State Secretary Åslaug Haga

The Northern Dimension of the EU and the Barents Cooperation - past experience and future perspectives

Speech in Bonn March 19, 1998

State Secretaries

Excellencies

Distinguished participants

Ladies and gentlemen

Why are we gathered to discuss the Northern Flank of Europe at a time when the Balkan issue is hitting all headlines?

Without Germany’s and indeed EU’s attention and consistent support, European growth and prosperity will be incomplete, as it will be if the Northern dimension is forgotten in the wake of acute crises elsewhere.

Since time immemorial the economic and political development in Europe north of the Arctic Circle has been a field which preoccupied us Norwegians, the Swedes and the Finns, and Russians and only occasionally other important European countries.

To other countries in the outside world, the challenges of this arena seemed to be an esoteric issue for specialists, strategists and statesmen, and the interests of other countries were often defined and defended by a very small number of people in each country.

During the Cold War this area was seen as an interesting “case” and the subject of much strategic analysis and discussions. The countries of the region managed to maintain relative stability - although a cold stability - also when the political climate in Europe experienced fluctuations.

Yes, there was stability. But that was a stability at the expense of normal co-operation and contacts across borders and among people. The Wall in the Arctic was as impenetrable as that which ran through Central Europe. The Barents initiative aimed at restoring more normal relations after 70 years of institutionalized suspicion.

Our aim today is stability, progress and prosperity in all of Europe. This is why Norway participates in UN blue helm operations in the former Yugoslavia, and that is why we support EU and NATO membership for new applicants. It is for the same reason that we welcome involvement by other countries in Europe in the High North.

Stability is indivisible. We should never loose track of that overriding goal. At the same time we must be prepared for setbacks. Transition is difficult. We deplore the recent diplomatic incidence between Norway and Russia, but we aim at separating this reactions and retaliations from the daily and future people to people co-operation under the umbrella of the Barents Euro-arctic co-operation.

We need environmentally sound economic growth, democratic development and social justice. That is the objective of the Barents and Baltic co-operation. Our challenge is to make “soft” and “hard” security come together. Both are equally important in achieving stability.

The Finnish initiative for a northern dimension within the EU has been applauded by Norway. We have expressed support for the initiative on several occasions and we have expressed our desire to link up to the initiative. Why does Norway want to link up?

We feel a strong commitment to the Baltic Sea region even though it is more distant from our own borders than the Barents region. We view the Baltic Sea co-operation and the Barents co-operation as complementary and mutually reinforcing. Both frameworks are important to stability and prosperity in our region and ultimately to the rest of Europe.

Five years of experience of Barents co-operation has taught us many lessons. Among the more important is that the regional or rather local pillar of the co-operation is indispensable. I dare say that the regional pillar of the Barents co-operation has been the most successful. People in the Barents region now come together across the borders on a scale that was unthinkable only a few years ago.

Co-operation takes place in nearly all sectors. It is really only the lack of imagination that puts a limit to what co-operation one could enter into.

Ten years ago only a few thousand persons crossed the Russian-Norwegian border each year. Last year the figure was around 89 000. This people-to-people co-operation in the area contributes in a very specific way to European stability.

We believe that we should develop this co-operation further and in my opinion we could also apply the experience gained from the local pillar of the Barents co-operation in the Baltic Sea co-operation and the Northern dimension of the EU.

Now to energy. Russia and Norway are the important suppliers of energy to the European Union.This indicates that Norway and Russia have an obvious role in contributing substance to the Northern Dimension. Diversification of sources of energy supply is necessary to ensure economic development and social security in Europe.

The Barents region is rich in energy resources such as hydropower, oil and gas. Greater efficiency in energy production, the supply system and energy consumption will be a vital factor in the region’s economic development.

Norwegian oil companies are fully prepared to participate in major oil and gas projects in north-western Russia. There is a need to mature the political and economic partnership between western Europe and Russia.

We need to look to Russia’s specific needs for long term energy investments and predictable and stable framework conditions.

The energy sector in the most crucial part of the Russian economy is vital to their transition to market economy. Matching this with Russia as an energy supplier, it is easy to understand that attention is required - attention to emerging opportunities.

Norway wishes to contribute further to the development of legislation and competence building in the energy sector in general and vis a vis decision makers in order to provide a better basis for sound resource utilization in the region.

Within the framework of the Council of the Baltic Sea States, we have proposed a conference on energy co-operation which will take place at the end of this year. We hope our experience and supply capacity can be beneficial also for the Baltic Sea states.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Russia recognizes that Russian nuclear-powered icebreakers, naval vessels such as nuclear submarines, or shipyards and storage sites handling radioactive or fissile material is a problem.

There is also concern about the effects of health and the environment of contamination from various land sources and previously dumped waste material.

It is essential that the nuclear facilities are operated and radioactive materials handled in accordance with the highest possible international standards, and that dangerous material is safeguarded and prevented from going astray.

I would like to stress that these challenges represent hazards to European security as a whole, not only to some few countries up north. The environmental issues associated with nuclear waste management may affect all of us.

Together with Russia, Norway has developed a Plan of Action for nuclear safety issues which has caught international attention.This is a field where there is great potential for expanding co-operation. We have developed close co-operation with the EU, which we hope can be expanded even further.

It would be great if together, we you and the EU, could pursue the great possibilities of further co-operation in the field of nuclear safety - and waste, between Russia and Western countries.

Among countries within the Northern region, disparities in social and economic welfare are vast. Increasing social differences between countries and within countries, public poverty and the negative implications that follow can represent a serious threat to our stability. We must not allow this to happen and we have to focus our attention also on the social aspect of development.

Health problems in the region are closely connected with poverty and social inequality. Inadequate health care adds to the severity of the situation. We are especially concerned about the new and re-emerging diseases which threaten the public health situation in Europe.

Diseases that we thought we had almost eradicated represent a serious obstacle to prosperity and not a single country in Europe can remain unaffected. A joint effort is needed to combat these diseases. Growing trade between Russia and European countries might increase the danger of infectious diseases.

Norway and other Nordic countries are already engaged in bilateral and multilateral programmes dealing with these problems, and in particular tuberculoses. There is a pressing need for multilateral projects in this field in the Barents region. Here again, closer cooperation with the EU, and between us and WHO would be very welcome.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The northern region offers peace and seeks stability and development.

The North of Europe can soon become part of the solution rather than a part of the problem in the development of Europe.

We would be well advised to involve ourselves in time.