Hässleholms Kommun / Europe Direct Hässleholm

The Municipality of Hässleholm is a municipality in the southern part of Sweden. A Swedish Multicipality is built up by general elections to a municipal assembly. Under the municipal assembly is the municipal executive committee which is led by the Mayor/Chair of the Executive Committee. The municipal executive committee makes the day to day decisions which are carried out by Municipal Officers in different areas, for instance Development of the Municipality, Care of the elderly and children and help to the unemployed. There is also strategic work in the fields of Environment, City Planning, Public Health etc. The Municipality of Hässleholm is the home of 50 000 inhabitants and workplace to about 4000 people, including all personnel in the Municipality’s schools; teachers, head masters etc.

In the past decade, Hässleholm municipality has been actively working to build up a profile, with a focus on Europe and the EU aiming at making Hässleholm the Swedish center for EU information. The establishment of the Europaforum Hässleholm in 2003, an annual four day event with lectures, seminars and debates, has created the largest public meeting place for discussion and engagement in Sweden. In recent years, this event has also been supplemented with a number of services and partnerships designed to strengthen knowledge of the EU and the availability of EU funds through project financing. This is done by the appointment of an EU coordinator in the municipality and the establishment of Europe Direct Hässleholm, and hosting EU Office Skåne Nordost.

The purpose of the Municipality of Hässleholm’s EU-profile is, in short, to raise the knowledge of EU within the organisation, in order to contributing to progress for the inhabitants in the municipality. It is important that the inhabitants in the community are informed about what happens in the EU. The EU related work shall help create participation and increase integration and to increase the municipality’s profile as an attractive place to live. It shall help create favorable conditions for attractive working environment characterized by active entrepreneurship, diversity and a creative and growth-friendly environment. It shall help to develop good environments to enable lifelong learning, and help create conditions for skills development and increased collaboration within the organization but also with other stakeholders on local, regional, national and international level. In Hässleholm we work with local development through international cooperation.