The Nordic countries face many challenges that have major significance for their citizens, particularly in the areas of global competitiveness and climate and energy issues. Joint Nordic action enables the individual countries to make a greater impact at both European and global level.

The starting point for Nordic co-operation is a focus on areas where joint Nordic input will create added value for the individual countries and their citizens. The results of the co-operation are seen in the day-to-day life and work of citizens and businesses. Now more than 50 years old, some of the results of co-operation include a joint Nordic labour market, passport union and a range of joint social provisions. Nordic citizens have also long been able to settle, study and conduct research anywhere in the Region.

The environment and climate, energy, research, education, training and innovation, freedom of movement and raising the profile of regional co-operation are all important aspects of Nordic co-operation, and help maintain the Region's leading position in the global economy.

Freedom of movement

The work on removing barriers to cross-border freedom of movement aims to create a more open Region. The purpose of the recently established Nordic Freedom of Movement Forum is to remove obstacles and stop new ones being introduced. This will ensure greater freedom of movement for people, companies and goods within the Region. The Forum, which reports directly to the prime ministers, takes up tangible issues, e.g. the transfer of pensions between countries.

An online social security portal, which collates information about the rules for illness, parental leave, unemployment, studies and pensions throughout the Region, has been launched.

Hello Norden, the information service for people who move between countries in the Region, has helped many citizens caught in a web of bureaucracy.

The work on preventing new obstacles to freedom of movement focuses upon, among other things, co-ordinating legislation between the countries. Nordic work on freedom of movement is unique and goes deeper than similar EU endeavours.

Globalisation Forum

Freedom of movement is an important factor in global competition. However, other elements of the Nordic model are also valuable tools for raising the Region's profile in the global arena.

The prime ministers have launched an annual Nordic Globalisation Forum, at which politicians, business leaders, NGOs, and representatives of the research community and the media discuss global challenges and Nordic solutions that will secure the Region's position as a successful pioneering region.

From the Nordic Ecolabel to post-Kyoto

Protecting the environment has always been a Nordic priority. A prime example of this is the green "Nordic Ecolabel" which certifies that products are environmentally friendly.

The Nordic Region works together to achieve the EU's climate goals and to show how a sustainable Nordic model can combine reduced emissions with economic growth. Energy efficiency and renewable energy have a natural place in this work.

The Nordic Region is a global leader in energy co-operation. The Region wishes to further reinforce the Nordic perspective in order to safeguard supplies and be more effective on the international market. Closer co-operation on electricity also means that the countries' energy exchange system is more efficient, i.e. a shortage in one country balances out a surplus in another.

Joint master's programme and centres of excellence

Work in the research sector is co-ordinated by the institution NordForsk, which is a successful tool for promoting Nordic research partnerships.

The Nordic Region's five Centres of Excellence aim to stimulate research environments and to promote mobility, training and exchange between research groups.

The programme seeks to establish interdisciplinary co-operation and co-ordinate specialisation between the Nordic countries. Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, stroke, migraine, epilepsy and cancer are among the diseases researched in co-operation projects on molecular medicine. Another research project looks into why wholegrain products are so beneficial to health, especially in cancer prevention and care. Several Centres of Excellence are devoted to research into climate issues.

NordForsk also supports inter-Nordic freedom of movement among researchers and provides opportunities to conduct research in other Nordic countries, e.g. on stem-cell research into various forms of cancer.

Access to well-trained and competent manpower will be improved by the recently launched Nordic Master's Programme, which is being run in six places and involves 17 educational establishments.

The master's programme covers areas such as the elderly, ICT, the marine environment and climate change. Some of the Region's leading technical universities are currently co-operating on a master's programme in energy research. It combines Danish expertise in wind power, Swedish expertise in nuclear power, Icelandic expertise in geothermal energy and Norwegian expertise in oil and gas, and is expected to make a major contribution to energy research.

Through exchange programmes in the Nordplus family, some 10,000 Nordic citizens take part in education and training in other Nordic countries every year. The programme now also covers Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Closer co-operation with the Baltic States

The Nordic Council of Ministers was an early supporter of independence for the Baltic States in the early 1990s. This gesture of support was highly important.

The Nordic–Baltic relationship now takes the form of rich co-operation on many levels.

Closer integration between the Nordic and Baltic countries builds a common platform for joint action in EU contexts. The Nordic Council of Ministers has offices in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Regular meetings are held at prime minister, foreign minister and other ministerial levels, as well as between senior civil servants.

The exchange programme for civil servants from the Baltic States has helped to develop co-operation structures within their national administrations. This co-operation is developed all the time. For example, Baltic researchers are entitled to apply for funding from NordForsk, and all three Baltic countries are now full members of the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB).

Bridge-building with Russia and Belarus

Co-operation with North-West Russia is designed to generate growth and stability in Northern Europe. Approximately 15% of the Council of Ministers' annual budget is earmarked for this co-operation. Much of the co-operation is related to exchange programmes that enable Russian politicians, civil servants, entrepreneurs and journalists to study democracy and institutions in the Nordic Region. The Nordic Council of Ministers also has offices in several cities in North-West Russia.

However, co-operation does not stop at Russia's borders. One of the more important projects in recent years provides support for the pro-democracy movement in Belarus.

The Nordic Council of Ministers has supported the Belarusian exile university EHU (the European Humanities University) since its inauguration in 2006. The university opened in Vilnius when the regime closed the EHU in Minsk, claiming that the premises were needed for another purpose. The real reason for the closure was that the EHU had become too Western-oriented.

One of those involved in EHU from the start is 21-year-old Anastasiya, a student of European and international law. Anastasiya is typical of many of the university's students in that she chose EHU because Belarus did not offer the same opportunities for independent study. Others at EHU have been politically active back home in Belarus.

Many students tell of harassment on their way to Vilnius, and the presence of EHU on their CV most likely ensures that a state career in Belarus is out of the question. However, the prospect of freedom of thought and study has clearly spurred on Anastasiya and her 900 fellow students in Vilnius.