North Sweden European Office – our joint Brussels office

The North Sweden European Office is an important link between Norrbotten’s tourism industry and the EU arena. “Europe is in a tumultuous time of change. It is a malleable but at the same time unclear and unpredictable time”, says Mikael Janson, Director North Sweden European Office.

The European Union’s policies and decisions in areas such as infrastructure, innovation, the environment, culture and business have a direct impact on the tourism industry’s ability to develop in line with the objectives and vision of Norrbotten’s tourism strategy.

“Priorities and directions for EU cooperation are currently in a state of flux, and we haven’t really seen where this will end up in terms of European added value and how we will be able to incorporate the sparsity of our northern regions into the new structure,” says Mikael Janson.

“What we do know for sure is that much of our playing field in EU cooperation will change”.

North Sweden European Office works, among other things, to highlight the region’s strengths and show how the region’s actors contribute to solving the Union’s challenges through production, innovation and cooperation.

“In connection with our organization’s participation in the EU Week of Regions and Cities 2024, we take the opportunity to update ourselves, but also inform employees at the North Sweden European Office about the current situation and priority challenges for the development of the tourism industry in Norrbotten”, says Annika Fredriksson, Swedish Lapland Visitors Board.

A large part of the EU’s ambitions are implemented by funding development and cooperation projects to increase cohesion, competitiveness and find solutions to common challenges faced by Member States.

Oskar Hederyd, new business developer at Swedish Lapland Visitors Board, emphasizes the importance of the North Sweden European Office being involved in influencing and driving issues in European cooperation that are important for Norrbotten’s tourism industry.

“The demand for our tourism businesses’ offer of Arctic cultural and natural experiences is high, but we also have business obstacles that we need to raise to the EU level to be able to influence in the right direction. Train traffic to and within our region is a good example of such an issue.

“It is in our interest to monitor and influence so that the tourism industry also benefits from EU policies”.

Northern Sweden with Norrbotten, Västerbotten, Jämtland Härjedalen and Västernorrland have similar conditions and challenges in the EU context and together our regions form the administrative program area that the EU calls “Upper Norrland and Middle Norrland”.

“We need to get better at telling the story of how the tourism industry in Arctic Europe contributes to the attractiveness and competitiveness of the entire EU. Our unique conditions need to be made visible. It cannot be taken for granted that the EU makes decisions that meet our needs. This can apply to the allocation of development funds within the Structural Funds as well as regulations and new laws,” concludes Annika Fredriksson.

Facts North Sweden European Office:

• North Sweden European Office is the joint Brussels office of Norrbotten, Västerbotten, Jämtland Härjedalen and Västernorrland and the direct link to the EU.
• Norrbotten and Västerbotten saw the need for a presence in Brussels early on and launched the initiative in 1997, two years after Sweden joined the EU.
• In 2020, North Sweden was expanded to include all four northernmost Swedish regions when the former Mid Sweden European Office was included.
• The partners are Region Västerbotten, Region Norrbotten, Region Jämtland Härjedalen and Region Västernorrland, Norrbotten’s municipalities, the Association of Municipalities of Västernorrland, the Association of Municipalities of Jämtland Härjedalen, Företagarna Norrbotten, the Chambers of Commerce in Norrbotten and Västerbotten and the Chamber of Commerce Mitt, as well as Luleå University of Technology, Umeå University and Mid Sweden University.
• Today, there are over 300 regions and cities represented with corresponding offices in Brussels.
• For issues that affect the national level, there is interaction with the North Sweden Stockholm Office, which Region Västerbotten, Region Norrbotten, Region Jämtland Härjedalen and Region Västernorrland run together.
• Current premises shared with North Norway European Office
• Is involved in the EU network Northern Sparsely Populated Areas (NSPA).