The Nordic Council of Ministers and the EU Baltic Sea Strategy

1. The Nordic Council of Ministers and the EU Baltic Sea Strategy

2. Introduction to presentation • The Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM) and the Baltic Sea • Areas of joint EU and NCM priority • NCM’s role in the EU Baltic Sea Action Plan

3. The NCM and the Baltic Sea • Established in 1971 NCM facilitate intergovernmental regional cooperation between the five Nordic countries and three self-governing areas.

4. The NCM and the Baltic Sea • Established in 1971 NCM facilitate intergovernmental regional cooperation between the five Nordic countries and three self-governing areas. • Since the beginning of the 1990’s NCM has – through its offices in Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius, St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad – developed a close collaboration also with the Baltic countries and partners in Northwest Russia.

5. The NCM and the Baltic Sea • Established in 1971 NCM facilitate intergovernmental regional cooperation between the five Nordic countries and three self-governing areas. • Since the beginning of the 1990’s NCM has – through its offices in Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius, St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad – developed a close collaboration also with the Baltic countries and partners in Northwest Russia. • Increasingly, NCM is also working with partners in Germany and Poland.

6. The NCM and the Baltic Sea • NCM works through 11 Councils of Ministers, Committees of Senior Officials and a number of working groups.

7. The NCM and the Baltic Sea • NCM works through 11 Councils of Ministers, Committees of Senior Officials and a number of working groups. • NCM also supports more than 20 Nordic institutions. These institutions implement hundreds of regional cooperation projects between partners in the Nordic countries and in the Baltic Sea Region.

8. The NCM and the Baltic Sea • NCM works through 11 Councils of Ministers, Committees of Senior Officials and a number of working groups. • NCM also supports more than 20 Nordic institutions. These institutions implement hundreds of regional cooperation projects between partners in the Nordic countries and in the Baltic Sea Region. • Examples of areas of cooperation: research, education, innovation, culture, environment, energy and regional development

9. The NCM and the Baltic Sea Therefore… • Given its history of support to regional cooperation, the NCM supports the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. • NCM believes that the implementation of the EU Baltic Sea Action Plan will benefit from building on existing regional collaboration structures and partnerships.

10. Areas of joint EU and NCM priority To be more concrete… The four thematic pillars of the EU Baltic Sea Action Plan: • To make the Baltic Sea Region an environmentally sustainable place • To make the Baltic Sea Region a prosperous place • To make the Baltic Sea Region an accessible and attractive place • To make the Baltic Sea Region a safe and secure place

11. Areas of joint EU and NCM priority To be more concrete… The four thematic pillars of the EU Baltic Sea Action Plan: • To make the Baltic Sea Region an environmentally sustainable place • To make the Baltic Sea Region a prosperous place • To make the Baltic Sea Region an accessible and attractive place • To make the Baltic Sea Region a safe and secure place Here NCM works with HELCOM and implements a number of additional activities to conserve and improve the marine environment of the Baltic Sea.

12. Areas of joint EU and NCM priority Here NCM works to remove barriers to the single market; to ensure the free movement of knowledge (5th Freedom); and to strengthen the knowledge base and competitiveness through the Top-Level Research Initiative. To be more concrete… The four thematic pillars of the EU Baltic Sea Action Plan: • To make the Baltic Sea Region an environmentally sustainable place • To make the Baltic Sea Region a prosperous place • To make the Baltic Sea Region an accessible and attractive place • To make the Baltic Sea Region a safe and secure place

13. Areas of joint EU and NCM priority To be more concrete… The four thematic pillars of the EU Baltic Sea Action Plan: • To make the Baltic Sea Region an environmentally sustainable place • To make the Baltic Sea Region a prosperous place • To make the Baltic Sea Region an accessible and attractive place • To make the Baltic Sea Region a safe and secure place Here,NCM works to develop a free, fair and efficient electricity market. The NCM also collaborates with other regional partners such as BASREC on important issues like energy efficiency and renewable energy.

14. Areas of joint EU and NCM priority To be more concrete… The four thematic pillars of the EU Baltic Sea Action Plan: • To make the Baltic Sea Region an environmentally sustainable place • To make the Baltic Sea Region a prosperous place • To make the Baltic Sea Region an accessible and attractive place • To make the Baltic Sea Region a safe and secure place Here NCM works for example to increase responsiveness to health threats; preempt all kinds of human trafficking; and fight other serious forms of cross boarder crimes.

15. NCM’s role in the EU Baltic Sea Action Plan It is because of the many areas of joint NCM and EU priority that the NCM has contributed actively to the European Commission’s preparation of the EU Baltic Sea Action Plan.

16. NCM’s role in the EU Baltic Sea Action Plan It is because of the many areas of joint NCM and EU priority that the NCM has contributed actively to the European Commission’s preparation of the EU Baltic Sea Action Plan. As a result: • NCM is likely to take the lead in some flagship projects. • NCM will participate actively as partner in a number of other projects. • And NCM will support the Action Plan in being a “living document” by proposing future new collaboration projects when opportunities appear.

17. Thank you More information available on: www.norden.org