Sweden and Finland celebrated 30 years of EU membership with a dynamic gathering in Härnösand on 4 December 2025. Europa Direkt Härnösand and Mittuniversitet arranged a event that brought together politicians, researchers, artists and youth voices to reflect on the countries’ shared journey in the EU -and to look ahead toward Europe in 2045.
The day opened with a cultural lunch featuring performances by the internationally renowned accordion duo Päivi and Jörgen Sundeqvist, documentary photographer Maria Mäki, and comic artist Tommy Sundevall, who presented work from his upcoming book “Mina drömmars mack.”
In the afternoon, Jonas Bergström and Annika Wäppling Korzinek formally opened the conference, followed by Sofie Blombäck’s review of Swedish and Finnish EU attitudes from 1994 to 2025. Former MEPs Nils Torvalds and Jens Holm offered political reflections in “EU Memory Lane”.
A Finnish–Swedish “InfoBlitz” highlighted a wide range of EU-funded cross-border initiatives:
ICH North – Passing on Our Musical Heritage, Innovation in Urban Planning, Heritage in Motion, DSS-oral, MEQAL (Methane Quantization and Localization), DeHigh – low-voltage electrification of work vehicles, and Lystra – illuminating experiences in the High Coast and Kvarken Archipelago World Heritage sites.
The program continued with a geopolitical overview of Sweden’s and Finland’s roles in the EU, presented by Wäppling Korzinek, before a forward-looking panel on EU 2045 brought together young representatives from the European Youth Parliament, Veronica Berg from the Kvarken Council EGTS, and Nils Torvalds, moderated by Blombäck.
Evening celebrations continuing at Hernö Gin Hotel, including a 30th-anniversary reception dinner.
