Although cooperation between the Nordic countries does not foresee a harmonised foreign and security policy, these issues have been at the top of the agenda of the summit for a number of years – the reason being the tension caused by Russia’s increased activity in the Baltic Sea region as well as in Syria and Ukraine. As Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg remarked in her address at the summit on 2 November, the Baltic States and the Scandinavian countries feel less secure due to the activities of the increasingly self-assured Russia. The Estonian national broadcaster reported on Solberg’s address here.
Assembling as part of the summit were the prime ministers of all of the Nordic countries and Baltic States, who said that the heightened tension between Russia and the West must be reduced – but that this is only possible if it is reduced on both sides. The government leaders said that Russia’s actions in Ukraine and Syria are working against reducing tension. The prime ministers also stated that attention needs to be turned to energy security. The Estonian national broadcaster reported on the prime ministers’ statements here.
It should nevertheless be noted that regardless of the tense foreign policy situation, dialogue with Russia is considered important at the level of the Nordic Council of Ministers. A number of cooperation programmes with Russia remain open that support stability and development in the region and which focus on the environment, cooperation in the field of health, civic society and advances in human rights. Furthermore, a new environmental and climate change programme incorporating the Nordic countries and Russia was launched during the summit which should benefit the Nordic countries, north-western Russia and the Baltic States alike. Find out more online.
As elsewhere in the world, the migration crisis is an acutely topical issue in cooperation between the Nordic countries. The need to foster cooperation in regard to the migration crisis was underscored at the summit. To this end there are plans to develop a variety of mechanisms for the exchange of experience and practices between countries in Northern Europe. The Estonian national broadcaster reported on the issue here.
In addition to regional security and the migration crisis the summit examined such other issues as the global sustainable development objectives of the UN, which are being viewed as an increasingly serious political objective in Nordic cooperation (about which you can read more online), and giving the Faroe Islands greater independence within Nordic cooperation organisations (see online).
NCM awards
Also taking place as part of the summit was the presentation of the highly regarded Nordic Council of Ministers cultural awards on 1 November. Since 2016 marks 25 years of Nordic-Baltic cooperation, a composition entitled ‘Stars’ by Latvia’s Ēriks Ešenvalds was chosen to open the awards ceremony by the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian offices of the Nordic Council of Ministers.
The council’s prestigious literary award was this year presented to Katarina Frostenson (Sweden) for her collection of poetry entitled ‘Sånger och formler’. The children’s and young adult award went to Iceland’s Arnar Már Arngrímsson for the novel ‘Sölvasaga unglings’. The film prize was awarded to ‘Louder Than Bombs’ from Norway (director & screenwriter: Joachim Trier; screenwriter: Eskil Vogt). The recipient of this year’s music award was Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen for his song cycle ‘Let Me Tell You’. The environmental award was presented to Too Good To Go, an app developed in Denmark which is designed to reduce the amount of food that is wasted.
More information about the winners can be found online.
Norway to preside over Nordic cooperation in 2017
It was also revealed during the summit that Norway would be the presiding state in cooperation between the Nordic countries starting from 1 January 2017.