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Nordic Council of Ministers
How to enhance cross-border cooperation on local development and governance?
Šarūnas Radvilavičius
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Nordic Council of MinistersCONCEPTS OF CBC
WIDER MEANING = international cooperation;
- cooperation on national level;- cooperation of border
authorities.
NARROW MEANING: - concrete border as obstacle and
possibility;- cooperation on local/regional
level;NB: land and sea borders
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Nordic Council of MinistersCBC in Baltic Sea Region
• Separate projects;• Town-twinning;• NGOs;• Euroregions;
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Nordic Council of MinistersEUROREGION - definition
• Cooperation on local/regional level;
• Formalized political cooperation (agreement);
• Permanent joint structures (Council, Board, Secretariat etc.);
• Broad field of collective actions;
• Cross-border oriented activities.
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Nordic Council of MinistersEUROREGIONS
• Platform for local partnership:- Local/regional authorities;- Representatives of national
authorities;- Local NGOs;- Local business;- High schools etc.
• Cross-sectoral:- Education;- Social and labour policies;- Economic development;- Environment;- Culture etc.
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Nordic Council of Ministers
WHY CBC AND EUROREGIONS?
• Political function (peaceful neighborhood);
• Solution of specific problems of border regions (peripheral status, border as obstacle for development, divided communities etc.);
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Nordic Council of Ministers
LEVELS OF COOPERATION
Euroregions in Western Europe, Nordic countries
• Strategic level:- tool for socio-economic
development of the region;- services for community;
Euroregions in Central and Eastern Europe
• Project level:- “fancy name” as umbrella for
projects;- politically loaded;
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Nordic Council of Ministers
Project of the Nordic Council of Ministers “Cross-border cooperation in the Baltic Countries and North-West Russia”
2002-2005
GOAL
To facilitate creation of a network of CBC regions/euroregions in the Baltic states and North-West Russia, which can be linked with a network existing in the Nordic countries.
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Nordic Council of Ministers
1. Euregio Karelia (FIN, RUS);2. Finnish –Estonian co-operation 3+3 (ЕЕ, FIN);3. Peipsi Center for Transboundary Cooperation (EE, RUS);4. Helsinki-Talllinn Euregio (EE, FIN);5. Euregio Pskov-Livonia (EE, LV, RUS);6. Euroregion Bartuva (LV, LT);7. Euroregion Country of Lakes (LV, LT, BY);8. Euroregion Saulė (LV, LT, RUS);9. Euroregion Neman (LT, RUS, PL, BY);10. Euroregion Šešupė (LT, PL, RUS) 11. Euroregion Baltic (LV, LT, RUS, SE, DK, PL)12. B7 Islands (EE, FIN, DK, SE, DE)
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Nordic Council of MinistersGOOD PRACTICE EXAMPLE
Partenariat meeting of local businessmen, Polva, Estonia, 14 December 2004:
Partners:Euregio Pskov-Livonia (EE, LV, RUS)Østfold-Bohuslän Border Committee (SE,
NO)
- 50 local businessmen- 200 meetings- New business contracts ???
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Nordic Council of Ministers
INTERREG IIIB project BALTIC EUROREGIONAL NETWORK (BEN)
Goal: Establishment of a network of CBC regions/euroregions in the Baltic Sea Region.
Participants: around local, regional and national authorities, euroregions, NGOs, international organizations from the BSR;
Activities: training seminars, network meetings, regional seminars, national roundtables; information material etc.
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Nordic Council of MinistersŠARŪNAS RADVILAVIČIUS
Nordic Council of Ministers office in LithuaniaDidžioji g. 5, LT-01128, Vilnius, Litauentel. +370 5 2123697 mobile: +370 614 04545fax: +370 5 2122423e-mail: [email protected]://www.norden.lt/