HkiVk2001 ENG 3.6.2002 14:11 Sivu 1 CITY OF HELSINKI ANNUAL REPORT 2001 HkiVk2001 ENG 3.6.2002 14:12 Sivu 2 HELSINKI CONTENTS elsinki is the capital of Finland and the centre of the country’s administrative, A Message from the Lord Mayor . .4 economic and cultural life. About 1.2 million people, a fifth of the national pop- H ulation, live in the metropolitan area. Development in the Helsinki is in the heart of a growing new market – which we call the New North- Hands of the City Council . .6 ern Europe – comprising north-western Russia, the Baltic States and the Nordic coun- tries and with a total of 75 million people. The city is fast becoming an operational base The Lord Mayor’s Sector . .8 for international companies in this region. Education and Culture . .10 Helsinki offers: In 2001, Helsinki held the presidency • good availability of efficient business of both the Eurocities organization and Social Affairs and Public Health . .12 services the UCUE (Union des Capitales de • high-quality infrastructure l’Union Européenne). City Planning and Infrastructure . .14 • good logistics Finland joined the European Union in • a competitive costs structure 1995 and adopted for the Euro at the City-owned Public Corporation • a well-educated workforce beginning of 1999. and Technical Services . .16 • exceptional high-tech resources and capabilities Finances . .18 • a green and safe living environment and high quality services • a high standard of living La ville de Helsinki en 2001 . .28 Die Stadt Helsinki im Jahr 2001 . .29 ГОРОД ХЕЛЬСИНКИ В 2001 ГОДУ . .30 Brief Facts about Helsinki . .31 EU member states of the euro area Other EU member states General Information: Reykjavik Helsinki City Information Office Aleksanterinkatu 20 FIN-00170 Helsinki, Finland FINLAND P.O.Box 1, 00099 City of Helsinki Telephone +358-9-169 3713 Helsinki Fax +358-9-655 354 Stockholm Oslo Tallinn Moscow Financial Information: Riga City of Helsinki, Treasury Pohjoisesplanadi 15–17 Copenhagen Vilnius FIN-00170 Helsinki, Finland Minsk Telephone +358-9-169 2525 Dublin Telefax +358-9-634 360 Amsterdam Berliini Warsaw London Kiev Graphic Design & Layout: Brussels Tommi Luhtanen / Vihreä Peto Oy Prague Luxembourg Chisinau Paris Bratislava Illustrations: Vienna Tanja Varonen / Vihreä Peto Oy Bern Ljubljana Budapest Belgrade Bucharest Zagreb Tr anlations: Sofia The English Centre Sarajevo Good Service AP Rome Madrid Skopje Lisbon Tiranë Photographs: FutureImageBank Ltd. Tanja Varonen Athens City of Helsinki Printed by: Kirjapaino F.G. Lönnberg Oy 2002 ISPN: 951-718-99-x 2 City of helsinki HkiVk2001 ENG 3.6.2002 14:12 Sivu 3 CITY OF HELSINKI ANNUAL REPORT 2001 annual report 2001 3 HkiVk2001 ENG 3.6.2002 14:12 Sivu 4 A MESSAGE FROM THE LORD M he vigorous economic growth that char- The metropolitan area is a complete unit made acterized the start of the new millen- up of private companies and their jobs, educa- T nium levelled off in 2001. The business tional institutions and the cultural sector providing prosperity that has been growing steadily over the background for intellectual growth, pleasant the years can be seen in all the major growth cen- surroundings and opportunities for exercise to tres, especially the Helsinki region. Although the support physical rejuvenation, plus the rest of the effects of the September 11th terrorist attacks in structure of a properly functioning society, the USA spread rapidly to Finland, the purchasing together with all the appropriate services. One of power of the people of Helsinki and the associ- the competitive factors in the Helsinki region is ated demand for services remained strong. the wide-ranging cooperation between the uni- During 2000 and 2001, Finland’s international versities, the local administrative organs of cen- competitiveness was better than ever before. This tral government, and other stakeholders in the fact came out repeatedly in different comparative region; let’s call it ‘metropolitan expertise’. studies. A significant proportion of Finnish busi- Helsinki has been eager to channel some of its ness producing top results operates in the Helsinki development resources into international net- Metropolitan Area. It is important to note, how- works. We have been exchanging information ever, that at the public service level, the education, with the major cities of Europe and trying to health, transport and other services provided by influence the issues we consider important. In the City of Helsinki are also highly competitive. 