Opportunities for Cooperation between Estonia and ... - Valitsus

standing at 17%, will rise to around 25% by 2030. The demographic trend in
Estonia follows the same pattern.
One of the consequences of the ageing of the population is that societies
like Estonia and Finland will have to struggle with a growing deficit in income
formation. Estonia and Finland could benefit from cooperation in research and
planning for social welfare and health care services. The competent authorities
and agencies should intensify their contacts. Support for experts specialized
in monitoring the developments in the neighbouring country and exchange of
government officials help transfer experiences and best practices across the
Gulf of Finland.
By pooling resources and taking into account the needs of both countries, a
number of benefits would probably be gained in the provision of social welfare
and health care services. To accomplish this, the technical facilities required
for cooperation need to be improved, for example, by upgrading e-services.
They would make it possible to extend the services created as a result of
specialization as remote services across the Gulf of Finland. Other potential
areas of cooperation are the care and rehabilitation of the elderly.
Recommendations:
• Cooperation in medical research, the education of health care professionals
and specialization should be supported.
• An inter-country panel of experts should be appointed to look into the
needs and possibilities for combining Estonian and Finnish social welfare
and health care services including the use of technical facilities.
• An expert in social and health care issues should be appointed to the
Estonian Embassy in Helsinki and the Finnish Embassy in Tallinn.
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