“The conditions for Nordic cooperation in the Arctic – and Nordic cooperation in general – have never been better. In turbulent geopolitical times, small and medium-sized countries have to come together. The Nordic region is the perfect place for this,” Svein Vigeland Rottem tells the Nordic Labour Journal.
He is a senior researcher at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute and one of Norway’s leading experts on Arctic politics and international cooperation in the High North.
During the Arctic Frontiers conference in Tromsø in February, Rottem chaired the event “Looking Back, Moving Forward: 30 Years of Nordic Arctic Cooperation”.
Starting a conversation relay
This year marks 30 years since the Nordic Council of Ministers launched its first Arctic cooperation programme. The Tromsø seminar marked the start of a range of anniversary events which will run through 2026.
A Nordic-Arctic relay of conversations will be held across a range of different forums.
“30 years ago, the ambitions were clear: to strengthen cooperation between people across Arctic borders, anchored in common Nordic values like trust, democracy and sustainability,” Unni Kløvstad told the seminar during the opening.
Kløvstad is head of department for international co-operation, amongst other things, at the Nordic Council of Ministers.
“Three decades later, we can safely say that this ambition has helped develop the Nordic Arctic region. The programme has been an important instrument for real cooperation across borders in the North.”
Since the start, the programme has supported more than 100 projects.
Halfway through
Last year, the tenth Nordic Arctic programme was launched during the same conference. 30 billion Danish kroner (€4.1bn) were allocated over three years to strengthen social, economic and environmental sustainability.
At that launch, Secretary General Karen Ellemann underlined that the cooperation was more important than ever.
“With a new Arctic cooperation programme, we can deliver economic support to incredibly important elements like civil society cooperation, allowing people to meet and share knowledge. This is a crucial part of creating strong, resilient societies here in the Arctic North,” Ellemann said back then in an interview with the Nordic Labour Journal.
A new geopolitical reality
The Arctic is no longer what it was 30 years ago.
“The changes have been rapid and dramatic,” Kløvstad said.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine means the country no longer participates in the Arctic Council. Finland has pulled out of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council. Russia is also no longer there.
Meanwhile, China is showing an increased interest in the region’s resources, and a new Trump administration has created uncertainty, also by its repeated statements regarding Greenland.
The Arctic Council is also 30 this year, with the Kingdom of Denmark – with Greenland in the lead – holding the chairship. There are, nevertheless, questions surrounding the Council’s future.
“There are many new challenges, but that also highlights the need for cooperation across national borders and between people. In an unstable world, the Nordic cooperation is more important than ever,” said Kløvstad.
Cooperation from below
The panel debate also featured Sara Olsvig, a politician from Greenland and the head of the Inuit Circumpolar Council, Lars Kullerud from UiT, the Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø, Inga M.W. Nyhamar from the Norwegian foreign ministry and Ole Martin Melbøe Nygård, who represents the Barents Regional Youth Council.
“We are living in a historically important moment,” said Olsvig.
She underlined that the Nordic Arctic programme has strengthened the already existing cooperation between indigenous peoples across the region.
“Indigenous peoples have worked together across the borders long before this programme. But it has helped strengthen and structure this cooperation.”
She also highlighted the Nordic region’s clear voice on the international stage on indigenous rights issues – including at the UN. But she added:
“It is paramount that the Nordic countries also follow this up at home. There is still an implementation gap. If we want a robust Arctic society, we have to start fixing things at home.”
There are also barriers, also between Inuits.
“It’s easy to believe the cooperation is flexible, but there are many obstacles, for instance when it comes to trade.”
Olsvig said they find inspiration from Nordic cooperation to remove border obstacles between Nordic countries.
Arctic cross-border cooperation
And if there was one thing Unni Kløvstad from the Nordic Council of Ministers could change to improve Nordic Arctic cooperation, it would be precisely that – to reduce border obstacles.
“There is one thing in the work we do at the Nordic Council of Ministers that is really important to people living in the North – and that is to reduce border obstacles,” Kløvstad tells the Nordic Labour journal.
