Regional environmental cooperation
Sweden participates actively in cooperation on sustainable development and environment in our neighbourhood. There are a number of reasons for doing so.
- The countries concerned share common problems, such as the eutrophication of the Baltic Sea, where the countries have to help one another to achieve results.
- Like-minded countries can act together in international contexts, thus achieving better results.
- It is important to have similar rules in a larger area to establish fair and equal conditions for companies.
- Not all countries have been working on these issues for as long as Sweden and we can contribute knowledge about environmental management and technology. Sweden can also learn from other countries.
Forms of cooperation
The forms of cooperation vary depending on the issue concerned and the participant countries. Environment is one of the most important issues in several bodies for regional cooperation. This applies to the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM), the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC), the Arctic Council and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
Sweden also engages in bilateral cooperation with its neighbouring countries. The Ministry of the Environment has a special budget for neighbouring country cooperation with Russia on nuclear safety and environment. Sweden engages in development cooperation with Ukraine, Moldavia and Georgia, where environment is an important component. Sweden also works on environmental issues together with other countries through international financing institutions. These institutions include the Nordic Enviroment Finance Corporation (NEFCO), Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) och European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
There are also special regional environmental conventions such as the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) on the Baltic Sea environment and the Oslo and Paris Commission (OSPAR) that deals with the North Sea and the northeast Atlantic.
In the area of sustainable development, the Baltic Sea states have a special cooperation body called Baltic 21, whose activities include a number of projects for sustainable development in the region. Sweden also works though the EU to draw attention to environmental issues in the region. For instance, Sweden pressed for the Commission to present a special strategy for the Baltic Sea region (Baltic Sea Strategy) in 2009. The Strategy will be considered in the EU during the Swedish Presidency in autumn 2009.
A new EU initiative the Eastern Partnership is intended to strengthen and deepen the EUs relations with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. Environment is one of the areas where the cooperation can be deepened further.
