAreena
Metropolitan policy in the European Union will be discussed at the MetropoliAreena election debate on May 22 from 15:00 to 17:00 at Pasila Tripla. The event will be streamed. Ten EU parliament election candidates will take part in the panel, including Members of Parliament Eero Heinäluoma, Henna Virkkunen, Eva Biaudet, Maria Guzenina, Atte Harjanne, Maria Ohisalo, Aura Salla, Jussi Saramo, as well as city councilor Mika Niikko and CEO Petri Roininen.
MetropoliAreena is an event open to all and free of charge. The event is organised by the Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce, the Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council, the Cities of Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa, Länsiväylä, Helsingin Uutiset and Vantaa Sanomat.
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