10 highlights  

Info Norden is the oldest and only pan-Nordic information service for residents of the Nordic countries. The service is central to the work of the Nordic Council of Ministers to realise its vision 2030 of a competitive and integrated Nordic Region with free movement for citizens and businesses.

1. 25 years with Info Norden: In 2023, Info Norden celebrated 25 years of information on free movement and combating border barriers in the Nordic countries. The anniversary was marked in connection with the session of the Nordic Council in Oslo, and with a conference in Copenhagen.
2. Record number of visits to the Info Norden web pages: In 2023, for the first time ever, the Info Norden web pages were visited more than two million times. The pages were viewed 2.6 million times, and users were especially looking for information about Norway. Seven of Info Norden’s ten most-read articles are about Norway.
3. The Info Norden web pages are ever more efficiently ensuring that users find relevant information online: The number of inquiries has decreased from 5,370 in the record year 2022 to 4,614 in 2023, but the rising number of visits to Info Norden’s webpages shows that more users are finding the information they need without having to contact Info Norden. The proportion of inquiries in relation to the number of web visits has thus been reduced from 2.8 inquiries per 1,000 web visits in 2022 to 2.3 in 2023. This is in line with the efforts of Info Norden to ensure that as many users as possible can find the answers they are looking for at norden.org.
4. Easier access to reporting border barriers: Info Norden has intensified its communication on collecting information on border barriers by making it even clearer to users how they can use Info Norden’s channels to report potential border barriers and other problems relating to cross-border mobility. The proportion of user inquiries that Info Norden has registered as possible examples of border barriers increased in 2023 to 32.9 per 1,000 inquiries, as compared to 25.5 the previous year.
5. Nordic cooperation as a good example in Brussels: Info Norden spoke at the “State of the Union Citizens’ Rights” conference of the European Citizen Action Services concerning the work of providing information and support to citizens and businesses in the Nordic Region, and about other aspects of Nordic cooperation. Info Norden presented the vision of the Nordic Council of Ministers for the Nordic Region to become the world’s most integrated region, and briefed on both historical and current initiatives to combat obstacles and barriers and promote mobility in the Nordic Region.
6. Theme meetings on Nordic border barriers: In 2023, Info Norden organised a series of themed meetings for its partners on border barriers. The meetings provided an important joint Nordic perspective on issues that are usually dealt with at national or EU level. Info Norden held an information meeting for the Finnish Border Barrier Network on the EU Single Digital Gateway Regulation and on implementing the Once-Only Technical System in the Nordic countries. During a study visit by the Social Security Committee of the Swedish parliament to Oslo, Info Norden provided information on Nordic border barriers within the remit of the committee.
7. Focus on Info Norden’s media expertise: In 2023, Info Norden’s activities were highlighted in several Nordic media, both in connection with the anniversary and because of the expertise of Info Norden’s project managers in the area of freedom of movement in the Nordic countries. The publicity for Info Norden has shed light on the many opportunities and challenges faced by Nordic residents when moving, commuting or studying across Nordic borders, including emigration from Finland to Norway, problems with obtaining a bank account in Sweden, and special Nordic rights for Nordic citizens.
8. Nordic co-operation on the agenda on Nordic Day: On 23 March, Nordic Day, the Nordic co-operation celebrated its role as the world’s oldest regional co-operation, inter alia with debates on current Nordic issues. Info Norden contributed to events in several different countries on the day. At one debate, the Nordic ambassadors were called upon to commit to strengthening the cooperation between the Nordic countries, while in another, candidates for the Finnish Parliament discussed how best to combine national and common Nordic interests in a way that will benefit citizens and businesses in the Nordic countries. The events brought together more than 1,000 participants in total.
9. Info Norden reaches out to the youth of the West Nordic Region: In several parts of the West Nordic Region, Info Norden has participated in activities aimed at raising public awareness. Info Norden has provided information about the possibilities of working and studying abroad via a tour of settlements in South Greenland, stands at career fairs, and information meetings at youth study programmes in the Faroe Islands and Iceland.
10. Good dialogue with the Nordic embassies: Info Norden has developed positive and constructive cooperation with the Nordic embassies. The dialogue focuses in particular on facilitating an effective exchange of information concerning the challenges faced by residents of the Nordic countries when they wish to move to, work in or study in another Nordic country. During the year, Info Norden and the embassies have been in contact both at formal joint information meetings and via ongoing dialogue on specific issues.

For more than 25 years, Info Norden has placed the Nordic Region on the agenda, so that we politicians can make things easier for citizens in their everyday lives. I am convinced that Info Norden will be needed for many years to come, because the Nordic Region is made up of eight countries with different sets of legislation that are constantly evolving.”

What is Info Norden?