In June, new representatives to the European Parliament will be elected, but did you know that local EU decision-makers can also be found in almost every municipality? About a thousand active decision-makers serve on the boards of Finland's 53 Leader groups, who choose projects that develop their region. Leader activity is a local development tool that brings EU rural funding decision-making close to all of us.<\/strong><\/p>\n The members of the board represent their region, and the local public administration, local companies and associations, and residents of the region are equally represented in the board. Boards have a versatile perspective with a wide age range, in 2023 the board members of Leader groups were between 16 and 78 years old.<\/p>\n