Swedish soldiers. Photo: Johannes Jansson/norden.orgSweden has in fact abandoned the principle of not taking part in defence alliances although Swedes will always remain neutral deep inside, writes columnist Eva Franchell in the December issue of the political journal Analys Norden of the Nordic Council of Ministers. For example, Sweden has an important role to play in the NATO defence plan, should Russia launch an attack on the Baltic States.

The December issue of the Analys Norden focuses on new trends in the foreign and security policy of the Nordic Countries, which increasingly concentrates on more intensive co-operation. The Nordic Countries took different directions in their defence policies after World War II. Intensive co-operation in this field seemed impossible rather than likely. Franchell recalls that Sweden, hoping for united defence co-operation in the Nordic Region was greatly disappointed by the decisions of Norway (as well as Iceland) to instead join the NATO.

However, the current mission of Sweden in Afghanistan under the NATO banner has been the most crucial issue in the foreign policy of the kingdom for years. Joining NATO as such, on the other hand, is a forgotten topic.

Nordic design comes to Tallinn in May 2011. Photo: Karin Beate Nøsterud/norden.orgIt is possible to save billions of kroons by creating environmentally friendly and sustainable design. The European Union has come to this realisation, too. The Nordic countries want to see to it that this understanding permeates into regulations affecting all of Europe and that sustainable design is of just as high quality in future.

This means that the European Union regulation on ecodesign will be critically reviewed and the necessary amendments made. The amendments are likely to be related to the whole processing industry, starting from the production of electric motors and bulbs.

The current ecodesign directive establishes that products on the internal market must meet certain environmental and energy norms; otherwise they cannot be sold in the EU. Parliamentarians, EU officials and non-profit organisations met in Copenhagen at the end of November to discuss what these environmental requirements should be like in future.

A Member of the European Parliament, Britta Thomsen, thought that the initiative should encourage companies and researchers in the Baltic Sea region to make the directive more efficient with their ideas. "Many people believe that 'green activities' cost money," she said. "Actually, on the contrary: we save money, and at the same time care for the environment. We in the Nordic countries know that and that's why we have to play a stronger role in this area in Europe – we have experience which can be used by other countries."

Nordic Prime Ministers at the opening of the Nordic Council session 2010 in Reykjavik, Iceland. Photo: Magnus Fröderberg/norden.orgCurrent Nordic cooperation is efficient enough and there is no need for the United Nordic Federation proposed by historian Gunnar Wetterberg, noted the Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt at a joint press conference with the other four Nordic leaders at the summit meeting of the Nordic Council held in Reykjavik.

Reinfeldt welcomed Wetterberg's idea of a Nordic federal state and extensive debates it has initiated in the Nordic region as well as in other European countries, though. However, the Swedish Prime Minister stressed that three of the Nordic countries, that is Finland, Sweden and Denmark, have chosen the EU as a means to facilitate closer cooperation and the removal of border barriers.

The launch of Wetterberg's book "United Nordic Federation" in Reykjavik the day before the summit meeting was accompanied by a panel discussion of business figures and analysts from all the Nordic countries. Per Kristian Foss, former Norwegian Minister of Financial Affairs and member of the Nordic Council of Ministers, admitted in front of an audience of more than 200 that his homeland has withdrawn from two Nordic unions and now the country is doing better than ever.

Maritime safety is of key importance for the Baltic Sea region. Photo: norden.orgThe Nordic countries and the Baltic States together show the rest of Europe how successful regional cooperation can be in helping to emerge from the crisis, Jose Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission, said at the Baltic Sea States Summit held in Vilnius on 2 June.

"Maritime safety is of key importance for the entire Baltic Sea region, and we must engage in closer co-operation to ensure that safety," Matti Vanhanen, the Prime Minister of Finland, stressed. According to Vanhanen, the Baltic Sea countries lack the capacity to cope with disasters such as the one that currently plagues the Gulf of Mexico. "Most accidents happen due to human error," Vanhanen explained. "Thus, we need better control and information systems to map out exactly where ships are and where they are headed, just like we have at airports."

On behalf of the Danish Minister of Culture, Permanent Undersecretary Karin Marchand signed the agreement for stronger culture co-operation between EU, Russia, Norway and Iceland together with representatives from these countries. Photo: interpress.ru

New opportunities for investment, funding and growth opened up for Northern European creative industries and cultural institutions when 11 states of the region signed an agreement on "Cultural Partnership of the Northern Dimension" in St Petersburg.

"It is important to underline that this agreement has first and foremost improved frameworks for co-operation, and created new conditions for growth in cultural life and the creative economies in northern Europe," emphasised Michael Webb, deputy head of European Union representation in Russia. "It is now up to the stakeholders involved to define the concrete projects and initiatives. The agreement is a political decision to facilitate the new co-operation."

The representatives of the 11 states signed the agreement at the international cultural forum organised by the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM), in St Petersburg on 20 - 21 May. The forum unites the representatives of culture, creative industry, cultural establishments and cultural offices to discuss the development opportunities of creative industries in the Northern dimension.

Research. Photo: Johannes Jansson/norden.orgEne Ergma, the speaker of the Estonian parliament, is one of the people who has suggested that a common research space be created between the Baltic Sea countries, part of which could be a Baltic Sea Technology Institute studying such areas as information, bio- and nanotechnology. "Instead of competing against one another, we should be working more closely together and rivalling the research centres of bigger countries," Ergma proposed at an international conference held in Tallinn in early March. The conference focussed on research, development and regional cooperation within the framework of the European Union's Baltic Sea Strategy.

The conference, titled "Baltic Sea Strategy – a new opportunity for science-based regional and local management and integrated cooperation", was designed to contribute to the transformation of the Baltic Sea Strategy into a document which works in practice: one which people do not see as yet another unfathomable initiative symptomatic of EU bureaucracy.

Halldór Ásgrímsson, the secretary-general of the Nordic Council of Ministers. Photo: Johannes Jansson/norden.org"For the Nordic countries to move towards a federation, all five of them would need to be members of NATO, the European Union and the Eurozone," said Halldór Asgrímsson, the secretary-general of the Nordic Council of Ministers, in response to Swedish social science specialist Gunnar Wettenberg – whose proposal that the Nordic region should consider forming one federal state was met with a wave of opinions from the five countries involved.

At the same time, representatives and ministers from the group of five – Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland – already work very closely together, as part of the Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers respectively. The majority of ministers from the region meet around four times a year. The prime ministers of those countries which are Member States of the European Union also meet unofficially prior to EU summits and keep non-members Norway and Iceland up to speed on developments. Ahead of summits the prime ministers furthermore discuss key issues with their colleagues from the Baltic States.

Cooperation with the European Union and the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen are the main topics at the Nordic Council session or the Nordic summit held in Stockholm today, on 27 October.

The prime ministers of five Nordic and three Baltic states met on the day before the summit and they all confirmed that a global climate agreement is essential. Prime Minister of Sweden Fredrik Reinfeldt says that achievement of an agreement requires cooperation in the Baltic Sea region and that the financial issues associated with the agreement are currently under scrutiny.