New analysis set to streamline efforts to promote freedom of movement

Furthermore, the aim with the analysis is to identify strengths and weaknesses in current approaches and to provide recommendations and concrete proposals on how efforts to tackle obstacles to freedom of movement can be improved and streamlined at various levels.

The decision to conduct the review has been made by the Ministers for Nordic Co-operation, in part because they want to assess the potential for obtaining more concrete results from efforts to tackle obstacles to freedom of movement. The idea is that the analysis will provide strategic recommendations on how these efforts can be structured and how the approach can be continued beyond 2025. 

“Making it easier for companies and people to operate across borders is crucial for the Nordic Region’s competitiveness and growth. This is at the heart of Nordic co-operation. Today, although we’re working on multiple levels to remove obstacles to freedom of movement, there’s still a lot left to do. I hope this review will help to make our work even more efficient,” says Jessika Roswall, Sweden’s Minister for European Union Affairs, who is also responsible for Nordic affairs and is chairing the Ministers for Nordic Co-operation this year.

The Nordic Council of Ministers has recently initiated a procurement process to select the entity that will conduct the analysis. A final report with recommendations will be presented to the Ministers for Nordic Co-operation at their summer meeting on 18 and 19 June.

A central element of the analysis assignment is to involve relevant stakeholders within efforts to tackle obstacles to freedom of movement. These include national officials and other Nordic and regional stakeholders. The aim is to involve stakeholders as broadly as possible to ensure that the purpose of the work gains widespread support and to gather relevant input for the efforts.

Efforts to promote freedom of movement, i.e. ensuring that it’s easy to work, move, study, and start businesses across borders in the Nordic Region, is a high-priority issue for Nordic co-operation. This is also crucial in efforts to deliver on the objectives outlined in the vision for the Nordic Region to be the most sustainable and integrated region in the world by 2030.

As part of its presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2024, Sweden has set freedom of movement as a high-priority issue.

Efforts to tackle obstacles to freedom of movement are currently primarily pursued and co-ordinated on a Nordic level, including within the framework of the activities of the Freedom of Movement Council. However, stakeholders at the national, regional, and local levels are also working on and responsible for dealing with these issues.