January, 2006
Ole Stavad, new President of the Nordic Council 2006Ole Stavad from Denmark was unanimously elected as the new President of the Nordic Council in 2006 at the Nordic Council’s Session in Reykjavik on 27 October 2005. He has been Chairman of the Danish Delegation to the Nordic Council since 2001. Ole Stavad has twice been Minister of Taxation, and he then became Minister of Trade and Industry until the change of government in Denmark in 2001. Thus he is fully cognisant of the working conditions of parliamentary co-operation in the Nordic Council of Ministers.
Ole Stavad from Denmark was unanimously elected as the new President of the Nordic Council in 2006 at the Nordic Council’s Session in Reykjavik on 27 October 2005. He has been Chairman of the Danish Delegation to the Nordic Council since 2001. Ole Stavad has twice been Minister of Taxation, and he then became Minister of Trade and Industry until the change of government in Denmark in 2001. Thus he is fully cognisant of the working conditions of parliamentary co-operation in the Nordic Council of Ministers.
Both the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Nordic Council are committed to strengthening co-operation, not just in the Nordic countries but in the entire Baltic Sea Region. Ole Stavad has thus been an active participant in the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC) which gathers parliamentarians from all the Baltic Sea countries. He wants fewer fine speeches and more tangible co-operation – also in relation to his Russian parliamentary colleagues.
“The time for polite talk is over. It is now time to roll up our sleeves and to begin a concrete partnership between the Nordic Council and the Russian parliamentarians on political issues. Political bridge building in Russia is one of the results of the co-operation which has already begun. We have established a well-functioning and tangible partnership with our parliamentary colleagues in the Baltic Assembly, which will hopefully serve as a model for the growing co-operation with Russian parliamentarians. A future development could be a three-way partnership between the Nordic Council, the Baltic Assembly and the Russian parliamentary assemblies.
This was Ole Stavad’s conclusion following the Nordic Council’s Presidium meeting in December in Helsinki where the future of parliamentary co-operation in the whole region was discussed. In addition to establishing tangible working meetings with the Russian parliamentarians in the Stats Duma, the Federation Council and Northwest Russia’s assembly, the Presidium discussed the possibility of extending the international debate at the Nordic Council Session to give all the international co-operation partners better opportunities for dialogue.
Ole Stavad has high ambitions for Nordic co-operation. He wants the annual Session to be a Nordic summit for senior ministers and party leaders, who decide the joint Nordic agenda – including co-operation with other countries’ governments and parliaments. The new President emphasises that the region has the best answers to today’s challenges such as globalisation:
“We in the Nordic countries have something to offer. Our Nordic strength is the common values that our society is built on. There are lots of differences and conflicting interests with the Nordic region but we have values and social models which have proved to be sustainable. We must therefore become better at using Nordic co-operation as a spring board and the foundation for mutual efforts in a globalised world. The Nordic model is perhaps the best response to globalisation and rapid change.
Ole Stavad was born in 1949. He has been a member of parliament for the Social Democratic party since 1980. He was elected to represent Northern Jutland, where he lives in Brovst. He was Vice-Chairman of the Social Democratic party from 1995-2000. The new Vice-President will be Kristian Pihl Lorentzen, who has been Vice-Chairman of the Nordic Council's Danish Delegation since the election in February 2005. He is from the Liberal Party (Venstre) and is an army major by profession. Denmark holds the Presidency of the Nordic Council in 2006, so the next Session will be held in Copenhagen in November 2006.
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The whole of Europe is concentrating on globalisation and its impact on competitiveness, including the new EU member Poland. At the Polish Lisbon Strategy Forum III on 2 December, the Finnish Prime Minister, Matti Vanhanen, and the Polish EU Commissioner for Regional Policy, Danuta Hubner, spoke about innovation and development in the Baltic Sea Region seen in relation to the EU’s Lisbon Process.
