The Finnish government proposed to create a special economic zone for the eastern territory of the country bordering Russia, acentury.ru reports.
To increase the viability of the region, which has been most affected by the closure of the border with Russia and the absence of Russian tourists, officials propose to start building wind power plants in the area, improve broadband communications, and provide preferential loans for students who decide to stay to work after completing their studies. To attract tourists, it is also proposed to open a new wildlife museum in Imatra.
The authors of the idea called the situation in this part of the country extremely difficult "both from the point of view of the economy and from the point of view of security." Referring to surveys conducted in the country, they said that Finnish youth do not see their future in the deserted Eastern Finland, and business representatives fear that the territories near the border with Russia will become a “buffer zone”.
Currently, there is a higher unemployment rate and a declining mood of the population in the east of Finland than in other regions of the country, the authors of the project noted.
After the closure of the border with Russia, the fate of these territories is to become "a haven for old marginalized people," a number of Finnish media say.
Alex Shishlo, Editor in Chief of the European Bureau, Rough&Polished
