The spokesman for the Centre Group, Finnish MP Simo Rundgren, and the Nordic Council’s Vice-President Kristian Pihl Lorentzen, presented the programme to the media on Monday 30 October.

“It has not been easy to achieve a common programme with all 20 parties, but we are in agreement on the visions for the Centre Group’s policy in the Nordic Council”, said Simo Rundgren.

“The aim is that we must make the Nordic Council more effective”, said Kristian Pihl Lorentzen, who presented the visions.
The Centre Group calls for the Nordic region to be a leading region for cross-border co-operation, a leading region in co-operation on the Autonomous Territories and calls for strengthening the EU’s Northern Dimension. Pihl Lorentzen emphasised the importance of co-operation with the Russians on environmental matters both in the Baltic Sea and the Arctic.

“The Centre Group’s fourth vision is that the Nordic region should be a cultural power centre and small countries have plenty to offer the rest of Europe. It is also extremely important, even at local community level in the Nordic countries, that there is friendly co-operation which is also something that others can learn from”, said Kristian Pihl Lorentzen.

The Centre Group emphasised that the common values the 20 different Nordic groups were agreed upon place people at the centre, stress that everyone is equally worthy and that tolerance and respect for others is a fundamental value.

It is also the objective of the Centre Group that the Nordic region should be without borders, the Nordic welfare model should be strengthened, culture should be the glue in Nordic co-operation which builds on voluntary popular co-operation. Environmental issues are high on the agenda for co-operation in climate questions, cleansing the Baltic Sea, work with renewable sources of energy and reduction of the dependency of fossil fuel.