The Nordic Council of Ministers, founded in 1971, consists of several individual councils of ministers:

1.

Nordic Council of Ministers for Legislative Affairs (MR-LAG) is led by the Nordic ministers of justice Legislative co-operation promote the fundamental common principles of Nordic legislation. Nordic Council of Ministers for La our (MR-A) s led by the Nordic ministers for labour and employment.

2. !.

Nordic Council of Ministers for "usiness# $nerg% & Regional 'olic% (MR-N$R) ensure continued gro!th in the region. "his co-operation is led by the Nordic ministers for business, energy and regional policy.

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Council of Ministers for )isheries and A*uaculture# Agriculture# )ood and )orestr% (MR-)+L,) #$-%&L' consists of one council of ministers covering four policy areas: %isheries and ()uaculture, (griculture, %ood and %orestry. "he core tas*s of #$-%&L' involve promoting sustainable use of nature and genetic resources. Nordic Council of Ministers for .ealth and ,ocial Affairs (MR-,) is led by the Nordic ministers for health and social affairs Nordic co-operation !ithin the social and health care area is based on common values !hich constitute the basis of the Nordic !elfare model. Council of Ministers for Gender $*ualit% (MR-+0M) is led by the Nordic ministers for gender e)uality !hich "he Nordic countries+ joint cultural, historical and democratic traditions allo! them to develop a close and constructive partnership in the areas of gender e)uality. Council of Ministers for )inance (MR-)2NAN,) is led by the Nordic ministers for finance

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1.

"he co-operation lays the foundation for promoting Nordic interests internationally and for an increasingly comprehensive global economic integration Nordic Council of Ministers for $ducation and Research (MR-4)

3.

is led by the Nordic ministers of education and research. "he council of ministers !or*s to ensure that the Nordic $egion maintains a leading position the field of *no!ledge and competencies. The Nordic Council of Ministers for the $nviron6ent (MR-M)

5.

"he environmental co-operation, amongst other things, aims to protect and improve the )uality of the environment and )uality of life in the Nordic countries, and influence regional and international co-operation. The Nordic Council of Ministers for Culture (MR-8)

17.

"he ministers for culture in the Nordic countries and the %aroe slands, ,reenland and -land have the overriding responsibility for cultural cooperation !ithin the Nordic .ouncil of #inisters. "he overall goal includes encouraging diversity of cultural e/pression and promoting artists and their !or*.

"he Nordic ministers for specific policy areas meet in a council of ministers a couple of times a year. 0ecisions in any of the Nordic councils of ministers must be unanimous. "he 1residency of the .ouncil of #inisters is held for a period of one year and rotates bet!een the five Nordic countries. "he country holding the 1residency of the Nordic .ouncil of #inisters dra!s up a programme !hich guides Nordic co-operation during the year. "he Nordic prime ministers meet every year and, in addition, meet on other occasions such as before 23 summit meetings. "he Nordic %oreign and 0efence ministers also meet regularly outside the auspices of the Nordic .ouncil of #inisters "he Nordic countries face many challenges that have major significance for their citi4ens, particularly in the areas of global competitiveness and climate and energy issues. &oint Nordic action enables the individual countries to ma*e a greater impact at both 2uropean and global level.

Freedom of movement Nordic %reedom of #ovement %orum -remove obstacles and stop ne! ones being introduced. "his !ill ensure greater freedom of movement for people, companies and goods !ithin the $egion. "he %orum, !hich reports directly to the prime ministers, ta*es up tangible issues, e.g. the transfer of pensions bet!een countries. online social security portal- collates information about the rules for illness, parental leave, unemployment, studies and pensions throughout the $egion 5ello Norden- information service for people !ho move bet!een countries in the $egion Globalisation Forum Nordic ,lobalisation %orum- politicians, business leaders, N,6s, and representatives of the research community and the media discuss global challenges and Nordic solutions that !ill secure the $egion+s position as a successful pioneering region. From the Nordic Ecolabel to post-Kyoto the green Nordic 2colabel-certifies that products are environmentally friendly. "he Nordic $egion !or*s together to achieve the 23+s climate goals and to sho! ho! a sustainable Nordic model can combine reduced emissions !ith economic gro!th. "he Nordic $egion is a global leader in energy co-operation. "he $egion !ishes to further reinforce the Nordic perspective in order to safeguard supplies and be more effective on the international mar*et. .loser co-operation on electricity also means that the countries+ energy e/change system is more efficient, i.e. a shortage in one country balances out a surplus in another. Joint master's programme and centres of excellence the institution Nord%ors*- promotes Nordic research partnerships. "he Nordic $egion+s five .entres of 2/cellence- aim to stimulate research environments and promote mobility, training and e/change bet!een research groups.

"he programme see*s to establish interdisciplinary co-operation and co-ordinate specialisation bet!een the Nordic countries. 1ar*inson+s and (l4heimer+s, stro*e, migraine, epilepsy and cancer are among the diseases researched in co-operation projects on molecular medicine. (nother research project loo*s into !hy !holegrain products are so beneficial to health, especially in cancer prevention and care. 'everal .entres of 2/cellence are devoted to research into climate issues.

Nord%ors* also supports inter-Nordic freedom of movement among researchers and provides opportunities to conduct research in other Nordic countries, e.g. on stem-cell research into various forms of cancer.

(ccess to !ell-trained and competent manpo!er !ill be improved by the recently launched Nordic #aster+s 1rogramme, !hich is being run in si/ places and involves 17 Nordic educational establishments.

