International seminar on Regional Co-operation - Opening address
June 16th 2003
International seminar on
"Regional Co-operation – the Nordic Experience"
June 16th 2003 in Sofia
Opening address by Siv Fridleifsdottir, Icelandic Minister
for the Environment and Nordic Co-operation
Excellencies, honourable colleagues, ladies and gentlemen:
May I take this opportunity, as I welcome you on behalf of the Nordic Council of Ministers to this seminar, to express my pleasure and gratitude at the interest you show by your attendance in the subjects to be discussed here today and tomorrow. I should also like to thank the Balkan Political Club and the Nordic embassies here in Sofia for their superb contribution to the organising of this seminar.
It is my sincere hope that all of us may profit from informative discussions on regional co-operation, and that our long experience of co-operation among Nordic countries may prove of some use to all of our guests.
The situation in the Balkans naturally differs in many respects from that which exists in the Nordic countries. Nonetheless, Nordic co-operation is such that, in my opinion, other nations wishing to strengthen their own ties can learn a lot from it.
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It was in 1952, in the aftermath of World War II, that Nordic parliamentarians within the Inter-Parliamentary Union decided to form the Nordic Council, at a time when the European Economic Community had not yet been established. Right from the start the activities of the Nordic Council were very ambitious. By the end of the 1950s, it had managed to establish free movement of people and labour between its member countries, and mutual recognition of social security rights for citizens living in another Nordic country.
It is important to keep in mind that there was strong public support in the latter part of the 19th century for Nordic integration. At that time, inter-Nordic contacts started to grow in academic circles, in the economic field, among political parties and trade unions. This can be seen as a kind of popular reaction against former political divisions. We must recall that over the centuries, Nordic history has included long periods of both war and peace, and of domination of one country over another. But those elements of the past do not in any way hamper our present-day co-operation. On the contrary, they remind us that nothing can be taken for granted and that peacekeeping in the region must always be one of the aims of Nordic cooperation. There is and has to be a general will to look forward, not backward.
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The Second World War caused severe hardship in several of the Nordic nations and afterwards we were for decades affected by the shadow of the Cold War. Despite this, during the past 50 years, to a large extent thanks to mutual support and growing regional integration, we have been able to transform and reach where we are today. We have come this far by joining forces. We have been able to build economically and politically stable societies. Together, we have acquired a position which we would not have reached without cooperation.
Nordic co-operation is practiced on a very wide variety of fronts. In addition to the formal political co-operation between the countries, a network has developed through the years both at the local government level and among various types of NGOs and individuals. The political co-operation is effected through the Nordic Council and Nordic Council of Ministers. Members include the five Nordic nations: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, as well as the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands, Greenland and the Åland Islands. The Nordic Council has sessions yearly for a couple of days. It is comprised of 87 representatives of the Nordic parliaments, while the Council of Ministers is comprised of the Ministers in each country's government. Its membership varies depending which areas are on the agenda and the councils of ministers have meetings regularly. I am a member of the Nordic Council of Ministers as Nordic co-operation minister and Icelandic Minister for the Environment.
Apart from the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Nordic Council, the Nordic countries are cooperating with adjacent areas in several bodies. The following are the main bodies:
· The Arctic Council which, apart from Nordic countries, includes USA, Canada and Russia as well;
· The Council of the Baltic Sea States which includes, apart from the Nordic and Baltic states, Germany, Poland and Russia; and The Barents Council including Russia as well as the Nordic countries.
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Ladies and Gentlemen:
In our experience, regional co-operation has proved to yield many benefits. In addition to being relevant for the development of our own societies, it has helped us to make our voice heard in the United Nations and other international organisations. It has contributed to peace, democracy and stability in the North of Europe, provided a base for our co-operation with a larger area, and for co-operation within the European framework for its member countries.
It is our sincere wish that other regions – and that includes the Balkans – will be able find ways to co-operate in a similar manner on a regional basis, according to their own wishes and goals. I confess that we do feel particular sympathies with this multi-faceted and beautiful corner of Europe, whose nations have experienced both periods of well-being and happiness and periods of much hardship. We fully endorse your rightful aspirations towards economic, social and political progress and encourage you to reap your share of the benefits of today's growing European integration. To achieve this, good relations between neighbouring states, which can be furthered by local and regional co-operation, are absolutely necessary.
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Thank you once more for being here with us today.