Per Unckel, the Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers, spoke about the major development potential in the Region and about the Baltic Sea Initiative 2010.
"The Baltic Sea Region has huge development potential which is far from exhausted. The combination of similarities and differences must and can be utilised in a way that will free up development potential in the Region. One of our assets is a highly educated workforce," he said.
At a recent meeting in Stockholm, the Baltic Development Forum published a new "State of the Region” report. It shows that while the Region is making progress, other regions are doing the same too, which should be a signal that further action is needed. The Baltic Sea Initiative 2010 – ”a network of networks” currently headed up by the Nordic Council of Ministers - has an important role to play in promoting these activities. Polish participation is important in this context. A major Baltic country, Poland is in a position to help the Baltic Sea Region show its strength.
Nordic co-operation on business: http://www.norden.org/naering/sk
Polish Lisbon Strategy Forum III: http://www.pfsl.pl/news.php?id=289&LNG=EN
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Nordic consultants, institutions and organisations in the field of knowledge and innovation have been asked by the Nordic Council of Ministers to conduct new analytical studies of their speciality.
A DKK 1.4 million pool has been set aside for four different studies in the Council of Ministers’ research, education, training and IT sector. The aim is to identify development opportunities in knowledge and innovation, which can be made the subject of closer Nordic co-operation and policy development. Tenders had to be submitted in writing by 19 December 2005. The four studies are:
Study 1: Interaction strategies between research, higher education and business – where are we now, what works? Comparative study of the Nordic countries.
Study 2: Comparative analysis of the Nordic countries’ systems for quality assurance in higher education.
Study 3: The consequences of opening up national research programmes to the rest of the Nordic Region – advantages and disadvantages, and what are the alternative costs of not opening up?
Study 4: Reading skills in the Nordic countries – how to explain, for example, the conclusions reached by the Pisa studies?
Tendering information: http://www.norden.org/it/sk/NMR-studier.pdf
Social services in the Nordic countries form part of the Nordic welfare model. Similarities and differences in Nordic social services and how knowledge in this field is developing are described in an anthology just published by the Nordic Council of Ministers.
The book “Empiricism, Evidence, Empathy” (Nord 2005:005) is an expression of Nordic voices in the development of knowledge in social work. The anthology describes the work done to strengthen this area in the Nordic countries in the last few years. The book gives examples from each country and also describes some local projects.
This work of improving the development of knowledge in the social sector began more or less at the same time in the Nordic countries but has been implemented in different ways. Many Nordic common denominators form the background for this book, such as an aging population and the reduction of taxes at the same time as consumers are making greater demands.
An important issue raised by the anthology is what role the state should play in knowledge development.
Read the whole report: http://www.norden.org/pub/velfaerd/social_helse/sk/Nord2005005.pdf
Order the report: http://www.norden.org/pub/WebOrdering/sk/orderpub.asp?func=add&pubnr=2005:005
The Nordic Innovation Centre (NICe) is inviting applications for funding for Nordic micro-technology and nano-technology development projects. The deadline for applications to the NOK 10 million pool is 31 January 2006. The objective is to promote research relevant to the future.
The idea is to find commercial uses for micro-technology and nano-technology in the Nordic Region. Lifestyle products and health are two important keywords for the content of the projects.
NICe aims to capitalise on existing developments in micro-technology and nano-technology over the next two years. The organisers hope that industry will benefit from existing development and production processes and that Nordic competitiveness will improve.
NICe expects proposals for intelligent material and sensor technology projects with a view to lifestyle, health and safety applications.
One tangible example of the use of nano-technology is the paint products for trains, which have been designed to stop graffiti by making the surface so smooth that other paint will not stick.
For further information and details of the application procedure: http://www.nordicinnovation.net
The Nordic Innovation Centre is inviting Nordic and Baltic research institutions, business associations, industrial confederations and others to apply for funding to help develop a new Nordic innovation policy. The pool contains NOK 10 million.