“We have to remove any structural obstacles that may exist, so that we achieve the exchange needed to create a more integrated labour market and make it easier for companies to set up shop across the Nordic countries.
“It is important that people don’t run into ‘red tape’ in this process. It should also be as easy to be a Norwegian student in Finland as it is to be a Norwegian student in Norway.”
Is this even more important in the Arctic than in other parts of the Nordics?
“The potential is even bigger here. There’s a lot of focus on this in the cooperation that we support through the Arctic Mayors’ Forum – that we must create our own ‘axis’ and more direct cooperation between these regions.
“There’s a lot of talk about there being only a north-south axis in our countries, and that as a result, there are no efficient, or environmentally friendly, transport and communication solutions, nor a will to integrate.
“We must make the north-to-north and east-to-west dimensions more prominent in our cooperation.”
New structures?
Inga M.W. Nyhamar from the Norwegian foreign ministry underlined that the Nordic perspective has been important from the start of Arctic cooperation.
“But today’s structures might not be the ones we need tomorrow. The Barents cooperation shows us that we have to be open to new ideas.”
She pointed out that good cooperation is rarely created on a prime ministerial level or in the corridors of government ministries.
“People find ways of cooperating based on their needs. Structures must be built according to the needs in the Arctic and get support from the capitals.”
Different interests
Svein Vigeland Rottem, senior researcher at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, believes it is crucial to recognise the fact that the Nordic countries have different interests in the Arctic.
“Sweden and Finland have a different Arctic starting point than Norway and the Kingdom of Denmark, which are both coastal states. This means different interests, including in ‘the blue Arctic’,” he tells the Nordic Labour Journal.
He nevertheless thinks that the Nordic identity remains strong, also here.
“But if we’re talking about the Nordic region in the Arctic, we must also dare to address the elephant in the room: We have different interests. This does not undermine our cooperation, however,” he argues.
Because at the same time, outside pressure has strengthened cohesion. Rottem points to the reactions to Trump’s remarks about Greenland.
“We have seen the Nordic prime ministers stand together in the face of outside pressure. This could open up for closer cooperation on shared challenges.”
Calling for an Arctic identity
Ole Martin Melbøe Nygård represents a generation that was not yet born when the Arctic cooperation began.
“Being young in the Arctic cooperation can be challenging. But in later years, we have been invited and listened to more.”
He calls for the building of an Arctic identity.
“I am Norwegian, but I am also an Arctic citizen.”
He talks about conversations he has been having with young people in the region. One sentence has stuck with him:
“We live in different houses – of different sizes and colours – but we are all standing on Arctic soil.”
Nygård believes an Arctic identity can make it easier to study, work and settle in a different country from your home nation.
Researcher Svein Vigeland Rottem is less sure that it is possible to establish an Arctic identity.
He returns to the issue of geography.
“The Norwegian Arctic, for instance, is completely different from the forest in Northern Sweden. Tromsø and Kiruna are pretty different.
“There are many identities. And the Nordic identity is already strong. Establishing a new, Arctic identity could be challenging,” believes Vigeland Rottem.
Luleå mayor welcomes Norwegian businesses
Nygård studied in Trondheim and sees that many of his cohort are looking to the south of Norway when trying to find work.
“We have to talk more about the opportunities that exist in the Arctic.
“If the next generation is to think more in terms of east-to-west when looking for possibilities, this could change a lot.”
A few days before this Nordic seminar, the conference “Springfart for Nord” was held, also in Tromsø. It gathered mayors from Tromsø, Umeå, Oulu, Luleå and Målselv to discuss preparedness, security, business development and young people’s future in the North.
Luleå’s mayor, Carina Sammeli, expressed frustation over the fact that there are few – if any – Norwegian businesses in her municipality.
“We have many Finnish businesses but hardly any from Norway,” she said, calling for better east-west cooperation.
This illustrates a paradox for student Nygård: While politicians and businesses talk about Nordic cooperation, the labour markets are still largely national.
“We rarely see a Swedish or Finnish employer come to our university to recruit us,” he says.
Meanwhile, it is well-known that industries in the North – for instance LKAB in Swedish Kiruna – are looking for skilled workers.
