The Freedom of Movement Council
Background
During the 65th Session of the Nordic Council in October 2013, the Nordic prime ministers signed a joint declaration to combat obstacles to freedom of movement in the Nordic Region. This declaration was linked to a dedicated strategy and action plan aimed at removing obstacles to mobility between the Nordic countries. To further strengthen this work and streamline efforts in tackling these cross-border obstacles, the Nordic governments established the Freedom of Movement Council on 1 January 2014.
Role
The Freedom of Movement Council's primary role is to influence the national political and administrative systems with the aim of ensuring favourable conditions for those wanting to work in, move to, study in, or start or run a business across borders in the Nordic Region. The work of the Freedom of Movement Council should support the Vision 2030 goal of making the Nordic Region the most sustainable and integrated region in the world.
The Freedom of Movement Council works on resolving cross-border obstacles between the Nordic countries and focusing on overarching thematic areas, preventing the emergence of new cross-border obstacles, and increasing and enhancing the effectiveness of information efforts aimed at residents and businesses in the Nordic Region.
The national members
The Freedom of Movement Council consists of ten members. Eight are national members from Denmark, Finland, the Faroese Islands, Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Sweden and Åland. The members are a unique group of individuals with backgrounds in Nordic politics, public administration or business.
Additionally, the Council includes a representative of the Nordic Council and the Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers.
Mission
The Freedom of Movement Council has been given a special mandate by the Ministers for Nordic Co-operation to promote mobility, free movement, and growth in the Nordic Region by:
- Resolving existing cross-border obstacles
- Preventing the emergence of new cross-border obstacles
- Increase and enhance the effectiveness of information efforts.
These main tasks are broadly divided into eight objectives that form the core of the Freedom of Movement Council's work:
- Contribute to Vision 2030, specifically by elevating issues of cross-border obstacles and Nordic mobility on the Nordic agenda, in order to foster a more integrated Nordic Region.
- Conclude five to eight cross-border obstacles per year and strive to ensure that the cross-border obstacles are concluded within five years. If necessary, pioritise these obstacles or other issues on an ad-hoc basis outside the standard process to enhance Nordic integration.The complexity of the cross-border obstacle plays a crucial role in how quickly it can be resolved. If it is determined that the obstacle cannot be resolved, it is given a "not resolved" status, and the Council generally discontinues further work on it. However, if there is political will, the obstacle can be reprioritised.
- Collaborate with the responsible sectors at the Nordic Council of Ministers on overarching issues that represent common cross-border obstacles in the Nordic Region, as a means to promote Nordic integration and mobility.
- Conclude cross-border obstacles linked to a specific sector through cross-sectoral co-operation with the sectors in the Nordic Council of Ministers.
- At least once a year, engage in discussions about cross-border obstacle efforts with the Ministers for Nordic Co-operation and when necessary, with other relevant ministerial councils and officials. Additionally, the Secretary General acts as a liaison to the ministerial councils.
- Initiate necessary and relevant reports and analyses, and contribute to solution-oriented seminars to support efforts to eliminate and prevent cross-border obstacles within the Nordic Region.
- Enhance co-operation with the information services
- During crises, to enhance the knowledge base for more efficient Nordic coordination concerning mobility issues. This is achieved by alerting national governments, relevant ministerial councils, and sectors to problems emerging in the Nordic Region, particularly in border areas, and offering their expertise and network.
The national members are tasked with concluding 5–8 cross-border obstacles annually. In addition to this quantitative goal, the Freedom of Movement Council has qualitative goals aimed at resolving cases that have the greatest impact on Nordic mobility. Therefore, it also works within various thematic areas.
As an intergovernmental collaboration, Nordic co-operation places the primary responsibility for resolving cross-border obstacles on governments, departments, ministries, national parliaments, agencies and other national bodies. Additionally, efforts to enhance freedom of movement necessitate collaborative engagements with a range of stakeholders, including the Nordic Council Freedom of Movement Group, information services, border committees, labour market parties, and business organisations.
Countries are also essential in providing legal and specialised expertise. Each country designates contact persons within their departments to assist their national member in identifying, researching, and solving cross-border obstacles. Additionally, countries are tasked with reviewing and validating the quality of cross-border obstacle reports in the Freedom of Movement Database, from initial entry to any updates. To uphold their commitment to support seamless Nordic integration, countries should also aim to prevent the emergence of new cross-border obstacles, particularly when enacting national laws or implementing EU/EEA regulations.
Individually or collectively, the national members prioritise a number of cross-border obstacles they believe need to be resolved in order to achieve the vision's goals and to promote mobility. The Freedom of Movement Council prioritises cross-border obstacles that arise mainly in the labour market, social affairs, education, and business sectors, and which primarily consist of laws, public regulations, or practices that hinder individuals' mobility or companies' opportunities to operate across borders in the Nordic Region.
The Freedom of Movement Council primarily deals with cross-border obstacles identified at the grassroots level, i.e., obstacles identified by Info Norden, Grensetjänsten Norge-Sverige, Øresunddirekt, and Gränstjänsten Sverige-Finland-Norge, as well as border committees in their contacts with Nordic residents and businesses.
The national members monitor, push forward, and work with their prioritised obstacles until they have been resolved or the relevant minister/department has indicated that it cannot be resolved.
The chairperson of the Freedom of Movement Council also has the opportunity to participate in various ministerial meetings and committee meetings of officials to raise issues central to Nordic mobility.
Meetings
The Freedom of Movement Council holds an annual kick-off meeting during the first quarter of the year, with a special focus on planning and developing the year's work on cross-border obstacles. In addition to the kick-off meeting, the Freedom of Movement Council normally conducts three annual operational meetings at which members review and report on their achievements in their national work on cross-border obstacles and the challenges they face. The Freedom of Movement Council also has a joint review and dialogue meeting with the Ministers for Nordic Co-operation every year.
The Freedom of Movement Council also collaborates with the Nordic Council Freedom of movement Group and participates in meetings with the Nordic Council's parliamentarians 1-2 times per year. The Freedom of Movement Council normally attends the Nordic Council's annual session in the autumn, at which it also holds a meeting with the information services.
Some members of the Freedom of Movement Council also hold their own national meetings where the member meets their national network, which can consist of department officials, agency representatives and information services.
National work and co-operation
The members of the Freedom of Movement Council primarily work nationally through their national networks. However, a majority of the prioritised cross-border obstacles are prioritised by two or more members, and the mission therefore also requires co-operation and joint advocacy efforts on cross-border obstacles and challenges that affect several countries, both among the members themselves but also between the national administrations.
Below is an illustration of the Freedom of Movement Council's broad network, support functions and coordination functions.
