For almost three years, the prime ministers' Globalisation Initiative has been the guiding principle behind the work of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The prime ministers' involvement has helped to raise the profile of the Council of Ministers, and has led to closer collaboration between the various ministerial councils. The globalisation initiative has led to the drafting of a Nordic profile based on the prime ministers' overarching vision, as set out in the Punkaharju declaration of 2007: "Region of Opportunity: A Nordic response to the challenges of globalisation". The initiative has also attracted interest in the EU, particularly in the Baltic countries and among other international stakeholders. It has made a significant impact and generated substantial external co-funding.

The Globalisation Initiative is central to the work of the Ministers for Nordic Co-operation (MR-SAM), particularly as an instrument to help them, along with the various ministerial councils, to implement NCM's priorities. This is crucial if the Region is to work together to a greater degree in response to the challenges of globalisation. The support of the prime ministers is also essential, not only for demonstrating the aims of the initiative, but also for affording it political legitimacy. In the current global economic climate, the need for political cohesion in the Nordic Region is greater than ever. We face ever fiercer global competition from emerging economies. By working together, the Nordic governments are able to boost companies' efforts to expand their domestic markets, improve knowledge-sharing, and strengthen Nordic competitiveness in the long term. In particular, issues related to globalisation and green technology present major challenges and opportunities, many of which are already being addressed under the auspices of the NCM's Globalisation Initiative.

Almost all of the ministerial councils have developed and assumed responsibility for the implementation of tangible initiatives in support of the prime ministers' overall concept (see Appendix 1: Summary of current globalisation initiatives). Most were launched in 2008, and scheduled for implementation over a three-year period. However, in autumn 2009, MR-SAM took the decision to launch several new globalisation initiatives in 2010.

With a view towards the NCM budget for 2011, discussions are currently taking place about which initiatives should be funded by MR-SAM's globalisation pool. At the prime ministers' meeting at the annual Session of the Nordic Council in 2010, MR-SAM will present a comprehensive account of this work, alongside the results of specific initiatives. The latest status report (as per February 2010) for the current initiatives is attached as Appendix 2.

Results

This year, the Nordic Globalisation Forum focused on green growth. This is in line with several of the other ongoing initiatives, especially "Energy and Transport", "Joint Nordic Energy Expo" "Shanghai World Expo 2010", the "Top-level Research Initiative (TRI)", "Promoting higher education in the Nordic Region", "Climate-friendly construction", "eScience", "Nordic Perspectives on Carbon Market Mechanisms" and "Nordic commitment to provide input into climate negotiations."

In response to last year's Globalisation Forum, an inter-sectoral programme was drawn up as part of the Energy and Transport initiative, the aim of which is to establish the Region as the "Green Valley of Europe". This will involve the Nordic Region striving to be a world leader in the development, testing and use of sustainable transport solutions. The first step is a vision for "electrification of the Nordic Region", which will provide a framework for strengthening industry in this particular sector.

The Energy Expo initiative includes a joint Nordic web platform that promotes Nordic partnerships on system solutions, including the capacity to incorporate a greater proportion of renewable energy in the electricity grid. The initiative also includes a range of profiling activities in partnership with Nordic diplomatic missions in North America and Asia. Recently, a supplement on Nordic energy technologies was published in the journal Scientific American.

As part of Shanghai World Expo 2010, a "Nordic Day" will be held on 25 June. This will include a climate seminar at which MR-SAM will be represented.

The Nordic TRI programme in climate, energy and the environment has also made progress. All of the sub-programmes have been launched and activities kicked off. The first projects were launched in spring 2010, and others in the first phase are expected to start up in the next few months. Industry is expected to make a major contribution to several of the projects. NordForsk, the Nordic Innovation Centre (NICe) and Nordic Energy Research (NEF) work closely together to provide an efficient, functional secretariat. The programme's future strategic development is set out by the programme board, on which TRI sits as an observer on the development of the European Joint Programming initiative in the climate sphere.

The Nordic Masters Programme is a key element in the globalisation project "Promoting higher education in the Nordic Region". To date, ten individual programmes have received development funding. Six are fully operational, and about half are associated with the environment and climate change. The other four are in currently at the development stage. Tenders have been invited for the third and final round of the new Nordic Masters Programme, with a deadline for submissions of 15 September 2010. Six new programmes are expected to be approved. An overall evaluation of the initiative will be conducted this year.

A needs analysis has been carried out on the Climate-friendly Construction initiative. On the basis of this analysis, the Nordic countries are drafting a proposal for a major innovation programme for the development of energy-efficient, CO2-neutral construction. The concept stemmed from the discussion at the 2009 Globalisation Forum on "energy-plus buildings". The programme is expected to attract both Nordic-level and national funding.

The priorities addressed by the eScience Initiative are related to green growth via its work on the climate and on the efficient, multilateral use of IT and infrastructure. The pioneering of new capacity for rapid, large-scale calculation, simulation and modelling creates development and growth potential for science and industry in areas such as molecular medicine as well as in the environment and welfare sectors. Closer Nordic co-operation on eScience and infrastructure paves the way for the transition to cheap, stable "green computing" through co-ordinated localisation and the joint use of basic infrastructure.

The new project Nordic Perspectives on Carbon Market Mechanisms has already generated important synergies via exchanges of experience between the Nordic governments and other stakeholders on carbon-credit markets. Two workshops have been held this year to facilitate discussion of Nordic experiences of key issues. A further workshop planned for this year will look at opportunities for future Nordic partnerships.

In the run-up to the climate negotiations in Copenhagen, the Nordic countries worked to encourage and co-ordinate Nordic approaches via the special COP15 Group. The cumulative outcome of the Group's work was to raise the level of expertise of the Nordic climate negotiators on relevant issues. Group meetings and workshops have also helped to improve mutual understanding between the parties involved in global climate change negotiations. The group's work also helped raise the profile of the Region in the global climate debate.

In addition to these initiatives, MR-SAM would like to highlight the New Nordic Food initiative, the globalisation initiative on health and welfare, and the work to promote cross-border freedom of movement.

New Nordic Food has attracted considerable attention recently, largely due to the Danish restaurant NOMA being named the best restaurant in the world in April for the first time. New Nordic Food aims to highlight Nordic raw materials and promote Nordic food culture. It is part of the Culture and Creativity globalisation initiative, which focuses on brand-enhancement measures. The programme seeks to promote understanding of the opportunities presented by pro-active use of the New Nordic Food concept. This includes introducing the concept of "Public Food Diplomacy", which is all about the positive role food can play at formal and informal events run by official Nordic bodies.

The programme for the Health and Welfare globalisation initiative deals with the sustainability and competitiveness of the Nordic welfare model, focusing on key challenges facing welfare provision in the Region. Inter-sectoral Nordic partnerships will result in effective solutions in selected health and welfare spheres, generating synergies and adding Nordic value. The programme revolves around two main, mutually reinforcing themes: "Welfare - overall development in general and workforce skills training and inclusion" and "Health - promotion of a fit and healthy population and quality of life".

The Nordic Freedom of Movement Forum has continued its work of removing specific barriers to mobility in the Region. It has also focused on improving co-ordination and information exchanges between the countries about relevant national legislation and the implementation of EU directives. The Danish Presidency aims to put freedom of movement on the agenda of all relevant ministerial councils, and to present regular follow-up reports to MR-SAM. In February 2010, MR-SAM decided to extend the mandate of the Forum for a further three years. That decision is expected to be confirmed by the prime ministers at their meeting on 21 May 2010.