Regional Policy - Comparison Between Sweden and Finland

Finland

Short presentation of the countries

Sweden, officially the Kindom of Sweden is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and is connected to Denmark by the Oresund Bridge. It has been a member of the European Union since January 1, 1995. Its capital and largest city is Stockholm, with a population of 802,611 and 2 million in metropolitan area, and is by far the most populous city in Sweden and Scandinavia. Sweden is the most visited country of the Nordic countries with 5.2 million visitors in 2007. At 449,964 km2 (173,732 sq mi), Sweden is the largest country by area in Northern Europe and fourth largest in Europe. With a total population of over 9.2 million, of whom about 7.8 million are ethnic Swedes, Sweden has a low population density of 20 people per km² (52 per sq. mi). About 84% of the population live in urban areas.

Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It has borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki. Finland has joined the European Union in the same time with Sweden that is in year 1995. Around 5.3 million people reside in Finland, with the majority concentrated in the southern part of the country. It is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. The native language for most of the population is Finnish, a member of Finno-Ugric language family most closely related to Estonian and one of the four official EU languages not of Indo-European origin. The second official language, Swedish, is spoken by a 5.5 percent minority. Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic with a mostly Helsinki-based central government and local governments in 415 municipalities. A total of a million residents live in Greater Helsinki (including Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen) and a third of the GDP is produced there. Other major cities include Tampere, Turku, and Oulu.

Regional policy with respect to Sweden and Finland

1. Regional reform in Sweden

1.1. Growing interest in regional cooperation

There are several reasons why there has been so much debate about regions in Sweden. At the same time as the central government has delegated more and more tasks to municipalities, the need for cooperation between larger geographical areas has increased. It is now also recognized that regional growth is only possible where there is sufficient efforts being made in the region as a whole.

Another important reason is that Sweden has joined the EU. The EU’s regional structural funds require cooperation in the form of partnerships, for example between municipalities and county councils. Entities that have not previously cooperated have realized the value of shaping the regions’ future together.

1.2. Proposals of the Commission on Regional Administration

In 1995, the Commission on Regional Administration (an official commission of inquiry) presented its proposals for a new regional organization in Sweden. One of its proposals was that responsibility for regional development should be transferred from county administrative boards to the regions’ directly elected bodies – county councils. The municipalities’ areas of responsibility should not be restricted. The county administrative boards should concentrate on the task of representing central government. Any changes in the division of responsibilities should be based on local and regional initiatives.

Following the Commission’s proposal, representatives from Skåne, Kalmar and Gotland counties, as well as from Göteborg and Bohus, Älvsborg and Skaraborg counties, requested permission from the Government to start a pilot project under which the regions’ self governing bodies, i.e. the elected regional representatives, would assume responsibility for

regional development from the county administrative boards.

At the same time discussions regarding county mergers took place. Malmöhus and Kristianstad were later merged into Skåne county, and Göteborg and Bohus, Älvsborg and Skaraborg counties were merged into Västra Götaland county. The request to start pilot projects and the new county divisions are, however, two different matters. The pilot projects relate only to the transfer of responsibility from the county administrative boards to the regions, while the county mergers are permanent.

1.3. Regional pilot projects

In 1996, Parliament adopted a resolution on regional pilot projects, which were to be implemented up to the year 2002. As a result, Skåne, Kalmar, Gotland and Västra Götaland counties established various regional self-governing bodies. Directly elected regional councils were established in Skåne and Västra Götaland, an indirectly elected regional council was established in Kalmar, and the responsibility for regional development in Gotland was transferred to the municipality.

A Parliamentary Committee on the Regions was appointed to evaluate the work being done in the new regions during 1997-2000, so as to provide the Government and Parliament with supporting data for decisions on future policy on regional organisation. The Committee presented its report in 2000, suggesting a prolonged and extended trial period. Despite this, in 2001, the Parliament decided to only let Skåne and Västra Götaland continue the regional 9 pilot projects up to the year 2006. In many counties, municipalities and county councils wanted to assume a greater responsibility for regional development, but the Swedish government was not ready to accept a stronger regional self-government. Instead, a Commission on Division of Responsibilities was appointed.

1.4. Regional Development Councils

In 2001, Parliament passed new legislation opening up for all counties to form regional development councils comprising all municipalities in a county and, on a voluntary basis, the county council. In 2003, the regions of Kalmar and Gotland were directly transformed into regional development councils, and hence kept a similar level of responsibility for regional development as they had had as pilot regions. At the same time, regional development councils were created in the counties of Blekinge, Halland, Östergötland, Uppsala and Dalarna. In 2004, the county of Södermanland will formally create a regional development council. Today, extensive efforts to develop new regional cooperation arrangements are under way in municipalities and county councils all around Sweden.