Brussels offers an arena of contacts

by Mr Ola Nord

Malmö has been Mdeveloping its international organisation since 1995 with one EU coordinator in each department and two persons in the city hall. Some 25-30 persons in Malmö have been involved in the international work. Such an organisation could be compared to an internal network. The city of Malmö's EU office was opened in 1999.

Malmö has had a very clear ambition since entering the EU to target funding opportunities for the development of the city. One of the key factors has been the INTERREG Öresund Program, allowing for close cooperation between Sweden and Denmark and not the least to develop relations with Copenhagen. That is why the office in Brussels is located in the same house as the Copenhagen EU office and the South Sweden's EU office.

Making the EU funds available for the city has been a key objective in the work for the Brussels office. Malmö has had approximately 300 projects funded annually from the EU over the past couple of years.

Malmö EU office provides services to anyone working for the city administration and should assist in all
matters on demand that is best dealt with in Brussels. This covers technical assistance (TA) to identify funding opportunities, help to develop project partnerships, co-write project applications and do budgetary work. Supporting existing projects is also part of the work including contract negotiations.

A newly approved international strategy clearly states that the international work should contribute to "the development of the city", focus on "strategic influence" or lobbying and to market and promote Malmo. The plan and strategy is decentralised within the organisation, allowing each department to develop their priorities. The Brussels office is an integral part contributing the overall success.

Working with projects has contributed to the creation of strong alliances with other city or regional offices in Brussels where the urban agenda and problems are being targeted. It has also helped to develop the lobbying and promotion activities run from the Brussels office, involving benchmarking actions with other cities in Europe on topics such as governance, city branding, employment policy etc. Brussels offers an arena of contacts and opportunities but it is important to stay focused on the issues that matter most.

Developing relations with partners who have similar objectives is crucial and for Malmö this means cooperating with our Baltic Sea partners and other partners such as Cities for Cohesion and members of EUROCITIES.