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Nordic Council: Baltic Sea Strategy needs Northern Dimension supplement

Many see EUs new Baltic Sea Strategy as an internal EU matter. But it needs an external dimension, especially when it comes to energy issues. That was the message of the Nordic Council to the Baltic Development Forum on June 1.

Jun 01, 2010

Iit is crucial to look at activities and experiences from the North Atlantic and the Arctic in relation to current efforts in the Baltic Sea region, said Nordic Council President Helgi Hjörvar at the Baltic Development Forum in Vilnius, on June 1.

Photographer
Johannes Jansson/norden.org

The president of the Nordic Council Helgi Hjörvar spoke at the Baltic Development Forum in Vilnius on June 1.

He underlined the need to coordinate initiatives between the Baltic Sea region and the Northern Dimension partnership of the EU, Russia, Iceland and Norway.

The president particularly pointed out the special opportunities offered by cooperation within the energy sector.

- We need a stronger emphasis on energy issues in all cross border cooperation, including the transfer of technology and know-how, Hjörvar pointed out.

He added that it is crucial to look at activities and experiences from the North Atlantic and the Arctic in relation to current efforts in the Baltic Sea region.

 - The energy sector is closely linked with both economic development and environmental issues, as well as with the overall political stability of the region, he summed up, calling for “a little less talk and a little more action” in the joint efforts of the EU, Russia and the Nordic countries.

The Northern Dimension Partnership consists among other things of a string of government programs within the sectors of environmental, social and transport issues.

And only last week the Northern Dimension Partnership in Culture was established at a high-level meeting in Saint Petersburg.

A Northern Dimension Forum for parliamentarians has also been established, with its next meeting coming up in Norway, February 2011.

And MPs from the Nordic Council met on May 24th in Norway with representatives of the Russian Duma to discuss energy efficiency and cooperation.

Interview with Helgi Hjörvar at BDF (in Scandinavian)

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