"he master+s programme covers areas such as the elderly, .", the marine environment and climate change. 'ome of the $egion+s leading technical universities are currently co-operating on a master+s programme in energy research. t combines 0anish e/pertise in !ind po!er, '!edish e/pertise in nuclear po!er, celandic e/pertise in geothermal energy and Nor!egian e/pertise in oil and gas, and is e/pected to ma*e a major contribution to energy research.

"hrough e/change programmes in the Nordplus family, some 17,777 Nordic citi4ens ta*e part in education and training in other Nordic countries every year. "he programme no! also covers 2stonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Closer co-operation ith the !altic "tates "he Nordic89altic relationship no! ta*es the form of rich co-operation on many levels. .loser integration bet!een the Nordic and 9altic countries builds a common platform for joint action in 23 conte/ts. "he Nordic .ouncil of #inisters has offices in 2stonia, Latvia and Lithuania. $egular meetings are held at prime minister, foreign minister and other ministerial levels, as !ell as bet!een senior civil servants. "he e/change programme for civil servants from the 9altic 'tates has helped to develop co-operation structures !ithin their national administrations. "his co-

operation is developed all the time. %or e/ample, 9altic researchers are entitled to apply for funding from Nord%ors*, and all three 9altic countries are no! full members of theNordic nvestment 9an* :N 9;. !ridge-building ith #ussia and !elarus .o-operation !ith North-<est $ussia is designed to generate gro!th and stability in Northern 2urope. (ppro/imately 1=> of the .ouncil of #inisters+ annual budget is earmar*ed for this co-operation. #uch of the co-operation is related to e/change programmes that enable $ussian politicians, civil servants, entrepreneurs and journalists to study democracy and institutions in the Nordic $egion. "he Nordic .ouncil of #inisters also has offices in several cities in North-<est $ussia. 5o!ever, co-operation does not stop at $ussia+s borders. 6ne of the more important projects in recent years provides support for the pro-democracy movement in 9elarus. "he Nordic .ouncil of #inisters has supported the e/ile university 253 :the 2uropean 5umanities 3niversity; since its inauguration in ?77@. "he university opened in Ailnius !hen the regime closed the 253 in #ins*, claiming that the premises !ere needed for another purpose. "he real reason for the closure !as that the 253 had become too <estern-oriented. 6ne of those involved in 253 from the start is ?1-year-old (nastasiya, a student of 2uropean and international la!. (nastasiya is typical of many of the university+s students in that she chose 253 because 9elarus did not offer the same opportunities for independent study. 6thers at 253 have been politically active bac* home in 9elarus. #any students tell of harassment on their !ay to Ailnius, and the presence of 253 on their .A most li*ely ensures that a state career in 9elarus is out of the )uestion. 5o!ever, the prospect of freedom of thought and study has clearly spurred on (nastasiya and her 977 fello! students in Ailnius. 0enmar*, %inland, celand, Nor!ay and '!eden have been members of the Nordic .ouncil of #inisters since 1971. n addition, ,reenland, the %aroe slands and -land have also increased their representation and position in the Nordic .ouncil of #inisters, !ith the same representation as the above mentioned countries.

0ecisions ta*en in the .ouncil of #inisters are binding for the %aroe slands, ,reenland and -land to the degree that they are compatible !ith the autonomy statutes. 2ach country has one vote on the Nordic .ouncil of #inisters. "he .ouncil of #inisters consists of one or more members of the government from each country. (s such, the .ouncil of #inisters can comprise the ministers for Nordic co-operationB or departmental ministersB or a combination of both. $epresentatives of the devolved governments of the %aroe slands, ,reenland and -land also ta*e part in the .ouncil of #inisters+ !or*. "he %aroe slands, ,reenland and -land have e/erted greater influence on Nordic cooperation since the -land 0ocument !as adopted by the ministers for Nordic cooperation in #ariehamn, -land, on = 'eptember ?777. Co66ittees of ,enior 9fficials "he .ommittees of 'enior 6fficials in the Nordic .ouncil of #inisters consist of national government officials !ho are charged !ith preparing and follo!ing up on issues in a number of priority areas. .ommittee of 'enior 6fficials for (griculture :2C-%&L' (griculture; .ommittee of 'enior 6fficials for %isheries and ()uaculture, (griculture, %ood and %orestry 2/ecutive .ommittee :2C-%&L' 2/ecutive; .ommittee of 'enior 6fficials for %isheries and ()uaculture, (griculture, %ood and %orestry :N9D-%(%%; .ommittee of 'enior 6fficials for %isheries E ()uaculture :2C-%&L' %isheries and ()uaculture; .ommittee of 'enior 6fficials for %ood :2C-%&L' %ood; .ommittee of 'enior 6fficials for %orestry :2C-%&L' %orestry; Nordic .ommittee of 'enior 6fficials for 2nergy 1olicy :2C-2; Nordic .ommittee of 'enior 6fficials for .ulture :2C-C; Nordic .ommittee of 'enior 6fficials for 2ducation E $esearch :2C-3; Nordic .ommittee of 'enior 6fficials for 2nvironmental (ffairs :2C-#; Nordic .ommittee of 'enior 6fficials for %inance

Nordic .ommittee of 'enior 6fficials for %isheries and ()uaculture, (griculture, %ood and %orestry :2C-%&L' (griculture and %orestry; Nordic .ommittee of 'enior 6fficials for ,ender 2)uality :2C-&F#; Nordic .ommittee of 'enior 6fficials for Labour :FC-(; Nordic .ommittee of 'enior 6fficials for Legislative ssues :2C-L6A; Nordic .ommittee of 'enior 6fficials for $egional 1olicy :2C-$; Nordic .ommittee on 5ealth E 'ocial (ffairs Nordic .ommittee of 'enior 6fficials for 9usiness :FC-(;