A new bioeconomy in the Baltic Sea Region – doing a lot with little

The Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM) is promoting bioeconomy networks in the Baltic Sea Region as part of its role as a Horizontal Action Leader in the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR).

A matchmaking workshop held at the Nordic Embassies in Berlin in september 2014 highlighted how far you can go for very little money, if you bring together the right people and help fertilize the most fruitful ideas.

Nordic partnerships and German money

The fact that the event was held at the Nordic embassy complex in Berlin, where all five countries share a common compound, was in itself symbolic of the crosscutting nature of working with the new bioeconomy. - Working together here, all five countries have definitely strengthened the ties of each and every one of us to Germany and the German market, which is so important to all of us, said Icelandic Ambassador to Germany, Gunnar Snorri Gunnarsson, in his opening remarks. And the Nordic countries are facing very big players if you look south. The German budget for The National Research Strategy for Bioeconomy alone is 2,4 billion Euro in the period 2011-16. - We see bioeconomy as a strategic investment to strengthen our competitiveness. It is more than simply a question of substituting fossil fuels, as member of the German Bioeconomy Council, Professor Daniella Thrän, stated at the workshop. The Nordic Council of Ministers is working on  promoting its bioeconomy effort in the Baltic Sea Region with a budget that is just a fraction of the German investment, basing its work on the goodwill and the bridging role of the NCM in the region.