The Nordic Innovation Centre (NICe) is inviting applications for grants to help build up a knowledge base and an innovation policy for the Nordic Region.
NICe envisages investing the NOK 10 million in 5-7 projects as part of a research portfolio which will underpin the four national innovation policy themes in each of the Nordic countries.
The four themes are: evaluation of innovation systems, processes and performance for policymakers - better innovation indicators for better policymaking: innovation in the service sector: better protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) and: bridging the finance gap: improving access to seed capital to Nordic and Baltic start-ups.
Application forms and procedure: http://www.nordicinnovation.net/article.cfm?id=1-834-593
Four cultural institutions due to close soon are to work with a local Norwegian organisation on a major project - an artistic expedition to the border country between Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia - i.e. the Barents Region.
The two-week project ’Connection Barents’ will take the form of a multidisciplinary art laboratory and symposium in the most northerly part of the Nordic Region from 17 June until 2 July 2006. Some 25 artists from Northwest Russia, the Nordic Region and the Baltic States will enjoy the opportunity to compare local, international, traditional and contemporary art and culture.
The manager of TheatreWorks (Singapore), Ong Keng Sen, will be the project’s artistic director. Along with a number of international navigators, he will guide the participants through an international artistic research lab. Local artists and guests will explore existing and new potential in the Barents Region and together they will present new artistic visions for daily life throughout the Region.
The Nordic Centre for the Performing Arts (NORDSCEN) is fronting the project and inviting stage performers, visual artists, musicians and writers to apply for places on Connection Barents by a deadline of 6 February 2006.
The other organisations involved are the Nordic Institute for Contemporary Art (NIFCA), the Nordic Literature and Library Committee (NORDBOK), the Nordic Music Committee (NOMUS) and the Norwegian cultural organisations ’Pikene på Broen’ from Kirkenes.
The project: http://www.connectionbarents.org
Nordscen: http://www.nordscen.org/index.php?langchoose=uk
Globalisation and how the Nordic Region faces challenges and changes are the main themes of the latest edition of the magazine ’’Working Life in the Nordic Countries’’. Much evidence suggests that the Nordic models generate success.
So far, the Nordic countries have been amongst those to cope best in increasingly fierce global competition. Despite the fact that globalisation was long seen as a threat to a strong welfare state, opinion-formers are now turning their attention to the Nordic countries and asking whether the opposite is actually the case. Is it perhaps the Nordic model, with its adequate welfare schemes, high levels of education, strong trade unions and an active labour market policy, which generates success? The question seems set to run and run.
Editor Berit Kvam points out the large number of warning signs. Positive relations between unions and employers are dependent on dialogue. Dialogue is the key to the Nordic ability to readjust rapidly whenever necessary. What will become of dialogue when business becomes internationalised and companies are just as large abroad as they are at home, or when workers’ rights are put to the test? Who will be allowed access to work and welfare when migration increases?
Never before has the world economy gone through such major changes so quickly, according to the experts. "Are the Nordic countries equipped to cope with the changes?" Kvam asks.
"The Nordic Council of Ministers has enjoyed close co-operation with Northwest Russia over the last decade. Considerable effort has been devoted to increasing the level of activity, also in Kaliningrad, so we are pleased to be opening a new office there. It fits well with our overall goal of closer co-operation throughout the Baltic Sea Region," the Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers, Per Unckel, said.
An agreement to open a new Nordic Council of Ministers’ office in Kaliningrad was signed in Moscow on 22 December 2005 by the Council of Ministers and the Russian Federation. The Nordic Council of Ministers has had offices in the Baltic capitals since 1991 and in St. Petersburg since 1995. Co-operation with Northwest Russia will now be taken a step further by greater involvement in Kaliningrad.
