Topical debate: The Future of Nordic Co-operation on Transport

The Nordic governments have a vision of the Nordic Region as "the most sustainable and integrated region in the world by 2030", an ambitious goal that brings the question of co-operation on infrastructure and transport into focus. For many years, the Nordic Council has been pushing for a separate Council of Ministers for Transport to coordinate major transport and infrastructure projects more closely.

Coordination is the key to the prime ministers' Vision 2030. National policies will need to be coordinated to come up with sustainable transport solutions at sea, on land and in the air. This will include the electrification of ports and shipping, the electrification of aviation, sustainable freight transport and a Nordic plan for high-speed rail links. In the Nordic Region, we see ourselves as drivers of the green transition, and the prime ministers have set a goal of a 50% cut in CO2 emissions by 2030. Their vision is ambitious, and words alone will not get us there. Hard work must be put in every day to find solutions and achieve the goals.

The Nordic countries also face significant challenges in terms of infrastructure investments, both upgrading existing transport networks and setting up new ones to create a more sustainable and accessible Nordic Region for people and businesses. As most of these challenges are cross-border in nature, the Nordic countries need an overarching strategy to address them together, especially now that all of them are members of NATO and the infrastructure investments include a greater need for military mobility.

A panel discussion will draw attention to these shared challenges, with the speakers talking about their experiences and perspectives on constructive solutions for the Nordic transport co-operation of the future.

The discussion will begin with a talk by Gunnar Lindberg. He has conducted a review of the Nordic 2/2 transport co-operation on behalf of the Council of Ministers and published the report "Prerequisites for Closer Nordic Co-operation on Transport and Infrastructure".

The panellists will then share their views on the challenges faced by the Nordic Region in terms of infrastructure, the green transition and NATO membership.

Liv Kari Eskeland, Nordic Council, the Committee for Growth and Development in the Nordic Region 

Jessika Roswall, Minister for Nordic Co-operation, Sweden 

Erik Østergaard, chair of the Nordic Logistics Association 

Thomas Becker, Director of STRING 

Niklas Johansson, Director, Communication and Climate, LKAB 

Moderator: Jan Wifstrand 

Members of the Nordic Council will have the opportunity to participate and debate the issues.