All
Activities are Based on Local Democracy
Steering
the Regional Development Work
Responsibility for Regional Planning
Collaboration is Our Way of Working
All Activities are based on Local Democracy
According to Finnish law, regional councils are coalitions of their member municipalities, which mainly fund the councils' operations. There are 19 regional councils in Finland. Uusimaa Regional Council has 24 member municipalities, of which Finland's capital Helsinki is the biggest.
The delegates on the decision-making bodies of Uusimaa Regional Council are influential political appointees of the member municipalities. They represent the political will of the inhabitants of the region according to the results of the local elections.
The highest decision-making body is the Assembly of Uusimaa Regional Council with its 71 members. Mr. Arto Bryggare of Helsinki holds the chair.
The operations are led by the Board of the Regional Council in its monthly meetings. The chairman is Mr. Tapani Mäkinen from Vantaa. The Board has 20 members who are chosen by the Regional Council.
The Office of the Council, located in the heart of the city of Helsinki, runs the operations of Uusimaa Regional Council. The head of the office is Executive Director Mr. Aimo Lempinen.
Steering the Regional Development Work
The main focus of regional development in Finland is on the regions. According to Finnish law, the central role in regional development is played by Regional Councils. Uusimaa Regional Council faces the challenge of consolidating the capital region as a leading business area in Finland and as a fast growing region in Europe.
The goal of Uusimaa Regional Council is to provide a good quality of life and prosperity for the people, as well as development opportunities for the whole region. We build active cooperation relationships with other European Regions, as well as with other regions close by. In the regional politics of the European Union we work for Uusimaa's interests in the more effective use of EU programmes and funding. Uusimaa Regional Council participates in the development work of the EU regional policies.
To our member municipalities and companies located in the area we offer an efficient network for international partner searches. Uusimaa Regional Council is also an active partner in many projects.
Responsibility
for Regional Planning
Regional planning is another task laid down in Finnish law. Through careful planning of the regional use of land and the location of activities, we ensure high standards of living, functionality of the infrastructure and the conditions for sustainable development.
With regional plans we guide the use of land for different purposes, e.g. recreation and transport or urban activities. The regional plan acts as a guideline for municipal-level plans and other detailed planning of land use. Many projects of land use planning are also an important part of close-range cooperation.
Collaboration is Our Way of Working
At the core of the development of Uusimaa lies the interactive cooperation between Uusimaa Regional Council and its partners. In Finland, we work closely with our member municipalites and government, the business sector, universities and research institutions as well as civic organisations.
From the international point of view, the most important regions for cooperation lie within Europe, especially in the Baltic Sea Region and in Russia. Nordic cooperation is already a tradition. Uusimaa Regional Council is an active member in many European regional organisations and interacts in the EU forums via a permanent office in Brussels. The cooperation between the regions has created many projects and also extensive partnership treaties, e.g. with the Moscow Region.