1. Nordic Council of Ministers Friday, May 30, 20141 The Nordic Council of Ministers and the EU Baltic Sea Strategy

2. Nordic Council of Ministers Friday, May 30, 20142 Introduction to presentation I. The Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM) and the Baltic Sea II. Areas of joint EU and NCM priority III. NCMs role in the EU Baltic Sea Action Plan

3. Nordic Council of Ministers Friday, May 30, 20143 The NCM and the Baltic Sea Established in 1971 NCM facilitate intergovernmental regional cooperation between the five Nordic countries and three self-governing areas.

4. Nordic Council of Ministers Friday, May 30, 20144 The NCM and the Baltic Sea Established in 1971 NCM facilitate intergovernmental regional cooperation between the five Nordic countries and three self-governing areas. Since the beginning of the 1990s NCM has – through its offices in Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius, St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad – developed a close collaboration also with the Baltic countries and partners in Northwest Russia.

5. Nordic Council of Ministers Friday, May 30, 20145 The NCM and the Baltic Sea Established in 1971 NCM facilitate intergovernmental regional cooperation between the five Nordic countries and three self-governing areas. Since the beginning of the 1990s NCM has – through its offices in Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius, St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad – developed a close collaboration also with the Baltic countries and partners in Northwest Russia. Increasingly, NCM is also working with partners in Germany and Poland.

6. Nordic Council of Ministers Friday, May 30, 20146 The NCM and the Baltic Sea NCM works through 11 Councils of Ministers, Committees of Senior Officials and a number of working groups.

7. Nordic Council of Ministers Friday, May 30, 20147 The NCM and the Baltic Sea NCM works through 11 Councils of Ministers, Committees of Senior Officials and a number of working groups. NCM also supports more than 20 Nordic institutions. These institutions implement hundreds of regional cooperation projects between partners in the Nordic countries and in the Baltic Sea Region.

8. Nordic Council of Ministers Friday, May 30, 20148 The NCM and the Baltic Sea NCM works through 11 Councils of Ministers, Committees of Senior Officials and a number of working groups. NCM also supports more than 20 Nordic institutions. These institutions implement hundreds of regional cooperation projects between partners in the Nordic countries and in the Baltic Sea Region. Examples of areas of cooperation: research, education, innovation, culture, environment, energy and regional development

9. Nordic Council of Ministers Friday, May 30, 20149 The NCM and the Baltic Sea Therefore… Given its history of support to regional cooperation, the NCM supports the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. NCM believes that the implementation of the EU Baltic Sea Action Plan will benefit from building on existing regional collaboration structures and partnerships.

10. Nordic Council of Ministers Friday, May 30, 201410 Areas of joint EU and NCM priority To be more concrete… The four thematic pillars of the EU Baltic Sea Action Plan: To make the Baltic Sea Region an environmentally sustainable place To make the Baltic Sea Region a prosperous place To make the Baltic Sea Region an accessible and attractive place To make the Baltic Sea Region a safe and secure place

11. Nordic Council of Ministers Friday, May 30, 201411 To be more concrete… The four thematic pillars of the EU Baltic Sea Action Plan: To make the Baltic Sea Region an environmentally sustainable place To make the Baltic Sea Region a prosperous place To make the Baltic Sea Region an accessible and attractive place To make the Baltic Sea Region a safe and secure place Here NCM works with HELCOM and implements a number of additional activities to conserve and improve the marine environment of the Baltic Sea. Areas of joint EU and NCM priority

12. Nordic Council of Ministers Friday, May 30, 201412 To be more concrete… The four thematic pillars of the EU Baltic Sea Action Plan: To make the Baltic Sea Region an environmentally sustainable place To make the Baltic Sea Region a prosperous place To make the Baltic Sea Region an accessible and attractive place To make the Baltic Sea Region a safe and secure place Here NCM works to remove barriers to the single market; to ensure the free movement of knowledge (5 th Freedom); and to strengthen the knowledge base and competitiveness through the Top-Level Research Initiative. Areas of joint EU and NCM priority

13. Nordic Council of Ministers Friday, May 30, 201413 To be more concrete… The four thematic pillars of the EU Baltic Sea Action Plan: To make the Baltic Sea Region an environmentally sustainable place To make the Baltic Sea Region a prosperous place To make the Baltic Sea Region an accessible and attractive place To make the Baltic Sea Region a safe and secure place Here, NCM works to develop a free, fair and efficient electricity market. The NCM also collaborates with other regional partners such as BASREC on important issues like energy efficiency and renewable energy. Areas of joint EU and NCM priority

14. Nordic Council of Ministers Friday, May 30, 201414 To be more concrete… The four thematic pillars of the EU Baltic Sea Action Plan: To make the Baltic Sea Region an environmentally sustainable place To make the Baltic Sea Region a prosperous place To make the Baltic Sea Region an accessible and attractive place To make the Baltic Sea Region a safe and secure place Here NCM works for example to increase responsiveness to health threats; preempt all kinds of human trafficking; and fight other serious forms of cross boarder crimes. Areas of joint EU and NCM priority

15. Nordic Council of Ministers Friday, May 30, 201415 NCMs role in the EU Baltic Sea Action Plan It is because of the many areas of joint NCM and EU priority that the NCM has contributed actively to the European Commissions preparation of the EU Baltic Sea Action Plan.

16. Nordic Council of Ministers Friday, May 30, 201416 NCMs role in the EU Baltic Sea Action Plan NCM is likely to take the lead in some flagship projects. NCM will participate actively as partner in a number of other projects. And NCM will support the Action Plan in being a living document by proposing future new collaboration projects when opportunities appear. It is because of the many areas of joint NCM and EU priority that the NCM has contributed actively to the European Commissions preparation of the EU Baltic Sea Action Plan. As a result:

17. Nordic Council of Ministers Friday, May 30, 201417 Thank you More information available on: www.norden.org