“Nordplus Programme as part of Nordic-Baltic Cooperation”Nordplus Information SeminarVinius, 24th November 2015Kenneth Lundin, CIMO

• NCM was established in 1971 and is the world’s oldest official inter-governmental cooperation. It covers all policy areas except foreign policy and defence.• Nordic Council (NC) is the official inter-parliamentary cooperation and was established already in 1951. It consists of 87 elected members from the Nordic parliaments.• NCM and NC have a secretariat in Copenhagen• The presidency of NCM rotates between the five Nordic countries (2015: DK, 2016: FI)• The Council of Ministers for Education and Research (MR-U)/The Committee of Senior Officials for Education and Research (EK-U) has the responsibility for Nordplus.• norden.org

The Owner of Nordplus:Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM)

• NCM started to cooperate with the Baltic countries in the early 1990s• NCM-offices were established in Baltic capitals (Vilnius in 1991, norden.lt)• Today the cooperation is based on mutual partnership with officially adopted guidelines and structured communication (NB8) in several policy areas• Focus on education and research but also culture, public administration, NGO, innovation and youth. The Nordic offices in the Baltic countries offers several programmes for funding. • The Baltic countries joined Nordplus in 2008• The establishment and development of Nordplus is made through consultation with Baltic officials

NCM and the Baltic Countries

• The Nordplus Programme Committee (PC) consits of officials from all Programme Countries and decides upon the grants, is responsible for the realisation of programme objectives as well as plays a central role in the strategic development of the programme• The Nordplus Administration consits of national offices in the Nordic and Baltic countries (info-offices in the autonomous areas). The administration is responsible for the implementation of calls, assessment of applications, proposals for funding, information and guidance for applicants and users, as well as reporting. The administration functions also as a secretariat for the PC.• nordplusonline.org

The Implementation of Nordplus

• Before the countries joined Nordplus, NCM had a separate programme targeted at these countries, Nordplus Neighbour • From the beginning, the Baltic countries participated in Nordplus on equal footing• National offices were established in all countries and they participate in many roles within the administration, e.g. information and guidance, assessment of applications, development of the programmes together with Nordic colleagues• Baltic institutions became very active in many Nordplus programmes.

The Baltic Countries in Nordplus

www.nordplusonline.org

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