Nordic Cooperation Ministers held an impressive summer meeting at Koli

Nordic Cooperation Ministers met at Koli, Finland Finland's new Minister for Nordic Cooperation Jan Vapaavuori hosted his first Nordic Cooperation Ministers' meeting on the 13th of June at Koli, Finland only a few days after his nomination for the ministerial post. The meeting held in the lap of magnificent mountains was attended, in addition to Mr. Vapaavuori, by his peers Christina Husmark Pehrsson from Sweden, Heidi Grande Röys from Norway and Össur Skarphédinsson from Iceland. Denmark was represented in the meeting by Deputy Minister Karsten Ankjer Jensen, with Lasse Wiklöf representing Aland, Jógvan a Lakjuni the Faroe Islands and Aleqa Hammond representing Greenland.

Among other things, common measures to respond to the challenges of globalisation were included on the Cooperation Ministers' agenda. Concerning the issue of globalisation, the Ministers decided to wait until the outcome of the meeting of Nordic Prime Ministers to be held at Punkaharju, Finland on the 18th and 19th of June. The Cooperation Ministers expect to be given instructions and further assignments by the Prime Ministers for concrete work to be done regarding globalisation in the framework of the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Role of the Arctic regions in Northern Dimension policy

At Koli, the Cooperation Ministers also assessed the activities of the Nordic Council of Ministers in the Arctic regions and considered the different forms of cooperation pursued in North-Western Russia by the Council. Fourteen recommendations were adopted on the basis of the evaluation of the situation in the Arctic region. In the discussion, attention was focused on climate change and the role of the Arctic region in Northern Dimension policy. An important conference on the so-called Arctic window, a part of the Northern Dimension is being organised for 2008.

Concerning cooperation with Russia, the Cooperation Ministers underlined the significance of a sustainable solution for safeguarding the judicial standing of the offices of the Nordic Council of Ministers in St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad. Northern Dimension policy serves as a good framework for cooperation between Russia and the Nordic Council; the St. Petersburg office, for instance, is in charge of duties related to the Northern Dimension’s social and health partnership.

Support for the Vilna exile university prolonged

The Nordic Council of Ministers has, in the framework of its coordinating role, supported quite impressively the Belarusian exile university European Humanities University situated in Vilna, Lithuania together with the European Union. At Koli, measures for supporting the University and ensuring a prolongation of its financing were agreed upon. The Council and the European Union finance a total of 11 syllabi of the University through two different projects. The total worth of the projects amounts to 7, 79 million euros. The share of the Nordic countries is over a million euros. The projects cover financing for 550 students.

Strengthening the position of autonomous regions in Nordic cooperation was also discussed at the Koli meeting. In order to survey the potential of various types of measures, the Nordic Council of Ministers has set up a working group whose interim report was reviewed at Koli. The autonomous regions are intended to be given a stronger standing in the framework of the Helsinki Treaty. The regions could, for instance, participate more actively in the activities of some Nordic institutions. Matters concerning autonomy will be considered at a meeting of the Nordic Cooperation Ministers and the Nordic Cooperation Committee (NSK) scheduled to be held in Aland at the beginning of September.

Funds and budget reforms on the agenda

The Cooperation Ministers also adopted the profit and loss account and balance sheet of the Nordic Development Fund (NDF), discharging the Chief Executive Officer and the Board of Directors from liability. The implementation of the 2005 decision concerning the gradual running down of the Fund, measures for the repayment of loans granted as well as other matters pertaining to the Fund were also brought up.

The Nordic Cooperation Ministers also discussed a Nordic Project Fund agreement for the period of 2008-2010. According to the agreement, Poland and the Baltic States, previous target regions, may not be included in the new draft. The annual financing amount handled by Nopef still amounts to 2, 7 million euros. The priorities include North-Western Russia, Belarus and Ukraine as well as projects in countries that are specifically interested in the economic life of the Nordic countries. Nopef grants no-interest loans in the framework of EU State subsidy regulations to a number of small and middle-sized companies for their establishment plans and preliminary surveys.

The Cooperation Ministers considered the proposal of the Secretary General for the budget of 2008 which conforms to the Cooperation Ministers' instructions issued in February. The sum amounts to the same level as last year, at around 112 million euros (859 million DK). The budget is ready to be submitted to a national-level round of statements and, after revisions, it is likely to be adopted at the 59th session of the Nordic Council in Oslo in late October or early November.

Throughout the year, the Nordic Council has been informed on the budget process of the Council of Ministers including its reforms. This year, the format of the budget will be made easier to approach – when compared with previous years.

At the meeting, the Ministers also discussed the various mobility programmes initiated by the Nordic Council of Ministers with the Baltic States. Nordic prize granting policy was also discussed.

The Nordic Cooperation Committee did the preparatory work for the Cooperation Ministers

Preparatory work for the Nordic Cooperation Ministers' meeting was done on the 12th of June at Koli by the Nordic Cooperation Committee (NSK) chaired by the Chief of the Secretariat for Nordic Cooperation of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Mr. Harri Mäki-Reinikka. The Nordic Cooperation Committee has granted almost 9 million DK as subsidies to approximately 60 initiatives from the Finnish Presidency budget amounting to 11 million DK. These initiatives are based on the Finnish Presidency Programme of the Nordic Council of Ministers and meet the criteria set by the Council of Ministers.

The delegations that attended the Koli meeting also visited Tulikivi Ltd. and the Finnish Stone Center, a point of encounter for science, art and the modern rock industry. The visitors marvelled at this versatile attraction and became familiar with both the prehistory of rock and modern rock technology.

The delegations also visited the splendid Ukko-Koli and Akka-Koli, (mountains that one could call Old Man Koli and Old Woman Koli in English). They dined in a traditional hut enjoying Carelian pastries, organic salmon and oven cheese.