STRING works through five platforms to unite member cities and regions:
- The Political Forum is the most senior level of decision-making in STRING. They meet three times a year to propose the priority areas and political agenda for the organisation.
- The Steering Group consists of high-level representatives from the member regions. Together with the Secretariat, they meet up to four times a year to decide the operational approach STRING will take with its priority areas.
- The Contact Group is the daily point of contact for members. The group is staffed by civil servants appointed as STRING representatives. They are appointed by the member regions and have responsibility for preparing agenda items for the Steering Group and keep the day-to-day contact with the Secretariat on administrational issues.
- The Secretariat comprises of ten staff members overseen by a Managing Director. They are the permanent body within the organisation responsible for the implementation of the priority areas, and lobbies at all levels of government to promote the benefits of our work. They also bring together the public, private and academic sectors to feed into our work and share their knowledge. Contact the STRING Secretariat here.
- Working Groups have been established by STRING. They research, develop and promote new cross-border infrastructure and green growth ideas for the regions.
Karin Pleijel (MP)
– CHAIR OF STRING
Deputy Mayor and Member of the City Executive Council, City of Gothenburg
Roble Wais (H)
Political Adviser to the Governing Mayor, City of Oslo
Anette Solli (H)
Governing Mayor, Akershus County
Julie Flinckenhagen Sandli (H)
Chief of Political Staff, Akershus County
Siv Henriette Jacobsen (AP)
Majority Leader and Member of the Regional Council, Østfold County
Per Tenggren (S)
Angela Fast Torstensson (M)
Alternate Regional Councillor, Västra Götalandsregionen
Axel Josefson (M)
Mayor and Chair of the City Executive Council, City of Gothenburg
Helene Andersson (C)
Chair of the Regional Growth Committee, Region Halland
Per Persson (S)
2nd Vice Chair of the Economic Development Committee, Region Halland
Carl Johan Sonesson (M)
First Governor of Region Skåne
Anna Ingers (S)
Member of the Regional Council, Region Skåne
Gilbert Tribo (L)
Member of the Regional Council, Region Skåne
Christian Orsing (M)
Chair of the Executive Committee and Mayor, City of Helsingborg
Andreas Schönström (S)
Deputy Mayor of the City of Malmö
Katrine Kildgaard Nielsen (R)
Member of the Copenhagen City Council
Lars Gaardhøj (S)
President of the Regional Council, The Capital Region of Denmark
Sadek Al-Amood (F)
Vice chair of the Committee for Regional Development and Transport, The Capital Region of Denmark
Lars Lindskov (C)
Member of the Regional Council, Region Zealand
Bo Libergren (V)
Chair of the Regional Council, The Region of Southern Denmark
Michael Nielsen (C)
Member of the Regional Council, The Region of Southern Denmark
Karsten Uno Petersen (A)
Member of the Regional Council, The Region of Southern Denmark
Werner Schwarz (CDU)
Minister of Agriculture, Rural Areas, Europe and Consumer Protection, Schleswig Holstein
Ulf Kämpfer (SPD)
Governing Mayor, City of Kiel
Almut Möller (SPD)
State Secretary and Plenipotentiary to the Federation, the European Union and for Foregin Affairs, The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
Magnus Sigfússon
Director of City Planning, City Development & External Affairs, City of Gothenburg
Anita Lindahl Trosdahl
Chief Adviser, International Office, City of Oslo
Rune Bakkevoll
Special Advisor, International Relations, Akershus County
Benedicte Lund
, Østfold County
Max Falk
Infrastructure Strategist, Västra Götalandsregionen
Ulrika Bertilsson
Deputy Director of Regional Development, Region Halland
Maria Korner-Westin
Head of Unit EU and International Relations, Region Skåne
Mikael Kipowski
Development Director, City of Helsingborg
Angelica Nilsson
Head of Unit Society and Infrastructure, City of Helsingborg
Micael Nord
Business Director, City of Malmö
Jeppe Grønholt-Pedersen
Head of Division, The Finance Department, City of Copenhagen
Lise Lotte Toft
Head of Climate, International Affairs and Education, Capital Region of Denmark
David Jens Meinke
Director of Regional Development, The Capital Region of Denmark
Carsten Krabbe
Director of Regional Development, Region Zealand
Lene Madsen Milner
Head of Mobility, Fehmarn & Administration, Region Zealand
Jørgen Bjelskou
Director of Regional Development, The Region of Southern Denmark
Stefan Musiolik
Head of Unit “Baltic Sea Affairs”, Ministry of Justice, European Affairs, Consumer Protection and Equality, Land Schleswig-Holstein
Wolfgang Schmidt
Head of Foreign Affairs, City of Kiel
Thorsten Augustin
Head of Department for European Affairs, Land Schleswig-Holstein
Corinna Nienstedt
Director General of the Office to the State, The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
Markus Heilig
Head of Department International Cooperation, The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
Jarl Zinn
Senior Consultant, The Finance Department, City of Copenhagen.
Anita Lindahl Trosdahl
Chief Adviser, International Office, City of Oslo
Rune Bakkevoll
Special Advisor, International Relations, Akershus County
Thomas André Hansen
Senior Advisor on International Affairs, Østfold County
Josef Gustafsson
Regional Developer, Västra Götalandsregionen
Carin Peters
Business Development, Region Skåne
Cecilia Örtendahl
Policy Advisor, City Hall, City of Gothenburg
Ulrika Bertilsson
Head of Analysis, Region Halland
Sofie Qvarfordt
International Coordinator, City of Helsingborg
Kenneth Ekberg
Senior Advisor, City of Malmö
Eva Christina Jacobsen
Consultant at Centre for Regional Development, The Capital Region of Denmark
Helle David Jensen
Consultant at Centre for Regional Development, Region Zealand
Olav Sønderskov
Development Consultant, The Region of Southern Denmark
Susanne Grahl
Advisor, Ministry of Justice, European Affairs, Consumer Protection and Equality of Land Schleswig-Holstein
Cathrin Truckenbrodt
Project Manager, Dept. of Economic Development, City of Kiel
Stefanie Wodrig
Head of Baltic Affairs Desk, The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg
Thomas Becker
Emilia Cullborg
Simon Schultz Christensen
Meriel Ott
Julie Jo Nygaard
Anna Wifvesson
Marie Fløystad Dahl
Wedad Kabi
Daniel Christian Korell
Katrine Friis
Our history
STRING (South Western Baltic Sea Transregional Area – Implementing New Geography) was formed in 1999 as an EU Interreg A project to stimulate the construction of the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link.
In 2008, Germany and Denmark signed a State Treaty on the construction and operation of the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link.
In light of this, the cooperation between the STRING members changed towards promoting regional development, along with further infrastructure projects and the stimulation of green growth in the region between Western Scandinavia and Northern Germany.
In the last two years, we have seen five new members joining our organisation.
Today, we stretch from Hamburg to Oslo, consisting of 16 members across nine regions and seven major cities in Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway.