Political priorities

The political priorities of this cooperation programme build upon the commitment by the Nordic and Baltic Ministers of Digitalisation to ensure that our region maintains its position as a leader in digitalisation, and that the region will be the most digitally integrated in the world by 2030 while making sure that everyone in the region benefit from digitalisation regardless of age, gender, wealth, education, or level of digital skills.

In close collaboration with other ministerial councils, MR DIGITAL will contribute to a public sector that meets the needs of both people and businesses, a harmonized implementation of EU regulation and regional mobility and connectivity. MR DIGITAL will also work to enhance digital skills and competencies and responsible use of digital technologies as well as taking the lead in realising the twin digital and green transition and sustainable growth. MR DIGITAL will cooperate on agreed European standards, infrastructure, data sharing, data spaces and interoperability, as well as connectivity in alignment with relevant European Union initiatives and legislation.

The Nordic-Baltic countries can lead the way on digital transformation in the EU and globally, showing that digital technologies and data can be used and shared in a fair, open, secure, responsible, and democratic way. By working together, the Nordic-Baltic voice in global fora can be strengthened, to influence the policies and guidelines coming out of these making sure they are in line with our values and existing structures.

We live in a time of rapid technological development. This cooperation programme lays down overarching goals for the Nordic-Baltic cooperation on digitalisation, building on the existing cooperation and based on our common values and the vision of a safer, greener, and freer region 2030.

Challenges and opportunities to delivering on the goals set out in this cooperation programme are tied to a set of global challenges and trends:

To ensure that our region preserves its economic strength and competitiveness, [...] its human-centric approach, we need to remain at the forefront of today's rapid technological development and apply a coordinated and cross-sectoral approach to Nordic-Baltic cooperation.

Climate change, environmental crises and delivering on the twin digital and green transition

Addressing environmental crises, climate change and reducing carbon emissions will require significant investment in renewable energy, sustainable transportation, and green infrastructure, as well as cross-border and cross-sector cooperation to align policies and priorities. At the same time as we must deliver on the green transition, our societies are also amid a digital transition. The green and digital transitions should reinforce each other; new technologies, better use of and sharing of data, as well as innovative digital solutions can, if applied to the green transition, give us enhanced policy- and decision making and smarter, more efficient and climate neutral solutions for both public and private sector. However, the digital transition is not green by default, and questions about energy consumption, resource-efficiency and waste from the digital solutions or systems need to be addressed.

The twin transition and achieving the ambitious targets of the European Green Deal requires parallel collaborative efforts, bringing together all relevant sectors from policy making to academic research and private sector innovations. Ranking high on innovation and digitalisation, and with high environmental ambitions, the Nordic-Baltic region is in a good position to deliver solutions to the digital and green transition. The investments in the high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure LUMI, based in Finland, gives us a regional advantage to develop digital tools supporting the climate adaptation efforts.

Ranking high on innovation and digitalisation, and with high environmental ambitions, the Nordic-Baltic region is in a good position to deliver solutions to the digital and green transition.

Global economic trends, rapid digital transformation, and regulatory barriers

To ensure that our region preserves its economic strength and competitiveness, as well as its human-centric approach, we need to remain at forefront of today’s rapid technological development and apply a coordinated and cross-sectoral approach to Nordic-Baltic cooperation. Differences in the implementation of regulations related to digitalisation creates barriers to cross-border cooperation in the region and make harmonisation of standards more difficult. Cooperating on the development and implementation on new and existing EU regulations will contribute to a more streamlined regulatory environment in the region. Promoting interoperability as well as harmonising regulations and standards to enable sharing of data across borders is central for increasing digital and data-driven interaction between relevant Nordic-Baltic stakeholders, both in the public and private sector.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being developed and applied in society at a high pace. AI offers great potential for economic growth, productivity and efficiency gains and may help solve pressing societal challenges. At the same time, the use of AI may challenge public governance and decision making, as well as influencing democratic processes and information through increased risk of, for example, algorithmic bias or misinformation and disinformation. What is certain is that AI is key to the digital transformation and will continue to have an ever-growing impact on the economy and everyday life.

AI is key to the digital transformation and will continue to have an ever-growing impact on the economy and everyday life.

Geopolitical risks, regional instability, and security threats to digital infrastructure

The Nordic-Baltic region is situated in a complex geopolitical context, with neighbouring countries experiencing political instability and conflict. The intentional destruction of infrastructure in Ukraine, including digital infrastructure, illustrates the need for resilience in communication networks. In addition to the cyber-attacks in Ukraine, we have also seen a growing trend of organized cyber-crime on an international level. As the region becomes more connected and reliant on digital technologies, cybersecurity risks and security risks to digital infrastructure increase, as made evident by the incidents in the Baltic Sea affecting critical underwater infrastructure. Maintaining and improving robust, resilient, and redundant digital infrastructures and a high level of security in the digital services that our societies rely on, has become increasingly important and a key aspect of our overall security. Addressing these risks will require close cooperation between countries in the region, as well as investment in cybersecurity research, development and education and skills, both for the public as well as on expert level.

Maintaining and improving robust, resilient, and redundant digital infrastructures and a high level of security in the digital services that our societies rely on, has become increasingly important and a key aspect of our overall security.

Demographic changes, a digital divide, and differences in connectivity and skills

Demographic changes, including aging populations and migration puts pressure on the region’s public welfare system and societal cohesion. Despite the high level of digitalisation in the Nordic-Baltic region, there are still significant disparities in connectivity and access to digital technologies and skills, contributing to a digital divide and creating barriers to competitiveness, innovation, and cooperation. Our region has some of the most digitalised public sectors in the world, making them efficient, effective, and better equipped to answer to the needs of people and businesses. But this has also highlighted the importance of digital inclusion to ensure that the public sector is accessible to all and that no one is left behind. Regional cooperation on developing and implementing measures to make digital services more accessible to all our inhabitants will be crucial to keep the spot as digital frontrunner, as well as the competitiveness of our region. The rapid pace of technological change requires not only a strong connectivity infrastructure, digitally competent populations but a highly skilled workforce. Without targeted investment, the region risk facing skills shortages.

Harnessing these opportunities and addressing the challenges will require a coordinated, cross-border and cross-sectoral approach embracing technology, education, research, legislation, and public-private cooperation, as well as investments in digital infrastructure and a strengthened cooperation to align policies and priorities.

The rapid pace of technological change requires not only a strong connectivity infrastructure, digitally competent populations but a highly skilled workforce.

Goals and subgoals

To contribute to make the Nordic-Baltic Region the most sustainable and integrated region in the world by 2030, the Nordic Council of Minsters for Digitalisation has adopted the following goals and subgoals for 2025–2030.