The 'Nordic Council' and the 'Nordic Council of Ministers' is a co-operation forum for the parliaments and governments of 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, social security, and free movement across borders without passports for the countries' citizens.
On
31 October 2006, the
Icelander Halldór ÃsgrÃmsson was chosen as the new
secretary general for the
Nordic Council of Ministers. The current director of the Nordic Council is
Finn Jan-Erik Enestam.
Membership
Members of the Council:
Nations:
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★
★
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Autonomous territories:
★ (Denmark)
★ (Denmark)
★ (Finland)
In addition, the
Baltic countries of
Estonia,
Latvia, and
Lithuania have expressed their wishes to apply for membership in the Council. The Nordic Council opened its information offices in all three countries in
1991. Also there are two Nordic Council offices in
Northwestern Russia (in
Saint Petersburg and
Kaliningrad). The Nordic Scottish Islands have yet to show an interest.
The Faroe Islands have expressed their wishes for full membership in the Nordic Council instead of the current associate membership. This would lead to sessions being held in the Faroes, the presidency of the Council routinely being held by the Faroes and the Faroes paying their share of the Council's expenses.
[1]
Secretaries-general
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Emil Vindsetmoe 1971 -
1973
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Helge Seip 1973 -
1977
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Gudmund Saxrud 1977 -
1982
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Ilkka-Christian Björklund 1982 -
1987
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Gehard af Schultén 1987 -
1989
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Jostein Osnes 1990 -
1994
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Anders Wenström 1994 -
1996
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Berglind Asgeirsdóttir 1996 -
1999
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Frida Nokken 1999 -
2007
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Jan-Erik Enestam 2007 -
Organization
The Nordic Council and the Council of Ministers have offices 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.
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.
[1] 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.
[2][3][4]
The original Nordic Council concentrates on inter-parliamentary cooperation. The ''Nordic Council of Ministers'', founded in
1971, is responsible for inter-governmental cooperation.
Formation of the Council
In 1946 the Danish, Swedish and Norwegian ministers of justice decided to appoint a committee to draw up proposals on co-operation in the future on legislation in the Nordic region.
In February 1953 the Nordic Council became a reality. Finland joined the council in 1956. The formation of the council made it possible for Nordic parliamentarians to play a larger role in the process of developing co-operation on legislation.
Today the 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.
The Nordic Council 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 Ã…land - also have Nordic secretariats.
Alternative projects and plans
In the
1960s there were plans to develop the Nordic cooperation into an organisation similar to the
European Economic Community. A treaty was negotiated to establish a new organisation,
Nordek headquartered in
Malmö. Ultimately it was the case that Finland did not ratify the treaty due to its
relationship with the
Soviet Union. Without Finland the idea was defunct, and Norway and Denmark chose to apply for membership to the EEC. Denmark became a member of the EEC in
1973, but Norway rejected accession in the same year in a referendum. 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.
Sweden and Finland joined the
European Union in
1995. Norway has not joined, twice rejecting an offer of membership through a national referendum. Icelandic and Faroese public opinions are both solidly against EU membership.
The tasks of the Nordic Council overlap significantly with the
European Union and related organizations and treaties.
References
1. The Broad Agreement - Faroese coalition paper and Call for meeting on full membership for the Faroe
See also
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Nordic Passport Union
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West Nordic Council
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Scandinavia (disambiguation)
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Nordic countries
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Northern Dimension
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Nordic Council Music Prize
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Baltic region
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International organizations
External links
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Nordic Council - Official Site
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Office of Nordic Council in St. Petersburg - Official Site
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Nordic FAQ
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