The Nordic countries and Belarus
The Nordic countries are working actively with the Baltic countries to promote the development of democracy in Belarus. Nordic co-operation supports young people's access to higher education, the establishment of Nordic programmes for NGOs in the Baltic Sea Area and regional cross border activities. In addition, the Nordic countries have helped to create a neutral platform for debate between Belarusian politicians.
The Nordic Council of Ministers administers the Project Civil Society Stability for Belarus (CSSB) to support civil society in Belarus in the aftermath of the Presidential election in 2010. See more here: www.cssb.lt.
Belarus shares borders with Latvia, Lithuania and Northwest Russia, and it is natural for the Nordic countries jointly and together with their neighbours in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to work to promote common values such as democracy, good administrative practices, gender equality, freedom of speech and tolerance.
European Humanities University
The Nordic countries, in co-operation with the European Commission, have supported the Belarusian university in exile, the European Humanities University (EHU), since 2005.
The university, which is based in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, is the flagship of Nordic ventures in Belarus. The university offers education in the humanities and social sciences to about 2,000 young Belarusians.
Film about the European Humanities University (EHU):
The Nordic Council of Ministers' Secretariat administers an international trust fund for EHU in co-operation with EHU, to ensure better co-ordination of support for the university.
The Nordic countries also administer a scholarship programme for young Belarusians studying at universities in Ukraine because, for political reasons, they are unable to complete their degrees in Belarus.
NGOs
Through a Nordic programme for non-governmental organisations in the Baltic Sea Region, Belarusian NGOs have taken part in a number of projects with Baltic, Polish and Nordic partner organisations since 2006.
Through this programme the organisations have received support for creating and building networks.
Other co-operation
The Nordic countries' border regional co-operation in the Baltic Sea Region also covers Belarus.
Cross-border co-operation, which involves border regions and borders municipalities in the different countries, takes place amongst other things, through the Baltic Euroregional Network (BEN) and other tangible projects.
Two Belarusian municipalities and one Belarusian NGO took part in the BEN-EAST-project, which is co-financed by the European Commission.
The Nordic Project Fund (NOPEF) has expanded its activities in recent years to also provide support to Nordic companies wishing to establish themselves in Belarus.
The Nordic Environmental Finance Co-operation (NEFCO) has also recently decided to expand its activities to cover Belarus.
Parliamentary debate
To create a platform for debate in Belarus, the Nordic countries have organised meetings between the countries' parliaments and opposition. Nordic MPs have taken part in these meetings too. Up until now the meetings have taken place on neutral ground in Vilnius in Lithuania.
This is a unique forum where politicians can meet to discuss current affairs such as energy, climate change, democracy and human rights. At the same time the meetings give the Belarusian opposition the opportunity to take the floor and debate with the parliament.
Read about the Nordic Council of Ministers' co-operation with Belarus
