NORDIC COUNCIL

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• CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION IN THE BALTIC COUNTRIES

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CONCEPTS OF CBC

• NARROW MEANING
• concrete border as obstacle and possibility
• cooperation on local/regional level
• NB land and sea borders
• WIDER MEANING
• international cooperation
• - cooperation on national level

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WHY CBC?

• Good neighborhood peace
• Problems specific for border regions
• Common problems common solutions
• Synergy effect (11gt2)

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FORMS OF CBC

• Separate projects
• NGOs
• Twinning
• Euroregions

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EUROREGION - definition

• More then two partners
• Formalized political cooperation (agreement)
• Permanent joint structures (Council, Board,
  Secretariat etc.)
• Many names Euregio, Euroregio, Euroregion,
  Council, Committee etc

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NORDIC COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

• Project on Regional Cross-Border
• Co-operation in the Adjacent Areas
• 2002-2003/2004

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ADJACENT AREAS

• Lithuania
• Latvia
• Estonia
• North-West Russia
• Pskov oblast
• Leningrad oblast
• Kaliningrad oblast
• Republic of Karelia

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GOALS OF THE PROJECT

• In the framework of EU enlargement to strengthen
  cross-border co-operation in the adjacent areas

• To facilitate creation of a network of CBC
  regions/euroregions in adjacent areas which can
  be linked with a network existing in the Nordic
  countries.

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MAIN CHALLENGES FOR EUROREGIONS IN AA

• Sustainability of structures
• Own stabile financing
• Management capacity at local and regional level
• New external EU borders
• Perception of added value of CBC
• Euroregion is a tool, not a goal
• Fancy and attractive name is not enough

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ACTIVITIES 2003

• Exchange of information (mailing list, website,
  joint meetings)
• Spreading information about euroregions (maps,
  brochure)
• Training
• - Sigulda 27-30 April
• Linking networks in AA and Nordic countries
• - Tartu 16-18 June
• Joint lobbying nationally and internationally

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PROJECT COORDINATOR

• ARUNAS RADVILAVICIUS
• Nordic Council of Ministers Information Office
  in Vilnius, Didzioji g. 5, LT-2001, Vilnius,
  Lithuaniatel. 370 5 2123697
• mobile [phone]fax 370 5
  2122423e-mail sarunas_at_nmr.lt
• http//www.nmr.lt/Projects/CBC/main.html