Denmark 2015: presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers and coordination of NB8

Tuesday, 13 January 2015
Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt. Photo: Magnus Fröderberg/norden.org Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt. Photo: Magnus Fröderberg/norden.org

At the start of the year, Denmark took up the presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers and it has highlighted growth, welfare and values (vekst, velferd og verdier or 3V in Danish) as its priorities. Denmark would also like to see more attention given to Arctic cooperation in the Nordic countries as well as on the international scene.

"The presidency programme focusses on several specific problems that directly concern the citizens of Nordic countries. Examples of these are the development of health services, the fight against youth unemployment and the development of the sustainable Nordic fashion and textile industry," explained Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers Dagfinn Høybråten.

According to Høybråten, creating visible and perceivable changes in the lives of Nordic people via cooperation remains the goal of the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Growth, welfare and values

This year, Denmark also wants to focus on the development of attractive, smart and sustainable urban spaces and is organising a Nordic project competition to find new solutions. Denmark will also present the new Nordic action plan for making the fashion and textile industry more efficient and sustainable.

Denmark will keep working on improving the strategic use of the Nordic brand and raising awareness of the Nordic region. The food culture programme New Nordic Food rocketed the Nordic countries to the top of the culinary world, and Denmark wants to continue developing this success story.

NB8 cooperation

In addition to the presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers, Denmark will also be coordinating the Nordic-Baltic cooperation, or NB8, this year. NB8 is an unofficial form of cooperation whose aim is to support and raise discussions that are important for both the Nordic countries and Baltic states. The cooperation started in 1992 and has resulted in regular meetings of not only prime ministers and foreign ministers, but also of other ministers, public servants and experts.

The NB8 focus areas in 2015 will include energy security, media in relation to Russian-speakers, the Ukraine conflict, and the Eastern Partnership.

The Nordic Council of Ministers' Office in Estonia will base its activities on the presidency plan of Denmark and the guidelines for the Nordic Council of Ministers' cooperation with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, but will also give its full support to the NB8 cooperation.

Denmark has created the separate website www.Norden2015.dk for the duration of its presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers and its activities as the coordinator of NB8 cooperation. The discussions can be followed via Twitter using the hashtag #norden2015.


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