In 2017, Norway will take over the presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers. During the session in Copenhagen Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg presented the Norwegian programme. The most important items on the presidency’s programme are the Nordic countries’ need to adapt and the strengthening and further development of the Nordic partnership in foreign policy.

“Good ministerial dialogue is important to us and we wish to support the Norwegian presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers,” said Sonja Mandt, head of the Storting’s delegation to the Nordic Council.

Ms Mandt praised the members of the Norwegian delegation who participated actively in the political meetings in the Danish Folketing, 1 to 3 November.

Unaccompanied Minor Asylum Seekers

At the session, the Nordic Council’s Committee for Welfare suggested nine specific measures to improve the situation of unaccompanied minor asylum seekers. The proposed measures included shorter case processing times, independent age assessment and new procedures for safe expulsion.

“In the Nordic countries we have a humanist legacy and tradition worth taking care of – especially in the face of international challenges. Where others see refugee flows, we must see individual human beings. Where others opt for quick fixes, we must ensure legal safeguards. Where others close borders, we must think about the long-term perspective,” said Bengt Morten Wenstøb (Conservative Party), the committee’s spokesperson.

The Nordic Cultural School Bag

In his meeting with the Nordic Ministers of Culture, Jorodd Asphjell, the leader of the Committee for Knowledge and Culture, pointed out that the parliamentarians want literary works that receive the Nordic Council Literature Prize to be translated to the other Nordic languages.

Through their proposal for a Nordic Cultural School Bag, the politicians in the Nordic Council wish to strengthen Nordic film, music and literature awareness among Nordic children and young people, thus improving their language skills.

Another important matter for the committee is the Nordic sports summit as a regular meeting place for sports representatives, politicians and other actors.

“We are in need of an arena where we can address shared issues relating to sports values in the Nordic countries, because we face many of the same challenges,” said Jorodd Asphjell (Labour Party), who raised the proposal with the ministers.

In addition to meeting the Ministers of Culture, the members of the Norwegian delegation also met the Ministers of Education, Foreign Affairs and Nordic Cooperation during the political summit held at Denmark’s Folketing.

See also:

Nordic cooperation on global goals