Åland Islands Peace institute proposes regular review of whether the autonomy is sufficient and meaningful
In its consultation response on the new Autonomy Act for Åland (OM 2026:22), Ålands fredsinstitut proposes that an independent body should regularly review the overall scope of action of the autonomy system—every 4–6 years—and report to both the Finnish Parliament (Riksdagen) and the Åland Parliament (Lagtinget). This is prompted by a risk the Institute identifies in the report: that the system is characterised by sectoral thinking rather than a holistic view, so that the scope of action of autonomy is never assessed in its entirety concerning its underlying purposes. The response is not primarily grounded in a legal-technical analysis, but in research on autonomy arrangements and power-sharing, together with the Institute’s long-standing experience of the international dimension of the Åland question. The Institute notes that the report strengthens the connection to the foundations of the autonomy in several respects. This is clearest in the new Section 3, which for the first time establishes Åland’s demilitarised and neutralised status directly in the Autonomy Act—a declaratory but principally important provision. The report also contains symbolically significant name changes (“lagtingslag” instead of “landskapslag”, “Government of Åland” instead of “Åland Provincial Government”). It systematises provisions on the Åland Delegation, forms of cooperation, competence disputes,
