The Nordic Council

the official inter-parliamentary body

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International co-operation

International Co-operation: The Nordic Council outward looking and has close co-operation with a number of international, regional and national parliamentary organisations outside the Region.
Russia: The main aim is to tackle challenges, for example, the environment in the Baltic Sea and Barents regions, as well as in the Arctic.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania: The objective of the Nordic Council's co-operation with the Baltic Assembly is to work towards a democratic, economic and cultural development of the Baltic Sea Region and northern Europe and to work actively to bring the region's opportunities and challenges out in the open.
Baltic Sea Region: As an integrated part of the Nordic Council policy in the Nordic adjacent areas, the Council gives strong support to the Parliamentary Baltic Sea co-operation through the annual Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC) and its permanent committee, which co-ordinates co-operation between the conferences.
The Nordic Region's neighbours to the west: The West Nordic Council, which consists of Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Greenland, is actually an internal Nordic body. However, as it is also responsible for much of the Region’s contact with its neighbours to the west and in the Arctic, co-operation with the West Nordic Council is considered very much part of the Nordic Council’s external activities. Canada and the USA are part of the Arctic co-operation, and the West Nordic countries also promote closer contact with countries such as Ireland and Scotland.
The Nordic Council and Belarus: The Nordic countries are working actively with the Baltic countries to promote the development of democracy in Belarus. The Nordic Council, together with its sister organisation the Baltic Assembly, has helped to create a platform for debate with Belarusian politicians, both from the Parliament and from opposition parties which are not currently represented in parliament.
The Nordic Council and the Arctic: A large part of the Nordic land and sea areas lie in the Arctic region. The Nordic countries are therefore strongly involved in issues that concern this unique and harsh, but also vulnerable area. The Nordic countries co-operate to improve the quality of life for the indigenous people in the northern areas and to support social and cultural development for the Arctic people.
The Nordic Council and the rest of Europe: Geographically located in Northern Europe it is natural that the Nordic Council is particularly committed to the parliamentary assemblies of this region. But there are also contacts to other parts of Europe. It is useful to have networks in relation to the parliamentary assemblies, and in relation to the EU, the Nordic Council will assert itself on questions of common Nordic interest such as, for example, the EU's Baltic Sea Strategy. The Nordic Council Presidium has appointed an observer whose particular responsibility it is to follow up on the desire to focus the attention of the Nordic MEPs on matters of common Nordic opinion.
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Documents: Documents related to the Nordic Council's international work.

Contact

Torkil Sørensen

Phone: +45 24 69 94 57

Email: ts@norden.org