The Nordic Council of Ministers sees co-operation with Northwest Russia and the three Baltic States as a top priority. Approximately 20% of the Council of Ministers’ budget is spent in the area. The latest initiatives involve co-operation with Belarus as well, e.g. the cross-border regional project Baltic Euro-Regional Network, which also includes border areas in Belarus, and a new project to fund the Belarussian university, European Humanities University (EHU), which was closed by the authorities in Minsk in July 2004 and has now moved to Vilnius in Lithuania", the Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers, Per Unckel, said.
In collaboration with local bodies, the office will co-ordinate and implement the Council of Ministers’ Russia Programme in Kaliningrad - in particular in relation to the Nordic Council of Ministers’ new guidelines and programme for co-operation with Northwest Russia. The Nordic Council of Ministers’ exchange and networking programme for civil servants, researchers, artists, politicians and business will be open to citizens of Kaliningrad.
The Nordic Council of Ministers’ Russia Programme, pdf: http://www.norden.org/naromraaden/sk/Rysslandsprogram%202006-08%20-%20SK.pdf
The Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in St. Petersburg: http://www.norden.ru
"The time for polite phrases has passed. The time has now come to roll up our sleeves and get on with tangible co-operation between the Nordic Council and Russian parliamentarians about political issues”, the next President of the Nordic Council, Ole Stavad, said when the Council Presidium discussed the parliamentary co-operation of the future on Thursday in Helsinki.
"Building political bridges to Russia represents progression in the partnership we have already started to build up. We have established positive and tangible partnerships with fellow MPs in the Baltic Assembly, which will hopefully serve as a model for closer co-operation with Russian colleagues. In the future, we hope this will expand into a tripartite collaboration between the Nordic Council, the Baltic Assembly and the Russian parliamentary assemblies.
As well as setting up actual working meetings with members of the Russian State Duma, the Federal Council and the Northwest Russia Parliamentary Assembly, the Presidium also discussed the potential for opening up the international debate at the Nordic Council Session to all international partners as one means of improving dialogue.
It was also proposed that the current scheme to provide grants to Russian parliamentarians should target young MPs in particular. A specific issue on which to work together was the follow-up to the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Russia Programme. The first opportunity for an actual working meeting could be at the Nordic Council’s January meeting in Oslo.
The next President of the Nordic Council, Ole Stavad: http://www.norden.org/nr/presidiet/2006/uk/president.asp?lang=6
The Nordic Council of Ministers’ Russia Programme: http://www.norden.org/pub/sk/showpub.asp?pubnr=2004:447
"One of our strengths is that the Nordic countries are leaders in the use of information and communications technology. However, we need to continue to focus our efforts if we want to maintain and make the most of that position of strength in the face of international competition."
The Danish Minister of Science, Helge Sander, addressed a seminar organised by the Ministerial Council IT on 15 December 2005, at which new statistics were published about developments in the Nordic information society and in the Baltic Sea Region as a whole. In general, levels of IT use by Nordic companies are very high. IT is an integrated part of daily life for ordinary citizens as well as the public and private sectors.
A new report written by consultants Deloitte for the Nordic Council of Ministers was also launched: IT privacy – a prerequisite or a hindrance for Nordic citizens?
One subject it deals with is the dichotomy of law-abiding citizens finding their private lives under scrutiny while organised crime is able to exploit new technology anonymously. The report sums it up like this:
"A whole series of dilemmas arise about when and to what extent privacy may or may not be invaded in the war on crime."
Nordic Information Society Statistics 2005: http://www.norden.org/pub/sk/showpub.asp?pubnr=2005:562
IT privacy – a prerequisite or a hindrance for Nordic citizens?: http://www.norden.org/pub/sk/showpub.asp?pubnr=2005:590 [da]
The Nordic health ministers discussed setting up a joint Nordic facility for the production of influenza vaccine at their meeting on 16 December 2005. They agreed to keep working on a joint method of securing supplies in the event of a pandemic. The great fear is a repeat of the Spanish flu, which killed almost 40 million people in 1918-1919.
