Barents Euro-Arctic Council

The Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) is the official body for inter-governmental co-operation in the Barents Region. It seeks solutions wherever and whenever the countries can achieve more together than by working on their own. Cooperation in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region was launched in 1993 on two levels: intergovernmental Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) and interregional Barents Regional Council (BRC). The overall objective of Barents cooperation has been sustainable development.

In 2008, International Barents Secretariat was established in Kirkenes. The secretariat supports the multilateral activities within the Barents Euro-Arctic Council and Barents Regional Council and secures the coherence and efficiency of the cooperation.

Where appropriate, there is also coordination with the relevant activities of the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Council of the Baltic Sea States, the Arctic Council and the Northern Dimension.

History

During the Cold War the Barents region was an area of military confrontation. The underlying premise was that close cooperation secures political long-term stability and reduces possible tensions. This objective has already been successfully achieved. The Barents cooperation has fostered a new sense of unity and closer contact among the people of the region which is an excellent basis for further progress.

Kirkenes Declaration

BEAC was founded at the conference on cooperation in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region took place in Kirkenes (Norway) on 11 January 1993 in accordance with the Kirkenes Declaration of 1993. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs or representatives of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, the Russian Federation, Sweden and the Commission of the European Communities participated in the conference, which was also attended by observers from the United States of America, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Poland, and the United Kingdom. The BEAC was created in order to provide impetus to existing cooperation and consider new initiatives and proposals. The objective of the work of the council is to promote sustainable development in the Barents region, bearing in mind the principles and recommendations set out in the Rio Declaration and Agenda 21 of UNCED.[1]

Members
  Member states, not including the European Commission
  Observers
  • Denmark
  • Finland
  • Iceland
  • Norway
  • Russia
  • Sweden
  • European Commission

Observers to BEAC
  • Canada
  • France
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Netherlands
  • Poland
  • United Kingdom
  • United States of America

Chairmanship

The chairmanship of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council rotates between Finland, Norway, Russia and Sweden. Finland holds the chairmanship for the period 2021-2023. Thirteen counties or similar sub-national entities form the Barents Regional Council (BRC). Nenets, Russia, is the chair of the BRC for the period 2021-2023.

List of holders of chairmanship
YearsCountryRef.
2021−23Finland[2]
2019−21Norway[3]
2017−19Sweden[4]
2015−17Russia[5]
2013−15Finland[6]
2011−13Norway[7]
2009−11Sweden[8]
2007−09Russia[9]

Ministerial meetings

Ministers of the four Barents countries (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia) have met regularly since the Kirkenes Declaration in 1993. The BEAC Foreign Minister's Sessions is the highest decision-making body in the whole Barents cooperation.[10] Foreign ministers meet biannually with the transferring the BEAC Chairmanship to the next country. The meeting documents and joint declarations can be found here.

Committee of senior officials

The Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) is the BEAC body responsible for coordinating the cooperation activities and organizing the work within BEAC between the meetings at the Foreign Minister level.[11] The CSO is represented by the civil servants from the governments of the member states and the European Union. Representatives of the observer countries have the right to participate. The CSO meets on a regular basis 4-5 times per year in the country holding the Chairmanship of the BEAC. The Chairperson of the CSO is a representative of the government of the Chair country.

Working groups

The two councils have established thematic Working Groups. The Working Groups constitute a cross-border platform for exchange for the civil servants and professionals of the respective field both on the national and regional level. Over the past years, the Working Groups have also implemented several projects.

The representatives of the three indigenous peoples, the Sámi, the Nenets and the Vepsians, cooperate in the Working Group of Indigenous Peoples (WGIP). It has an advisory role in both the BEAC and the BRC which means that their participation is welcome in all Barents Working Groups, that the WGIP Chair is a member of the Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) and the Barents Regional Committee, and that they are always represented at the BEAC Ministerial Sessions and the Barents Regional Council meetings. All three indigenous peoples of the Barents Region can participate individually in the CSO meetings, without a formal invitation.

List of the BEAC Working Groups:

See also

References

[12][13][14][15][16][17]

  1. "Kirkenes Declaration 1993" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-06-30.
  2. "The Finnish Presidency of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council 2021–2023".
  3. "Norwegian Chairmanship program 2019-2021" (PDF).
  4. "Swedish Chairmanship program 2017-2019" (PDF).
  5. "Russian Chairmanship priorities 2015-2017" (PDF).
  6. "Finnish BEAC Chairmanship program" (PDF).
  7. "Norwegian Chairmanship priorities 2011-2013" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-03-15.
  8. "Swedish Chairmanship Programme 2009-11" (PDF).
  9. "Program of the Russian Charmanship in the Barents Euro-Arctic Council 2007 - 2009" (PDF).
  10. "Ministerial Meetings - Beac". www.barents-council.org. Archived from the original on 2018-04-30. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
  11. "Committee of Senior Officials - Beac". www.barents-council.org. Archived from the original on 2018-03-11. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
  12. "Swedish Chairmanship of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council 2017-2019: Regional Sustainable Development for the Future". swemfa.se. Government Offices of Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. 20 October 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-11-22. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
  13. "The Barents Euro-Arctic Council". eib.org. European Investment Bank.
  14. "CBSS at the XVI Ministerial Meeting of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC)". cbss.org. Council of the Baltic Sea States. Archived from the original on 2018-05-16. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
  15. "THE FINNISH CHAIRMANSHIP IN THE BARENTS EURO-ARCTIC COUNCIL 2013-2015". oaarchive.arctic-council.org. Arctic Council.
  16. "JOINT DECLARATION XVI SESSION OF THE BARENTS EURO-ARCTIC COUNCIL Arkhangelsk, 18-19 October 2017". mid.ru. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
  17. "The Arctic Council and the Barents Region: Mutually Reinforcing Partners". worldpolicy.org. WORLD POLICY INSTITUTE.
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