Nordic Council to Open Brussels Office in Early 2017 - Finnish Lawmaker

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Nordic Council, that unites 87 lawmakers from national parliaments of Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Iceland, will establish an office in Brussels in early 2017, a member of the Nordic Council from the Finnish Centre Party told Sputnik on Tuesday.

Last week, at the Nordic Council Session in Copenhagen, the majority of its members voted by a slight majority for opening an office in Belgium's capital as, according to lawmakers' press release, "presence where the power is and decisions are taken" will give Nordic cooperation "greater political clout and weight."

"We are expecting the office to be opened in early 2017," Arto Pirttilahti said.

He added that the initiative was aimed at having more influence in the European Parliament on issues that unite Nordic countries due to their Northern geography and issues where the Nordic countries traditionally stand strong due to "Nordic value basis," such as issues concerning green economy, sustainability, animal welfare and non-use of antibiotics.

"But of course it is important for us, perhaps now more than ever before, to also keep our Norwegian and Icelandic colleagues up-to-date and give them a chance to have a say regardless of their position outside the EU," Pirttilahti said, referring to Norway's and Iceland's status of non-EU members.

This view was echoed by Torkil Sorensen, the international adviser of the council. Speaking to Sputnik, he said that by opening an office in Brussels, where the European Parliament is located, the Nordic Council is specifically trying to improve networks with Nordic members of the European Parliament on matters where the Nordic Council has a common position, like on environment, labor market, the digital internal market, common health risks for animals and people and Arctic policy.

According to Sorensen, the effectiveness of the office will be evaluated after three years to see whether it was worth the effort.