The Ministers discussed their national preferences and the "Nordic Council of Ministers’ Study of Potential Joint Nordic Production of Influenza Vaccine”. The report suggests two possible options - a private-public partnership or a public-sector solution.
To inject an element of dynamism into the process, Sweden is looking into a Private Public Partnership model. A solution based on Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen, currently the only public-sector institution in the Nordic Region producing vaccine, is also being considered. Both studies will report back to a working party chaired by the 2006 Norwegian Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers.
The Norwegians were mandated to convene a new meeting by March 2006 to find out which model the various countries would prefer.
The Nordic Council of Ministers, co-operation on social and health issues: http://www.norden.org/social/uk/index.asp?lang=6
The Nordic governments yesterday set up a new Nordic Maritime Policy Group chaired by Tore Riise from the Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs. The Group will provide input from the Nordic Region to the European maritime policy, which covers all sectors involved in marine activities.
While the Canadians and others may refer to "Ocean Governance", the EU talks about maritime policy. The Nordic countries, whether in the EU or not, have just submitted national input to the EU’s so-called Green Book on Maritime Policy.
"I am extremely pleased that the Group has been established so we can draw up and publicise a maritime policy for the Nordic Region. The Nordic Region has a great deal of multisectoral experience and knowledge to contribute to this process. The new Group will enable us to provide joint Nordic input to the EU maritime policy", Bo Lindroos, Head of the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Environment and Resources Department, said at the start of the meeting.
Sustainable development is a recurring theme in European maritime policy, which places great emphasis on the sea, the fisheries industry and shipping. The intention is to provide all industries with growth opportunities. At the same time, the policy will also pay due attention to biological diversity, the climate and the environment in general. The EU marine strategy is an environmental strategy which has now been published as an EU Directive.
The international conference “STOP Trafficking in Human Beings! The Nordic – Baltic Campaign Against Trafficking in Women. Effective Ways to Move Forward” was held in Riga, 8-10 December 2005.
The conference was organised by the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Information Office in Riga, the women’s centre “Marta” and Riga City Council. The 120 participants from the Nordic and Baltic countries discussed the progress of the anti-trafficking campaign and how the work can be carried forward.
Riga has attracted increasing numbers of tourists, especially since Latvia joined the EU. Large numbers of Latvians are also enjoying the new opportunities to travel. but the campaign focuses on the small group of women who have been forced to live abroad in miserable conditions and work as prostitutes. The Nordic Council Left-wing Socialist and Green Group has just addressed the problem after the Danish newspaper BT exposed hotels where employees accept money under the table to procure prostitutes. The Left on the Nordic Council has called for a boycott of those hotels.
The Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Riga: http://www.norden.lv/Norden_EN/News.htm
Nordic co-operation on gender equality: http://www.norden.org/gender/sk
The Nordic Council of Ministers and the EU Commission have signed an agreement this week to run a project to provide backing for the Belarussian university, European Humanities University (EHU). The last independent university in Belarus, EHU was closed by the authorities in Minsk in July 2004 and is now based in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.
Per Unckel, the Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers emphasised that backing for the university represents support for democracy and human rights in Belarus. Support for EHU is also part of a broader Nordic commitment to Belarus. Another example is the cross-border regional project Baltic Euro-Regional Network, which also covers border areas in Belarus. Both projects are close partnerships between the EU and the Nordic Council of Ministers.
The new funding for EHU will allow 350 students from Belarus to study a number of subjects and gain recognised European qualifications. The funding from the EU Commission is being channelled through its programme European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights. The new three-year project has a budget of approximately DKK 20 million. As well as the EU and the Nordic Council of Ministers, Finland and Sweden are also providing bilateral aid to the project.
Press release:: http://www.norden.org/webb/pressrelease/pressrelease.asp?id=1332
European Humanities University: http://www.ehu-international.org/index_eng.html
