The sum is almost 300 million EUR higher than last year, newspaper Helsingin Sanomat reports. The money comes from the European Regional Development Fund and the European Structural Fund. The increase of nearly 50 per cent for this year was made possible by including money that was left unused in 2007 and 2008. Also, some funds earmarked for 2011 are being distributed in advance. -Although most forecasts indicate that the downward spiral has stopped, and that there are signs of growth, it will take plenty of time before we get back to the same level where we were in the early part of 2008”, Minister of Economic Affairs Mauri Pekkarinen told the newspaper.
