Nordic Council

Nordic Council
Formation	1952 (Nordic Council) 1971 (Nordic Council of Ministers)
Type	International organisation
Headquarters	Copenhagen, Denmark
Official languages	Danish Norwegian Swedish
President	Henrik Dam Kristensen
Director (Secretariat)	Jan-Erik Enestam
Chairman	Jan Vapaavuori
General Secretary (Secretariat)	Halldór Ásgrímsson

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The Nordic Council is a geo-political, inter-parliamentary forum for co-operation between the Nordic countries. It was established following World War II and its first concrete result was the introduction in 1952 of a common labour market and free movement across borders without passports for the countries' citizens.

In 1971 the Nordic Council of Ministers was established to complement the Nordic Council, providing an intergovernmental forum.

History

During the Second World War Denmark and Norway were occupied by Germany, Finland fought a costly war with the USSR, and Sweden, though neutral, still felt the war's effects. Following the war, the Nordic countries pursued the idea of a Scandinavian defence union to ensure their mutual defence. However Finland, due to its closeness to the USSR, could not participate. They would unify their foreign policy and defence and remain neutral in the event of a conflict and not ally with NATO, which was being planned at the time. The United States, keen on getting access to bases in Scandinavia and believing the Nordic countries incapable of defending themselves, stated it would not ensure military support for Scandinavia if they did not join NATO. The project collapsed as a result with Denmark, Norway and Iceland joining NATO.^[1]

Further Nordic co-operation, such as an economic customs union, also failed. This led then-Danish Prime Minister Hans Hedtoft to propose in 1951 a consultative inter-parliamentary body. This proposal was agreed by Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden in 1952.^[2] The Council's first session was held in the Danish Parliament on 13 February 1953 and it elected Hans Hedtoft as its president. When Finnish-Soviet relations thawed following the death of Joseph Stalin Finland joined the council in 1955.^[3]

On 2 July 1954 the Nordic labour market was created and in 1958, building upon a 1952 passport-free travel area, the Nordic Passport Union was created. These two measures helped ensure Nordic citizens' free movement around Scandinavia. A Nordic Convention on Social Security was implemented in 1955. There were also plans for a single market but they were abandoned in 1959 shortly before Denmark, Norway and Sweden joined the European Free Trade Area (EFTA). Finland became an associated member of EFTA in 1961 and Denmark and Norway applied to join the European Economic Community (EEC).^[3]

This move towards the EEC led to desire for a formal Nordic treaty; the Helsinki Treaty outlined the workings of the Council and came into force on 24 March 1962. Further advancements on Nordic cooperation were made in the following years: a Nordic School of Public Health, a Nordic Cultural Fund and Nordic House in Reykjavík. Then-Danish Prime Minister Hilmar Baunsgaard proposed full economic cooperation in 1968; known as Nordek. Nordek was agreed in 1970 but Finland backtracked stating that due to its ties with the USSR it could not form close economic ties with potential members of the EEC (Denmark and Norway).^[3]

Due to the failure of Nordek, Denmark and Norway applied to the EEC and the Nordic Council of Ministers was set up in 1971 to ensure continued Nordic cooperation.^[4] In 1970 representatives of the Faroe Islands and Åland were allowed to take part in the Nordic Council as part of the Danish and Finnish delegations.^[3] Norway turned down EEC membership in 1972 while Denmark acted as a bridge builder between the EEC and the Nordics.^[5] Also in 1973, although Finland did not opt for full membership of the EEC, Finland negotiated a free trade treaty with the EEC that in practice removed customs duties from 1977 on, although there were transition periods up to 1985 for some products. Sweden did not apply due to its non-alliance policy, which was aimed at preserving neutrality. Greenland subsequently left the EEC and has since sought a more active role in circumpolar affairs.

In the 1970s the Nordic Council founded the Nordic Industrial Fund, Nordtest and Nordic Investment Bank. the Council's remit was expanded to environmental protection; in order to clean up the pollution in the Baltic Sea and North Atlantic, and a joint energy network was established. The Nordic Science Policy Council was set up in 1983^[5] and in 1984 representatives from Greenland were allowed to join the Danish delegation.^[3]

Following the fall of the USSR in 1991 the Nordic Council began to cooperate more with the Baltic States and new Baltic Sea organisations. It also led to Sweden and Finland joining the EEC in 1995, which had then become the European Union (EU). Norway had also applied but voted against once again.^[6] However Norway and Iceland did join the European Economic Area (EEA) which integrated them economically with the EU. The Nordic Passport Union was also subsumed into the EU's Schengen Area in 1996.

