Helsinki office in Brussels lobbies for competitiveness and security

Europe's economic problems have raised interest toward Finland and its capital

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By Petteri Tuohinen
     
      In the middle of the busiest EU section of Brussels, brochures handed out by the Helsinki EU Office in Brussels give some idea of what other members of the European Union find interesting in Finland and its capital city.
      The covers of the brochures promote "Finland’s national innovation system", and the country’s reputation for high technology.
      "Other regions have been very interested in our innovative nature. The first edition of the publication of our office has almost run out", says a delighted Eija Nylund, the head of the Helsinki EU Office.
     
The economic capabilities of the member states have become a topic of discussion in recent months across Europe. The discussion has been fed by a number of factors, including France’s fears of the possible collapse of its "social model", and the German elections, in which the economic situation and the needed economic reforms were key themes of the campaign.
      Nylund says that after the summer, representatives of other countries have been interested in hearing how Finland has managed to combine competitiveness, which has been ranked high in the world, with the "social model" that the French are so eager to preserve.
      "Now the French are commissioning the same kind of report on the country’s innovation system as we did", Nylund observes.
     
The City of Helsinki has every reason to market itself in Brussels. One very good reason is that Helsinki is to be the location of the EU’s Chemical Authority, which will give employment to as many as 400 people. Officials working for the authority would come from all EU member states, and it might not be easy to attract some of them to what is seen to be a cold and dark city.
      Nylund says that the aim is to have key foreign officials visit Helsinki to help dispel some of the more negative stereotypes. Questions posed by foreign civil servants often concern everyday matters in Helsinki, such as the availability of schools, and other matters affecting family life.
      To attract foreign civil servants, the office also has an attractive brochure of the city.
     
Helsinki’s positive sides include short commutes to work, security, "everyman’s rights", the high standard of science, and the city’s rich musical offerings.
      "The city has little organised crime, and there are no slums. The greatest social problem is unemployment, but the welfare system protects against poverty", says Patrick Humphreys, who wrote the brochure.
      One of the tasks of the Helsinki EU Office is to maintain the visibility of the Finnish capital. In spite of the army of international press people working in Brussels, achieving visibility in the European media is not easy.
      "Brussels already has 300 regional offices, and new ones are coming almost weekly through the enlargement of the EU", Nylund says.
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 25.9.2004

More on this subject:
 FACTFILE: A city full of representative offices

Links:
  Helsinki EU Office in Brussels

PETTERI TUOHINEN / Helsingin Sanomat
petteri.tuohinen@hs.fi