The Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) is a regional intergovernmental organisation working on three priority areas:
The Barents Region is a name given, by advocates of establishing international cooperation after the fall of the Soviet Union, to the land along the coast of the Barents Sea, from Nordland county in Norway to the Kola Peninsula in Russia and beyond all the way to the Ural Mountains and Novaya Zemlya, and south to the Gulf of Bothnia of the Baltic Sea and the great lakes Ladoga and Onega. Among the projects is the Barents Road from Bodø in Norway through Haparanda in Sweden and Finland to Murmansk in Russia. The region has six million inhabitants on 1.75 million km2; three quarters of both belong to Russia.
The Northern Dimension (ND) is a joint policy between four equal partners – the European Union, Russia, Norway and Iceland – regarding the cross-border and external policies geographically covering Northwest Russia, the Baltic Sea and the Arctic regions, including the Barents Region. The ND Policy was initiated in 1999 and renewed in 2006. The Northern Dimension addresses the specific challenges and opportunities arising in those regions and aims to strengthen dialogue and cooperation between the EU and its member states, the northern countries associated with the EU under the European Economic Area and Russia. A particular emphasis is placed on subsidiarity, and on ensuring the active participation of all stakeholders in the North, including regional organizations, local and regional authorities, the academic and business communities, and civil society.
The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum that addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the indigenous people of the Arcticregion. At present, eight countries exercise sovereignty over the lands within the Arctic Circle, and these constitute the member states of the council: Canada; Denmark; Finland; Iceland; Norway; Russia; Sweden; and the United States. Other countries or national groups can be admitted as observer states, while organizations representing the concerns of indigenous peoples can be admitted as indigenous permanent participants.
The Saami Council is a voluntary, non-governmental organization of the Sámi people made up of nine Sámi member organizations from Finland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden. Since the founding of the Nordic Saami Council in 1956, among the first indigenous peoples' organizations, the Saami Council has actively dealt with Sámi public policy tasks. In 1992, when Russian Sámi groups joined the council, "Nordic" was removed from the council's name. The secretary was previously sited in both Helsinki and Utsjoki, Finland, but is now in Kárášjohka, Norway. The Saami Council is funded by a range of grants, and its engagements are based on decisions, statements, declarations, and political programs from the Saami Conference held every four years.
The Ilulissat Declaration is a document signifying necessary joint regional efforts and responsibilities in response to the potentially adverse effects of climate change with regard to the melting Arctic ice pack.
The border between Norway and Russia consists of a 195.7-kilometer (121.6 mi) land border between Sør-Varanger Municipality, Norway, and Pechengsky District, Russia, and a 23.2-kilometer (14.4 mi) marine border in the Varangerfjord. It further consists of a border between the two countries' exclusive economic zones (EEZ) in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean. Between 1944 and 1991 the border was between Norway and the Soviet Union. There is a single border crossing, on E105, located at Storskog in Norway and Borisoglebsky in Russia. The Norwegian side is patrolled by the Garrison of Sør-Varanger and is under the jurisdiction of the Norwegian Border Commissioner, while the Russian side is patrolled by the Border Guard Service of Russia. Two-thirds of the border follows two rivers, the Pasvikelva and Jakobselva.
The Norwegian Barents Secretariat aims at developing the Norwegian-Russian relations in the north by promoting and funding Norwegian-Russian cooperation projects. As of 2022, the organisation has 11 employees in Kirkenes; its offices are in Arkhangelsk, Murmansk, the Nenets Region and Kirkenes.
Arctic cooperation and politics are partially coordinated via the Arctic Council, composed of the eight Arctic states: the United States, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, and Denmark with Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The dominant governmental power in Arctic policy resides within the executive offices, legislative bodies, and implementing agencies of the eight Arctic countries, and to a lesser extent other countries, such as United Kingdom, Germany, European Union and China. NGOs and academia play a large part in Arctic policy. Also important are intergovernmental bodies such as the United Nations and NATO.
The Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being (NDPHS) is an international networking platform for strengthening professional connections, sharing and co-creating knowledge, and developing joint activities in public health and social well-being. The Partnership is served by the NDPHS Secretariat that was established in 2012 as an international legal entity hosted by the Swedish Government located in Stockholm and funded jointly by the Partner Countries.
Arctic Policy of Finland is Finland's foreign relations with other Arctic countries, and Finland's government policies on issues occurring within the geographic boundaries of "the Arctic" or related to the Arctic or its peoples. Since Finland is itself an Arctic nation, with roughly one third of its territory existing above the Arctic Circle, the Arctic Policy of Finland includes its domestic policies as regards the Finnish Arctic region. Finland's Strategy for the Arctic Region was released June 4, 2010 and concentrates on seven priorities: security, environment, economy, infrastructure, indigenous peoples, institutions and the European Union.
Sámi politics refers to politics that concern the Sámi ethnic group in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. In a more narrow sense, it has come to indicate the government of Sámi affairs by Sámi political institutions. This article deals with Sámi political structures, with an emphasis on the contemporary institutions.
Sea transport accounts for most of the European Union's external and internal commerce. The EU is the world's third-largest importer of fisheries and aquaculture products and the fifth-largest producer. Maritime borders make up more than 70% of the Union's external borders, and hundreds of millions of travelers pass through European ports each year. The security of Europe's energy supply is heavily reliant on marine transit and infrastructure. The significant expansion of EU Member States' fleets, as well as suitable port infrastructure, contribute to a well-functioning energy market and supply security, and hence to European residents' and the European economy's overall well-being. The Arctic region is therefore a vital new area for the EU to work towards and a new strategy for the Arctic region that matches with the European Green deal was established in late 2021.
Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) is a regional co-operation format that includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden. Under NB8, regular meetings are held of the Baltic and Nordic countries' Prime Ministers, Speakers of Parliaments, Foreign Ministers, branch ministers, Secretaries of State and political directors of Foreign Ministries, as well as expert consultations where regional issues and current international topics are reviewed.
The Kola Sámi Assembly is an elected assembly established in 2010 by the Sámi people of the Kola peninsula in Russia on the model of Sámi parliaments in Nordic countries. As of 2018, it was not recognised as a political or legislative entity by the Russian federal nor local Murmansk Oblast governments under the pretext of "combatting separatism"; it remains a purely representative organ with unclear relations with the government, because establishing new legislative organs requires amendments to Russian federal and regional legislation.
Arctic Policy of Norway is Norway's foreign relations with other Arctic countries, and Norway's government policies on issues occurring within the geographic boundaries of "the Arctic" or related to the Arctic or its people. Since Norway is itself an Arctic nation, the Arctic Policy of Norway includes its domestic policies as regards the Norwegian Arctic region.
The Arctic Policy of the Kingdom of Denmark defines the Kingdom's foreign relations and policies with other Arctic countries, and the Kingdom's strategy for the Arctic on issues occurring within the geographic boundaries of "the Arctic" or related to the Arctic or its peoples. In order to clearly understand the Danish geopolitical importance of the Arctic, it is necessary to mention Denmark's territorial claims in areas beyond its exclusive EEZ in areas around the Faroe Islands and north of Greenland covering parts of the North Pole, which is also claimed by Russia.
The Arctic Railway is a planned railway line linking the Norwegian Arctic port of Kirkenes with the Finnish railway network.
The Arctic Economic Council (AEC) is an independent international business membership organisation representing companies that work with and within the Arctic. The AEC advocates sustainable economic development in the region and represents a business perspective on sustainability. The AEC is the only regional business organisation in the Arctic and has members from all eight Arctic states.
The Arctic Coast Guard Forum (ACGF) is an organisation which unites the coast guards of eight Arctic states: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States. The ACGF's main task is "to foster safe, secure, and environmentally responsible maritime activity in the Arctic." Since its establishment in 2015, the ACGF has been enabling the coast guards from each member state to cooperate towards common objectives. The establishment of the ACGF is a response to the increasing levels of activities in the maritime domain in the Arctic, and with that associated need for coast guard services.