2001, Helsinki had the honour of holding the Pres- Helsinki is not only Finland’s economic motor, idency of the Eurocities organization and the but it is also, by international assessment, clean, UCUE (Union des Capitales de l’Union green and close to nature, and offers agreeable Européenne). This is another way of looking after surroundings in which to live. The wide variety of the international competitiveness of Finland’s services provided by the City supports residents economic motor. The City departments and insti- at work and in their leisure activities, helps people tutions have become involved with the activities to grow up and helps them as their powers of relevant international organizations and have decline with age. There is a high degree of resi- benefited from them in terms of marketing and dent satisfaction with the services that Helsinki developing their own expertise. provides. At the end of the year, the City of Four-fifths of the inhabitants of the EU live in Helsinki and its 560,000 inhabitants employed cities and smaller built-up areas, as do three-fifths approximately 39,800 people, over three-quarters of the Finnish population. Partly linked with the of them in the key sectors of social services and debate that is under way in the EU on good gov- health, and education and culture. ernance in the future, Helsinki supports the devel- 4 City of helsinki HkiVk2001 ENG 3.6.2002 14:12 Sivu 5 D MAYOR opment of Finnish regional policy in a new direc- nities in the development of our City is the strong tion that takes the special needs of conurbations foothold the sector has secured in the Helsinki into account. During the year under review, region. In 2001, the Biomedicum Helsinki Osaaminen ja osallisuus (Expertise and participa- research centre building was completed at tion), the first publication by the Helsinki Metro- Meilahti. An area in the impressive new Viikki Sci- politan Area on its own metropolitan policy pro- ence Park has been reserved for the European gramme, was completed. The Ministry of the Food Safety Authority to be located in Helsinki. Interior also began studying new forms of The authority was set up temporarily in Brussels regional policy in 2001, under the auspices of in 2002, but Helsinki offers an excellent operating OECD metropolitan research, covering 60 munic- environment for it in the future. ipalities in the Regions around Helsinki. A growing and attractive capital is of great For Helsinki, 2001 was a year for the record importance to Finland and year by year it books, with tax revenues reaching record levels becomes greater still. Here in Helsinki we know at the end of a long period of growth. The overall our own strengths and our resources and we are economic situation for the country as a whole is ready to carry the responsibility for keeping the now more uncertain. However, from 2002 competitiveness of the whole country at a high onwards, the economy of the City of Helsinki will level. I want to extend my warmest thanks to all be severely out of balance, particularly because of those interests that have taken a constructive government amendments made to the Act on part in the continued development of Helsinki for Central Government Transfers to Local Govern- their excellent and fruitful cooperation in 2001. ment and offsetting value added tax by corpora- tion tax. According to the budget for 2002, tax revenues will be EUR 313 million less than the actual tax revenues received in 2001. We take a serious attitude to the challenges posed by the tightening economy knowing full well that it will affect the services provided for the residents of Helsinki and the competitiveness of the entire Eva-Riitta Siitonen country beyond the Helsinki region. We are con- Lord Mayor fident, however, that expertise and creativity will brighten up the outlook before long. The biosciences are growing in global impor- tance and one of the most exciting new opportu- annual report 2001 5 HkiVk2001 ENG 3.6.2002 14:12 Sivu 6 CITY COUNCIL DEVELOPMENT IN THE HANDS OF THE CITY COUNCIL Chairman of the City Council First Deputy Chairman Second Deputy Chairman Pekka Sauri Suvi Rihtniemi Arto Bryggare nder the division of powers between The City Council central and local government in Finland, The most important decision-making body in U municipalities enjoy autonomy in the Helsinki is the City Council, the 85 members of administration of many of their affairs. Certain which are elected by direct popular vote every basic tasks are stipulated in the Local Govern- four years. The City Council elects its own Chair ment Act, and in addition to these municipalities and two Deputy Chairs, the members of the City may voluntarily assume others. The only way in Board as well as the members of the various which the tasks entrusted to municipalities can committees in proportion to the relative strengths be altered is by amending the Local Government of the various parties represented on it. The other Act or by special legislation. main tasks of the City Council include deliberating budgets and balancing accounts, in addition to setting the general goals to be striven for by the City. City Council 2001 In local elections for the period 2001–2004, 30 new councillors were chosen as members of the 85 members representing the following new City Council out of a total of 85.