Perspectives on EU-Russia Relations by Johnson Debra;Robinson Paul;

Author:Johnson, Debra;Robinson, Paul;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 199460
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group

Cooperation with regional organisations

Another challenge of the Northern Dimension is that it introduces increased coordination and enhanced cooperation between the programmes and activities of the EU and that of other regional institutions in its implementation phase. The overall aim of this coordination and strengthened cooperation is to increase efficiency in the implementation of Northern Dimension projects, and to avoid overlap and duplication of the activities and resources used by the various institutions involved. The Northern Dimension is in fact one of few areas within the EU that explicitly acknowledges the potential of regional organisations.

Already in the Baltic Sea Region Initiative, the complementarity between the work of the EU and the CBSS was emphasised and, as mentioned above, since their establishment in the early 1990s, the Commission has participated in the work of the CBSS and the BEAC, and more recently also in the Arctic Council. The Danish Presidency in 2002 highlighted the Nordic Council of Ministers as another important regional body in the context of the Northern Dimension, and it is now included on its list of regional institutions (see Danish Presidency and the European Commission 2002:2–3).

It has been agreed that the implementation and further development of the Northern Dimension and its Action Plan should be done within regional bodies, such as the CBSS, the BEAC, the Arctic Council, and the Nordic Council of Ministers. The consultation with regional institutions is further seen as important for the identification of joint priorities and interests. They have also presented proposals at the foreign ministers’ conferences (Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1999a and b, and Council of the European Union 2000:3–8).

An example of cooperation with regional institutions is the initiative to develop a ‘Northern eDimension Action Plan’, which the CBSS launched in January 2001 in close partnership with the Commission. The Northern eDimension constitutes a specific action plan for the development of information technology in the region. Sweden contributed to its development during its Presidency term, and it was finally adopted at a ministerial meeting in Riga in September 2001.

The Full Report on Northern Dimension Policies adopted in June 2001 recommends that cooperation between the EU and regional bodies should be improved as part of the development of the Northern Dimension. An efficient division of labour among the EU and other regional bodies could lead to a better use of available resources. This division should be based on their ‘respective competencies and geographical coverage’ and it would increase the effective use of existing resources in the region (Council of the European Union 2001a:12).

In July 2002 the Danish Presidency, together with the Commission, presented a first attempt to establish a more concrete division of labour in the new Action Plan between the actors involved in the Northern Dimension. They stressed that three areas, namely the environment including nuclear safety, cross-border cooperation, and justice and home affairs, could continue to be the primary focus of the Commission. At the same time, other partners could take a more active lead in the other areas covered by

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