The MR-SAM have a special responsibility to contribute towards highlighting the vision, the three strategic priorities and other Nordic affairs nationally and within the Nordic Region, and to ensure that this work is followed up on. The MR-SAM strive towards achieving a stronger and more ambitious level of co-operation by contributing towards the delivery of Nordic solutions, new and in-demand expertise and platforms for Nordic collaboration.
The Nordic Region has taken strides towards becoming a more sustainable and integrated region; however, there remains work to be done in order to attain the ambitious overall goal that has been set. Within the Nordic Region, there exists considerable unrealised potential and huge opportunities for integration and mobility in regard to working, studying, starting a business or moving to another Nordic nation. Work to address mobility and border obstacles is especially important in enabling greater levels of growth, competitiveness and cohesion. There is a need for more focused collaboration between relevant parties in order to attain this goal.
This work concerns several policy areas and through cross-sectoral collaboration, it is possible to create the right conditions to put border obstacles and mobility on the political agenda. Cross-sectoral collaboration and projects are also being pursued across sectors such as Digitalisation, Regional Policies, Business, Labour, Education, and Health and social affairs, with a focus on creating the right conditions for increased mobility. At the national level, there is a need to strengthen the Nordic perspective within relevant policy areas.
In order to strengthen Nordic integration, it is necessary that there be relevant information available for Nordic citizens who wish to live, work or study in another Nordic country. Example initiatives in this area include the support provided by the Nordic Council of Ministers for information targeting citizens and businesses. At present, this takes the form of, among other things, cross-regional information services and Info Norden. These initiatives provide Nordic citizens with cross-border information and guidance in their own language and in English, and they also enable the reporting of border obstacles.
Civil society is an important cornerstone of Nordic co-operation at the grassroots level. Nordic integration benefits when the civil societies in the Nordic Region forge closer links with one another. The Nordic Council of Ministers provides support to civil society in the Nordic Region. It does this, among other ways, through MR-SAM initiatives relating to support for civil-society organisations and network support.
There is a clear need to bolster the work being undertaken to support civil society through expanded opportunities for associations and other relevant groups to apply for support for Nordic activities.
The rights and perspectives of children and young people occupy a central role within Nordic co-operation, and the MR-SAM work to secure specially earmarked financial support for this area, and to ensure that children and young people are given the opportunity to influence decisions that affect them.
In the current geopolitical situation, stronger Nordic co-operation around societal security, including civil preparedness and resilience, will be crucial to a sustainable Nordic Region. This work is being undertaken at several levels, both within and beyond the frameworks of the Nordic Council of Ministers. Co-operation around security of supply is relevant in several sectors.
The MR-SAM have a mandate to contribute towards the effective communication and provisioning of Nordic perspectives within their governments in this area, and to monitor the work undertaken within the Councils of Ministers and in other relevant fora.
The international co-operation of the Nordic Council of Ministers also contributes towards delivering on the Vision 2030. In co-operation with the Council’s office in the Baltic Region, other partners in adjacent areas to the Nordic Region and in other, select parts of the world, common Nordic initiatives and projects which build on Nordic values are being assembled. These collaborative initiatives serve to strengthen the region’s voice internationally.
When the Nordic Region collaborates and presents itself as a single, unified region, the Nordic nations are able to attain greater visibility and impact internationally. The profiling of the Nordic Region as a single, unified region within international projects in which Nordic embassies and the private sector collaborate creates the right conditions for synergies for a long-term competitive Nordic Region.