Reflections from the first Nordic Civil society network

”There can be disagreements in a family, but then you solve them by the kitchen table”, the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Secretary General Paula Lehtomäki made a comparison between a family and the Nordic cooperation in her opening of the first meeting of the civil society network in the beginning of September. 
 

These last years have challenged the cooperation and the free movement, underlining the importance of dialogue and that the Nordic countries continue to learn from each other, and build on our common values such as trust and equality.  

This new network will be tasked with guiding the Nordic Council in the work towards making the Nordic the worlds’ most sustainable and integrated region by 2030. The work will be targeted towards the three main areas “green, competitive and socially sustainable”. In this wide group of stakeholders with a strong Nordic profile, NFU is one of few trade union organisations represented in the network.  

NFU will participate in the network with a view to underline the need of involving the employee perspectives in achieving the vision both in general terms, but also bearing in mind the importance of the finance sector.  

In the context of sustainable finance and investing, finance sector employees have a significant role to play as they represent the face of the financial system to customers and are the first contact point.  

I have good hopes that this network will be able to add value to the work in the Nordic Council, and I look forward to continue the talks, both at the kitchen tables and meetings rooms.  

Carin Hallerström
Secretary General, NFU