Nordic Council

The Nordic Council is the official group for working together among the Nordic countries. It started in 1952 and has 87 members from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. It also includes members from the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland. These members are chosen by the parliaments of their countries.

The Nordic Council meets once a year in October or November and sometimes has another meeting about a special topic. Its official languages are Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish, but it mainly uses Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish because most people in the area can understand these languages.

In 1971, the Nordic Council of Ministers was created to help the council work better. Both groups work with places around Northern Europe, like Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, the Benelux countries, and the Baltic states.

History

During World War II, Denmark and Norway were occupied by Germany, while Finland faced attacks from the Soviet Union. Sweden, though neutral, still felt the war's effects. After the war, the Nordic countries wanted to work together to protect themselves. However, Finland could not join because of its agreements with the Soviet Union.

Later, the Nordic countries decided to create a group where representatives from their parliaments could meet and discuss shared ideas. This group, called the Nordic Council, first met in 1953. Finland joined in 1955. Over time, the council helped make it easier for people to travel and work across Nordic countries. They also worked on projects like environmental protection and setting up banks to help with investments.

As Europe changed, especially after the Soviet Union collapsed, the Nordic Council began working more with countries around the Baltic Sea and the Arctic. Today, the council continues to help the Nordic countries cooperate, even though some of them are also part of the European Union.

Organisation

The Nordic Council has 87 representatives chosen from the parliaments of its member countries. These representatives reflect the different political parties in their countries. The Council meets mainly in the autumn and has another meeting in the spring. Each country’s group has its own office in their national parliament. The areas of Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Åland also have their own offices.

The Nordic Council works on cooperation between parliaments. There is also a group called the Nordic Council of Ministers, started in 1971, which handles cooperation between governments. The prime ministers are in charge, but they often let a special minister and a committee handle everyday tasks. The areas of Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Åland have the same representation as the countries themselves. The Nordic Council of Ministers has offices in the Baltic countries.

The Nordic Council uses Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish as its main working languages. It also provides translation and interpretation for Finnish and Icelandic. The Council publishes information in English as well. Since 1987, people from Nordic countries can use their own language when dealing with official offices in other Nordic countries without extra costs for translation. This includes hospitals, job centres, police, and social security offices. In 2018, the Council decided that Finnish and Icelandic would become official languages starting in 2020, equal to Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish.

Work

Language understanding

The Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers work to help children and young people learn to understand spoken and written Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish. These three languages are very similar and easy for people in the Nordic countries to understand each other with.

Location

The Nordic Council and the Council of Ministers are based in Copenhagen. Their main office is at Ved Stranden No. 18, near Slotsholmen. They also have offices in each Nordic country and in nearby countries.

Members

The Nordic Council has five full members, which are countries, and three associate members, which are special areas that help with decisions.

Here are the lists of members and representatives, and the groups they work in:

Observer, guests and other cooperation with neighbouring countries and regions

The Nordic Council has special ways to work with nearby countries and groups. The Sámi Parliamentary Council has observer status, meaning it can watch and give ideas. The Nordic Youth Council is always invited as a guest. The council can also invite other leaders and experts to talk about special topics.

The Nordic Council works with countries like Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and parts of Germany to help share ideas and projects. These countries are called "Adjacent Areas." In the past, the Nordic Council supported Baltic countries when they were trying to become independent. Today, the council keeps strong ties with these neighbours and also talks about important issues like digital markets and defence.

Nordic unification

Some people think the Nordic Council could help bring the countries of Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland even closer together. If these countries joined together, their combined economy would be very large, about US$1.60 trillion. This would make it one of the biggest economies in the world. A Swedish historian and economist named Gunnar Wetterberg has written about the idea of creating a Nordic Federation in the future.