Regional Council of North Karelia

Regional Council of North Karelia welcomes the European Commissions Right to Stay Strategy as a timely response to territorial disparities, demographic decline and the concentration of opportunities in metropolitan areas. The statement stresses that the freedom to stay should be valued alongside the freedom to move, allowing people to build their future in their home region.

1. Have the main problems and needs been correctly identified? Yes, the main challenges are well identifiedparticularly the fragmented funding landscape, disparities in infrastructure accessibility, and limited cross-sectoral collaboration. However, the strategy underestimates the needs and potential of regions that are both geopolitically vulnerable and rich in natural resources.

EU Arctic Policy Update 2026 North Karelia (Finland). North Karelia welcomes the update of the EU Arctic Policy. While not in the High Arctic, the region is part of the wider European Arctic and NSPA area. As an EU external border region bordering Russia, it directly faces geopolitical shifts, energy transition pressures, connectivity gaps and demographic constraints typical of northern regions.

The Regional Council of North Karelia welcomes the preparation of the Tenth Cohesion Report. The report should reaffirm economic, social and territorial cohesion as a core European objective and assess competitiveness through a genuinely place-based lens.