1. Nordic Council of Ministers Monday, December 14, 20151 The Nordic Council of Ministers and the EU Baltic Sea Strategy

2. Nordic Council of Ministers Monday, December 14, 20152 Introduction to presentation I. The Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM) and the Baltic Sea II. Many areas of joint EU and NCM priority III. NCM roles in the EU Baltic Sea Action Plan

3. Nordic Council of Ministers Monday, December 14, 20153 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 1990’s 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.

4. Nordic Council of Ministers Monday, December 14, 20154 The NCM and the Baltic Sea NCM works through 11 Minister Councils, 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 and Baltic Sea Region. Examples of areas of cooperation: research, education, innovation, culture, environment, energy and regional development

5. Nordic Council of Ministers Monday, December 14, 20155 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.

6. Nordic Council of Ministers Monday, December 14, 20156 Many 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

7. Nordic Council of Ministers Monday, December 14, 20157 Many 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 Here NCM works for example with HELCOM and implements a number of additional activities to conserve and improve marine environment in the Baltic Sea.

8. Nordic Council of Ministers Monday, December 14, 20158 Many 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 Here NCM works for example to further remove single market barriers; ensure the free movement of knowledge (5 th Freedom); and strengthen the knowledge base and competitiveness through the Top-level Research Initiative.

9. Nordic Council of Ministers Monday, December 14, 20159 Many 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 Here, NCM works for example 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.

10. Nordic Council of Ministers Monday, December 14, 201510 Many 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 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.

11. Nordic Council of Ministers Monday, December 14, 201511 NCM roles 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 Commission’s preparation of the EU Baltic Sea Action Plan. As a result:

12. Nordic Council of Ministers Monday, December 14, 201512 The NCM and the EU Baltic Sea Strategy Thank you More information available on: www.norden.org