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Green Baltic agenda

The agenda is all about a green and innovative region, as some of the most important stakeholders are gathered for the 14th Baltic Development Forum and for the European Commission's 3rd Forum on the Baltic Sea Region on Holmen in Copenhagen, 17-19 June 2012.

Jun 15, 2012

"The Nordic Council of Ministers is well placed to play a leading role in ongoing regional co-operation – not just among the five Nordic countries but in the Baltic Sea region as a whole," says Halldór Ásgrímsson.

Photographer
Silje Bergum Kinsten/norden.org

Both the Development Forum and EU forum on Baltic strategy are being held in Copenhagen, 17-19 June 2012. The Nordic Council of Ministers has endorsed the EU strategy and actively promotes partnership and development initiatives in the region.

The title of this year's conference, "Connecting Europe – Smart and Green Partnerships in the Baltic Sea Region", reflects the priority of promoting sustainable growth and competitiveness through transnational public-private initiatives in the region.

The Nordic Council of Ministers' contribution to the conference includes the publication "Political State of the Region Report", which focuses on governance and co-ordination in the region. It will be presented to delegates as a prelude to discussions about the current state of regional co-operation and integration around the Baltic.

The Nordic Council of Ministers' is hosting "Sustainable Bioenergy - the Baltic Sea Region as a Global Leader" during the conference, a session about the challenges and opportunities facing the development of sustainable bioenergy initiatives in the Baltic region and will present a proposal for an inter-sectoral theme within the EU's Strategy for the Baltic Sea region.

The Nordic Council of Ministers actively supports the EU Strategy for the Baltic and its priorities "Save the Sea", "Bring the Region together" and "Increase prosperity." The Nordic Council of Ministers works closely with partners like the European Commission, the Baltic Development Forum and other public- and private-sector partners in order to enhance the co-ordination of efforts in the region. The idea is to generate synergies and deploy human and financial resources more effectively.

"The Nordic Council of Ministers is well placed to play a leading role in ongoing regional co-operation – not just among the five Nordic countries but in the Baltic Sea region as a whole," says Halldór Ásgrímsson, Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers.

"The Nordic Council of Ministers is an inter-governmental platform for co-operation. It provides access to a range of networks for operational co-operation in the Baltic Sea region, including via a number of specialist Nordic institutions and via the Nordic Council of Ministers' offices in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and North-West Russia," he explains.

See the video from two interviews at the Nordic Council of Ministers' stand at the Baltic Development Forum 2012

Contacts

Jesper F. Schou-Knudsen
Phone +45 33 96 03 55
Email jsk@norden.org

Ane Kofod Petersen
Phone +45 3396 0254
Email akp@norden.org