The Nordic Council became more outward looking, to the Arctic, Baltic, Europe and Canada. The Øresund Bridge linking Sweden and Denmark led to a large amount of cross-border travel leading to further efforts to reduce barriers.^[6] However the initially envisioned tasks and functions of the Nordic Council have become partially dormant due to the significant overlap with the EU and EEA. Since 2008 Iceland has also sought EU membership.^[7]

Structure

The Nordic Council has 87 members, elected among the members of the national parliaments. The composition of the council reflects the relative representation of the political parties in the national parliaments. It holds its main session in the autumn, while a so-called theme session is arranged in the spring. Each of the national delegations has its own secretariat in the national parliament. The autonomous territories—Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Åland—also have Nordic secretariats.^[8]

The Nordic Council uses the three Continental-Scandinavian languages (Danish, Norwegian and Swedish) as its official working languages, however it publishes material in Finnish, Icelandic and English, as well.^[9] Under the Nordic Language Convention, since 1987, citizens of the Nordic countries have the opportunity to use their native language when interacting with official bodies in other Nordic countries without being liable to any interpretation or translation costs. The Convention covers visits to hospitals, job centres, the police and social security offices. The languages included are Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish and Icelandic.^[10]

The Nordic Council and the Council of Ministers have their headquarters in Store Strandstræde in Copenhagen and various installations in each separate country, as well as many offices in neighbouring countries. The Council does not have any formal power on its own, but each government has to implement any decisions through its country's legislative assembly (parliament). With Denmark, Norway and Iceland being members of NATO and Finland and Sweden being neutral, the Nordic Council has not been involved in any military cooperation.

Council of Ministers

The original Nordic Council concentrates on inter-parliamentary cooperation. The Nordic Council of Ministers, founded in 1971, is responsible for inter-governmental cooperation. Prime Ministers have ultimate responsibility but this is usually delegated to the Minister for Nordic Cooperation and the Nordic Committee for Co-operation, which co-ordinates the day-to-day work. The autonomous territories have the same representation as states.^[11]

Members

Members of the Council:

State	Membership	Parliament	Membership status	Represented since	Members
Denmark	Full	Folketinget	Sovereign state	1952	16
Iceland	Full	Althing	Sovereign state	1952	7
Norway	Full	Storting	Sovereign state	1952	20
Sweden	Full	Riksdag	Sovereign state	1952	20
Finland	Full	Eduskunta	Sovereign state	1955	18
Greenland	Associate	Landsting	Self-governing region of the Danish realm	1984	2
Faroe Islands	Associate	Løgting	Self-governing region of the Danish realm	1970	2
Åland Islands	Associate	Lagting	Self-governing territory of Finland	1970	2

The Sámi political structures have long desired formal representation in the Council's structures, and are increasingly de facto included in activities touching upon their interests. In addition, the Faroe Islands have expressed their wishes for full membership in the Nordic Council instead of the current associate membership.

General Secretary

 ^{[clarification needed]}

•  Norway: Emil Vindsetmoe 1971–1973
•  Norway: Helge Seip 1973–1977
•  Norway: Gudmund Saxrud 1977–1982
•  Finland: Ilkka-Christian Björklund 1982–1987
•  Finland: Gehard af Schultén 1987–1989
•  Norway: Jostein Osnes 1990–1994
•  Sweden: Anders Wenström 1994–1996
•  Iceland: Berglind Ásgeirsdóttir 1996–1999
•  Norway: Frida Nokken 1999–2007
•  Finland: Jan-Erik Enestam 2007–

Future

Further information: Scandinavism

Some desire the Nordic Council's promotion of Nordic cooperation to go much further than at present. Gunnar Wetterberg, a Swedish historian and economist, wrote a book entered into the Nordic Council's year book that proposes the creation of a Nordic Federation from the Council in around a few decades.^[12]

See also

• Arctic Cooperation and Politics
• European Union
• Nordic Passport Union
• West Nordic Council
• Nordic countries
• Nordic Council Music Prize
• Nordic Council Film Prize
• Nordic Council's Literature Prize
• Baltic region
• Baltoscandia

References

1. ^ The plan for a Scandinavian Defence Union, European Navigator. Étienne Deschamps. Translated by the CVCE.
2. ^ Before 1952, Nordic Council
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} 1953-1971 Finland joins in and the first Nordic rights are formulated., Nordic Council
4. ^ The period up to 1971, Nordic Council of Ministers
5. ^ ^{a b} 1972–1989, Nordic Council of Ministers
6. ^ ^{a b} After 1989, Nordic Council of Ministers
7. ^ "Further Icelandic support for EU membership | IceNews - Daily News". Icenews.is. 2008-11-03. http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2008/11/03/further-icelandic-support-for-eu-membership/#more-4118. Retrieved 2009-07-11. 
8. ^ About the Nordic Council
9. ^ "Norden". Norden. Norden.org. 2009-09-11. http://www.norden.org/. Retrieved 2009-09-11. 
10. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
11. ^ The Nordic Council of Ministers
12. ^ Wetterberg, Gunnar (3 November 2010) Comment The United Nordic Federation, EU Observer

External links

• Official website
  • Nordic Council sub-site
  • Nordic Council of Ministers sub-site
  • Office in Saint Petersburg
  • Office in Kaliningrad