Minister Blomqvist to attend meetings during Nordic Council Session in Helsinki

The ministers for Nordic cooperation from the Nordic countries, Åland, Faroe Islands and Greenland will convene in the morning of 1 November. They will be discussing a mid-term review of the 2021–2024 Action Plan for Vision 2030. The ministers will exchange views on the recommendations outlined in the mid-term review and discuss what will happen next with the Vision 2030. Other topics on the meeting agenda include a report by the Finnish Institute of International Affairs on Nordic cooperation on security of supply and the 2023 budget of the Nordic Council of Ministers.

“The Ordinary Session of the Nordic Council is a great opportunity for dialogue between our countries, Members of Parliament and governments. I am glad to see so many of our Nordic colleagues in Helsinki. The Session is an excellent opportunity to celebrate the 60-year-old Helsinki Treaty that constitutes the foundation for official intergovernmental cooperation between the Nordic countries,” Minister Blomqvist says.

Question Time will be held with the ministers for Nordic cooperation in connection with the Plenary of the Nordic Council on 2 November. During the Question Time, the Nordic Council and the ministers for Nordic cooperation will discuss topical matters. At the Plenary, Minister Blomqvist will present a statement prepared by the ministers for Nordic cooperation on cross-border barriers and freedom of movement. The statement discusses, among other topics, major cross-border barriers that affect taxation, keeping of population registers, recognition of professional qualifications and access to digital services.

“Access to digital services is a topical example of a major cross-border barrier that must be resolved if we want to be the most integrated region in the world. At the moment, people find it too difficult to use digital public services in other Nordic countries,” Minister Blomqvist says. Minister Blomqvist will attend a meeting between the ministers for Nordic cooperation and the Presidium of the Nordic Council and meet representatives of the Committee for Welfare in the Nordic Region.

Information about the Nordic Council’s Session on the Nordic council’s website 

Inquiries:

Carolina Nordling, Special Adviser to Minister Blomqvist, tel. +358 295 15 0278, firstname.lastname@gov.fi

Ann-Sofie Stude, Chief of the Secretariat for Nordic Cooperation, tel. +358 295 350 351, firstname.lastname@formin.fi.