The Nordic Council of Ministers is an
intergovernmental forum established after the
Helsinki Treaty
The Helsinki Treaty on cooperation between Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden set the framework for Nordic cooperation in the Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers. The Treaty was signed on 23 March 1962 and entered into f ...
. The purpose of the Nordic Council of Ministers is to complement the
Nordic Council
The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomou ...
and promote Nordic cooperation.
Structure
The governments of the Nordic countries each have a
Minister for Nordic Cooperation. This responsibility often goes to the Minister of Foreign Affairs or another ministerial post that the Nordic country has a special desire for cooperation. These Ministers for Nordic Cooperation delegate meetings for other Ministers to discuss avenues for cooperation in the minister's respective fields, thus the Ministers for Cooperation set up Ministerial Councils. Hence the name, Council of Ministers.
Cooperation with other International Organizations
The Council and the Council of Ministers are involved in various forms of cooperation with neighbouring areas, amongst them being the
Baltic Assembly
The Baltic Assembly (BA) is a regional organisation that promotes intergovernmental cooperation between Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. It attempts to find a common position in relation to many international issues, including economic, politic ...
and the
Benelux
The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: B ...
, as well as
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
and
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...
. The Council of Ministers has offices in the following countries:
Closed offices
Programmes
Nordic Council of Ministers's educational programme for
lifelong learning
Lifelong learning is the "ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated"Department of Education and Science (2000).Learning for Life: Paper on Adult Education Dublin: Stationery Office. pursuit of knowledge for either personal or professional reasons ...
is "Nordplus". The main objective of the programme is to strengthen and develop Nordic educational cooperation.
See also
*
Valhalla (youth portal)
References
{{Authority control
Nordic Council