6 November 1996

Speech at the Barents Euro-Arctic Council

Statement by Minister of Foreign Affairs Bjørn Tore Godal at the Meeting of Foreign Ministers in the Barents Euro-Arctic Council in Petrozavodsk on 6 November 1996

The Barents cooperation was established almost four years ago. Since then, we have managed to create a meeting place where we can achieve tangible results and foster innovative ideas, even though we have not always been able to work under the easiest of conditions. The cooperation arrangements have become just as open and varied as we hoped. These developments have stimulated efforts in a number of other bodies such as the EU, the Gore-Chernomyrdin Commission, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Nordic institutions, to mention some of the most important.

Norway is particularly satisfied with the results that have been achieved at regional level. The Barents cooperation has made it possible to strengthen ties between the peoples of the north, and particularly between indigenous peoples in the east and west of the region. A number of projects that benefit the local population have been carried out in many fields under the auspices of the Regional Council. The Barents cooperation includes effective mechanisms for the implementation of cross-border projects, which have already brought about many improvements. Compared with other regional cooperation arrangements in Europe, the Barents cooperation is thus achieving very good results.

We have proposed that a seminar should be held in Oslo on 13-14 March next year at which senior officials from states participating in the Barents, Baltic Sea and Black Sea cooperation can meet for a brain-storming session. We need to pool experiences from the three regions with a view to making specific improvements. Questions relating to structures, secretariats, mechanisms for disseminating information and ways of following up projects are common to all forms of regional cooperation. We suggest that the seminar should be concerned with practical politics, and believe that it may be fruitful to take a fresh look at established routines in the three regional arrangements.

There is no doubt that the sense of community shared by the inhabitants of northern Europe has contributed to the many good results achieved by the Barents cooperation. The Russian chairmanship has done a good job in following up the 15 major projects on infrastructure development which we recommended last year. Ambitious major projects of this type cannot be completed in the course of a year, but we can see that both the authorities and the business community are already actively engaged in implementing important aspects of many of these projects.

The development of the Murmansk transport corridor will be of particular interest to Norway. We are giving priority to opening up the land, air and sea routes as far as possible. We must therefore avoid creating new barriers such as new taxes that may restrict contact across national borders. To simplify border procedures, we are cooperating with Russia in moving the Russian customs post closer to Storskog, and we are also prepared to carry out a further review of the economic basis for a railway connection between Nikel and Kirkenes.

We must not allow the work which remains to be done on the infrastructure projects to block new initiatives. There is scope for more ambitious tasks, particularly in the fields of environmental protection and energy. The EU and some of the countries with observer status are very interested in increasing their involvement in these fields. The Norwegian Government considers it extremely important to muster all available resources in improving nuclear safety and reducing the risk of nuclear contamination in northwestern Russia. We are pleased to note the interest shown by the USA, France, the European Commission and others in this work. Sweden, which is now assuming the chairmanship of the Barents Council, possesses the knowledge and resources in this field to be able to provide new inspiration for these efforts.

Västerbotten and Uleåborg counties, which have recently been granted observer status, will be able to provide valuable expertise at the academic level. We must make use of this to establish a unified regional exchange, research and education programme. I would like to take this opportunity to call on all the Nordic countries to provide a joint financial basis for even more ambitious exchange programmes for young people in the region. This is one way of encouraging the further development of communication and the sense of community within the Barents region.

It is significant that cooperation with areas adjacent to the Nordic region, i.e. in the Barents and Baltic Sea regions, has now been identified as one of three priority areas for Nordic cooperation. A joint Nordic strategy for cooperation with adjacent areas will make it possible for the Nordic countries to participate more effectively in other arrangements, like the Barents cooperation, and to make more systematic use of instruments such as the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation. In this connection, it will be important to retain the information office of the Nordic Council of Ministers in St. Petersburg. The status of the office must be clarified as soon as possible.

I am confident that the innovative and exciting developments in the Barents region will continue during the next year as well. I would like to offer my warmest thanks to our Russian hosts for the commitment they have shown during their year of office, and to welcome our Swedish colleague as she takes up the chairmanship for the coming year.