How to Enhance Crossborder Cooperation on Local Development and Governance in the Baltic Sea Region

1
How to Enhance Cross-border Cooperation on Local
Development and Governance in the Baltic Sea
Region

• Presentation at Employment, Economic Development
  and Local Governance in Lithuania, Vilnius,
  March 3, 2005
• By Teppo Heiskanen,
• Director of the Nordic Council of Ministers
  Office in Lithuania

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Nordic Council of Ministers

• Cooperation organization of the governments of
  Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden,
  founded in 1971
• Secretariat in Copenhagen, 7 departments, 100
  employees
• Rotating presidency Denmark 2005
• Sister organization to the Nordic Council, the
  parliamentary cooperation organization
• Offices in Vilnius, Riga, Tallinn since 1991
• Office in St Petersburg since 1995

3
The NCM in Lithuania

• Main areas of cooperation (with all Baltic
  States)
• Cross-border cooperation
• Research and innovation
• IT cooperation
• Social and health issues
• Environment and sustainable development
• Culture as a connective tissue
• Nordic Film Club, Wednesdays 8.00 pm, Barbacan
  Bar
• Vilnius Alibi, Nordic-Baltic-Russian Crime
  Fiction Days in Vilnius in November
• Library and Information Center, Didzioji 5

4
CBC what is it?

• Definition of Cross-border cooperation local
  cooperation across a national border, land or sea
  (not all international cooperation in general)
• The actors are Euroregions structured platforms
  for local partnership across borders (eg.
  Euroregion Country of Lakes Lithuania-Latvia-Belar
  us), or other CBC organizations
• Activities usually cross-sectoral (economic,
  environmental, social, cultural dimensions)
• Individual projects, town twinning, training

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CBC why?

• Many problems dont respect national borders
  (especially environmental issues)
• CBC provides added value in many fields (e.g.
  tourism)
• Solutions to specific problems (e.g. divided
  communities, peripheral status)
• The expertise is where the people are
  self-governance
• Political stability

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Two NCM programs close to completion

• Regional Cross-border Cooperation 2001-2004
• Network of 12 CBC regions in the Baltic Sea
  Region
• Exchange of knowledge and experience among Nordic
  and Baltic cross-border cooperation organizations
  (Euroregions)
• Training seminars, twinning, website,
  newsletters, new contacts
• Development of Local and Regional Administration
  2002-2004
• Nordic support for Baltic local and regional
  authorities in preparation for EU membership
• 15-20 small grants (up to EUR 10,000) granted per
  year
• Training seminars, study visits, course
  activities
• Final conference on Hiiumaa, Estonia, April 2005

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12 CBC regions of the NCM program
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Baltic Euroregional Network (BEN)

• New initiative based on the two earlier programs
• Network of ca. 40 cross-border cooperation
  structures in the Baltic Sea Area (Euroregions)
• Purpose is to build a network that will enable
  the increased participation of border areas in
  spatial planning
• Application to be submitted to INTERREG IIIB in
  March 2005, project start in September
• Nordic Council of Ministers Office in Lithuania
  is the lead partner, other three Offices are
  partners
• Partners also include e.g. CBSS and Lithuanian
  Ministry of Interior
• Various competence-building activities for 2.5
  years

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Elements of BEN

• Nordic experience and Baltic drive a fruitful
  combination
• Networking creates synergy
• East-West relations within the Baltic Sea Area
  are in a constant process which is beneficial to
  both
• Work package 1 seminars of interest to all
• Work package 2 targeted competence-building for
  specific areas
• Work package 3 national roundtables
• Work package 4 network durability tools such as
  the website
• Interaction among the work packages creates
  synergy
• Permanent changes in the way Euroregions are
  integrated into local and regional planning
  processes?

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Contact Information

• Nordic Council of Ministers
• Store Strandstraede 18
• DK-1255 Copenhagen K
• Denmark
• www.norden.org
• Nordic Council of Ministers Office in Lithuania
• Didioji 5
• LT-01128 Vilnius
• 370 5 212 22 11, fax [phone]
• www.norden.lt
• BEN project coordinator Mr arunas Radvilavicius