Global climate and environmental negotiations were the main item on the agenda for the spring meeting of the Nordic climate and environment ministers in Stockholm. The ministers also met with the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, Inger Andersen. "Nordic countries are important partners in our efforts to address the triple planetary crisis," she says.

Global climate and environmental negotiations were the main item on the agenda for the spring meeting of the Nordic climate and environment ministers in Stockholm on 8 May. The ministers also met with the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, Inger Andersen. "Nordic countries are important partners in our efforts to address the triple planetary crisis," she says.

The green transition in the transport sector is central in the fight against climate change and in becoming independent from fossil fuels from unstable regions. The solution lies in the interaction between multiple sectors such as the energy sector, and across the Nordic borders. That was the main argument at the Nordic Green Transport Forum, which has just taken place in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Sweden and Denmark have negotiated a new Öresund Agreement, which will make day-to-day life easier for both cross-border commuters and their employers. Anders Ahnlid, chair of the Freedom of Movement Council, welcomes the news and hopes that it will pave the way for simplified tax regulations throughout the Nordic Region.

There is an urgent need to step up preparedness and contingency planning for the protection of cultural heritage and for maintaining cultural activities during crisis heightened state of alert or war. That is the message from the Nordic and Baltic ministers for culture. In a joint declaration, they commit to closer collaboration to address the increasing challenges facing the cultural sector.

In 2023, the Freedom of Movement Council has actively worked on 35 obstacles to freedom of movement, which are obstacles that impede free movement in the Nordic Region. The annual report for 2023 shows that six obstacles have been resolved. The goal is to resolve five to eight obstacles per year.

The Nordic Region is taking a significant step in preserving and strengthening the languages in the region through a new declaration on Nordic language policy, which was signed by the ministers for culture and education in Stockholm on 2 May.

The basis of Nordic-Baltic co-operation and its intrinsic value cannot be underestimated in geopolitically turbulent times. That was the main conclusion of the Nordic-Baltic meeting in Lithuania, where resilience and security were at the top of the agenda.

A new study reveals a worrying trend in the decline of the quality of teaching and changes in classroom composition over time. The consequence is lower student achievement in mathematics and the sciences in the Nordic countries.

The members of the Nordic Council of Ministers for Health and Social Affairs agreed at their meeting in Stockholm that more work should be done at Nordic level to address how screen time affects the health and wellbeing of children and young people.

The members of the Nordic Council of Ministers for Health and Social Affairs (MR-S) agreed at its meeting in Stockholm that more work should be done at Nordic level to address how screen time affects the health and wellbeing of children and young people

The Baltic Sea is one of the world’s most polluted marine areas. If we add the climate crisis and problems with invasive species, overfishing, increased traffic, and noise on top of that, it paints the picture of an area in a critical environmental condition. According to the Nordic Council, the Nordic Region must take greater responsibility.

Fourteen Nordic picture books, children’s books and youth novels have been nominated for the 2024 Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize. Several of this year’s nominees examine existential questions about life and death, and another recurring theme is mankind’s relationship to nature. The winner will be announced on 22 October.

The importance of joint Nordic infrastructure, standardisation of military equipment, the willingness of young people to defend their countries and ways of reacting to hybrid threats were some of the topics most discussed during the theme debate on security, peace and preparedness in the North Atlantic at the Nordic Council Theme Session in the Faroe Islands.

The Helsinki Treaty should cover security, defence and civil preparedness, according to a working group set up by the Presidium of the Nordic Council to consider potential updates to the 1962 treaty, which forms the basis for official Nordic co-operation but has not been updated since 1995.

The war between Hamas and Israel has caused considerable civilian losses. During the annual Theme Session in the Faroe Islands on 8 April, the Nordic Council stated that the Nordic countries can play a role in promoting international peace.

Investing in daycare centres and professional staff has socio-economic benefits. According to a new report from the Nordic Council of Ministers for Education and Research, it helps to level out differences and give children and parents equal opportunities.

Norwegian Vice Admiral Louise Dedichen, who serves as the Norwegian Military Representative to NATO, will be a guest speaker at the Nordic Council theme session in Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands on 9 April.

The Nordic Council of Ministers has drawn up new programmes for co-operation to help achieve its vision by 2030 and is now inviting the public to comment on them. The programmes replace the current four-year action plans, which run out at the end of 2024. The consultation is open from 26 March until 26 April.

Co-operation in civil society within the Nordics is a priority area in the Nordic governments’ vision to make the Nordic Region the most sustainable and integrated region in the world by 2030. The Nordic funding programme Demos is now being expanded to encourage civil society organisations to collaborate across national borders.