Bringing Aarhus to Brussels

by Mr Niels Tanderup Kristensen

The Aarhus EU-office was established in 1990 with the overall aim of creating additional I growth and value for public I and private stakeholders in I Arhus Region. The focus I was bringing Brussels to I Aarhus, screening information on the EU-funded programmes and finding partners. Since the early nineties the spectrum of objectives for the office has grown in parallel with the diversified and multiplying role of the EU, as well as the challenges and possibilities that the global economy presents for cities and regions in Europe. This means that the core objectives is no longer bringing Brussels to Aarhus but also bringing Aarhus to Brussels and positioning Arhus Region as a central player on the international scene.

The shift in focal point from an overall information office to a more strategic and regional representative office has in our case four main reasons. The first one being the ongoing globalization process, where challenges from cultural to economic, social and political aspects have emphasized the need of a strong regional platform in Brussels. Secondly, the screening and mapping of information on many of the EU funded programmes is without much difficulty found on the Internet today, and is therefore not fixed to a geographical location in Brussels. The third reason is that the EU-policies may have their offspring on a national level, but 2/3 of all the EU legislation is in the case of Denmark, implemented on a regional basis. This gives the regional political level a strong incentive to be present in Brussels and paves the way for specific regional interest. In addition, a regional representation in Brussels also gives access to a larger network of actors as well as many transregional work-forums and lobby organisations, where a group of voices always sounds stronger than a single cry. The fourth reason is a new regional set-up in Denmark, where 14 counties have merged into 5 strong regions. This implies that the Aarhus EU Office from 2007 and onwards no longer represents the city of Aarhus and the surrounding region, but in the future it will represent a much larger region of Central Denmark - resulting in a stronger financial, political and organizational base of the office and a more omnipotent approach. The new regional office will be owned and financed by the regional body and the 19 municipalities. There will be a general assembly, where all the politicians on regional and municipal levels can have their voice in the overall setting and mission of the office.