Europaforum Northern Sweden (EFNS) is a network of politicians on local and regional level from Norrbotten, Västerbotten, Jämtland Härjedalen och Västernorrland. EFNS is a knowledge arena to analyse EU policies and discuss how they affect Northern Sweden. EFNS monitors European issues to influence EU legislation, EU strategies and action programmes, as well as the EU Budget. The objective of EFNS is to safeguard the interests of northern Sweden in EU policies with communication aimed towards both the European institutions and the national level.
North Sweden welcomes immediate support measures to small enterprises.
Europaforum Northern Sweden welcomes the European Commission provisional implementation of more flexible state aid regulations, as well as the investment initiative to subdue the economic effects of the Coronavirus outbreak by making use of structural fund capital to support small and medium enterprises within tourism-, events- and transport sectors with vital operational aid. The situation is critical. Immediate efforts and support such as loans, investments and adapted regulations are indispensable to not lose businesses and jobs.
At the same time Northern Sweden wants to safeguard the strategically important allocation of extra funds designated to the sparsely populated areas due to the difficult territorial conditions that make the regions on northern Sweden particularly vulnerable. The conditions for growth and regional development are remarkably different across the country, which is especially evident during times of recession that the current pandemic is generating.
Northern Sweden firmly believes that the organisations responsible for regional development and the regional structural fund partnerships with local knowledge and well-established business networks will play a pivotal role together with managing authorities to coordinate and prioritize the support measures to help small and micro companies to survive, and thus help stimulate the regeneration of local economies.
- North Sweden welcomes the investment initiative and the implementation of temporarily more flexible state aid regulations.
- North Sweden emphasizes the importance of the extra allocation to the sparsely populated areas. Efforts should be made within the framework of current program areas on NUTS 2-level.
- North Sweden firmly believes the investment initiative calls for multi-level governance together with organizations responsible for regional development and the structural fund partnership as natural decision makers.
Adopted by Europaforum North Sweden on March 23, 2020
Glenn Nordlund (S)
Ordförande EFNS Region Västernorrland
Åsa Ågren Wikström (M)
Vice ordförande EFNS Region Västerbotten
Jonny Lundin (C)
Region Västernorrland
Jan Sahlén (S)
Kommunförbundet Västernorrland
Rickard Carstedt (S)
Region Västerbotten
Ann Åström (S)
Region Västerbotten
Nils-Olof Lindfors (C)
Region Norrbotten
Britta Flinkfeldt (S)
Norrbottens Kommuner
Anders Josefsson (M)
Norrbottens Kommuner
Elise Ryder Wikén (M)
Region Jämtland Härjedalen
Robert Uitto (S)
Region Jämtland Härjedalen
Thomas Andersson (C)
Region Jämtland Härjedalen