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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: sarunas@norden.lthttp://www.norden.lt/