Matilda af Hällström – the Nordic Council’s first representative in Brussels

15.09.17 | News
Matilda af Hällström
Photographer
Astrid Laura Neergaard
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The Nordic Council has opened an office in Brussels and appointed Matilda af Hällström from Finland as its advisor on EU affairs. She is the Nordic Council’s first employee based at the EU’s headquarters in Brussels.

Matilda started working in the Belgian capital in September. Her duties include establishing vital networks that facilitate co-operation between the Nordic Council and the EU parliament. This will involve her having a lot of contact with Nordic MEPs and other Nordic participants in Brussels.

“My job is to represent the Nordic Council in Brussels and to try to pick up on those issues that are of relevance to the Nordic Region. I’ll also serve as a link between Brussels and the Secretariat to the Nordic Council in Copenhagen with regard to information. It’s important to remember that although not all the Nordic countries are members of the EU, I represent all of them, even those on the outside,” says Matilda.

My job is to represent the Nordic Council in Brussels and to try to pick up on those issues that are of relevance to the Nordic Region. I’ll also serve as an information link between Brussels and the Secretariat to the Nordic Council in Copenhagen.

Matilda is familiar with Brussels and the EU having lived in the city since 2015 and worked for the Helsinki EU Office, the communications agency Miltton, and Finnish MEP Nils Torvalds. She also has experience from the Department of European Affairs of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland in Helsinki.

International education

Matilda has a dual honours degree from the University of St Andrews in Scotland and has studied at the University of Helsinki as well as in Paris. She is originally from Espoo in Finland.

This is the first time the Nordic Council has had an office in Brussels. However, many of the issues dealt with by the Nordic Council are related to the EU. Consequently at the 2016 Session of the Nordic Council in Copenhagen, the Nordic Council decided to establish an office in Brussels. This is a time-limited project-based role lasting one year, with the possibility of an extension for a further two years.

In her work, Matilda will also have close dialogue with the Secretariat to the Nordic Council of Ministers.

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