December, 2008
An international newsletter from the Nordic Council and The Nordic Council of Ministers
Welcome to the monthly newsletter now published in a new form as a net version only. The purpose is to inform about issues on the Nordic agenda and focus on some of the events and results of the official Nordic cooperation.
The Nordic countries should work more closely together on defence and security policy, the Presidium of the Nordic Council said in Copenhagen on Tuesday 11 December ,when it decided to proceed with a member's proposal from the Conservative Group.
The fifth freedom was one of the topics on the second day of the Baltic Development Forum. The Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers, Halldór Ásgrímsson, spoke to the delegates about the free flow of knowledge on Monday 1 December.
The Nordic Council of Minister’s project to stop tax evasion is getting help from other countries. France and Germany are now putting on pressure to stop international tax evasion and USA’s President-elect, Barack Obama, will put ending tax evasion high on his agenda.
The Nordic countries will unite to help Iceland, which has been hard hit by the financial crisis. On Wednesday december 10th, the ministers for Nordic co-operation agreed to put forward tangible proposals for action to help the stricken country.
"If the politicians don't tackle the problem of climate change, then revolution may ensue," the Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers, Halldór Ásgrímsson, said in his closing address to Nordic Climate Solutions in Copenhagen on Wednesday 26 November.
The financial crisis and the conflict in Georgia have brought the Baltic countries closer together, it emerged from the annual Session of the Baltic Assembly, 4-6 December, which was attended by delegates from the Nordic Council.
Nordic measures could be have a much greater effect if the countries worked together on their climate policies, writes Kristina Persson, Chair of the Norden Association, in an opinion piece in ‘Göteborgs Posten’.
A referendum held in Greenland on 25 November on the issue of greater autonomy resulted in a clear yes vote after almost three decades of the current constitutional settlement.
The Nordic Region tops the World Economic Forum equality list for 2008. Norway takes first place, followed by Finland, Sweden and Iceland in the next three spots. Denmark is in seventh place.
The EU Commission published a report mid-november on the relationship between the Union and the Arctic Region. The 'Common Concern for the Arctic'' conference hosted by the Nordic Council of Ministers in Ilulissat in September helped place the Arctic firmly on the Union's agenda.
