The committee set up to study the future structure of municipalities in Finland presents controversial structural map of how Finland’s local governance will look like by 2015.
The government says the number of municipalities can be reduced from today’s 336 to somewhere between 66 and 70. In Lapland, new mega-municipalities will arise. Merging Inari and Utsjoki in the northeast and Enontekiö, Kittilä, Muonio and Kolari into new municipalities will by far be the two largest local administrative units in Western Europe.
The Ministry of Finance says in a press-release that merging municipalities will save costs and make public administrations more effective.
Map of the suggested new municipalities in Lapland. Map: Lapin Kansa
