Llulissat, 28/08/2002 (Agence Europe) - The Danish Presidency attempted to get debate rolling again on the EU's "northern dimension" at a conference of ministers held on 28 August in Llulissat, a small town on the west coast of Greenland. The goal is to "collect ideas and suggestions for continuing the work in Brussels in coordination with our partners," explained Denmark's Minister for European Affairs Bertel Haarder. The brainstorming session will prepare the proceedings of a conference in October which will establish guidelines for the next action plan for the Northern dimension, to be adopted in June 2003.
The idea of developing the EU's "northern dimension" around the Baltic Sea, chiefly to create a framework for cooperation enlarged to Russia in anticipation of enlargement, was launched under the Finnish Presidency. It was given effect with the adoption of an action plan in 2000 but so far has only resulted in two initiatives: the "environmental partnership for the northern dimension" and the "Northern e-dimension". "Unfortunately, the northern dimension of the EU was given limited financial and institutional resources" and the "action plan 2000 was not specific enough and proved hard to render operational", observes the Association of Danish Industries (Dansk Industri) in a paper submitted to the conference in Llulissat.
In fact, the "Presidency Conclusions" expected to be adopted at the Llulissat conference acknowledge that "the benefits of the northern dimension can only be attained through a more effective dialogue on priorities and operational cooperation by the different players," including the local authorities and the private sector. They state that "this coordination requires an effective mechanism for dialogue and the operational exchange of information" along with a supervision mechanism. At the same time, "the conference reviewed the need to allocate financial support to the new action plan and asked the Commission and the financial institutions to study ways of improving the coordination of financial instruments". In practice, the future action plan should set into place a more effective mechanism for the coordination of this "northern dimension" developed in the intergovernmental framework, state sources at the European Commission. On the other hand, it is unlikely that specific resources will be allocated in the EU budget; there is more likely to be better coordination between the different funds used (Tacis, Phare, Sapar, Interreg, etc.). The priorities of the next plan, according to the same sources, are expected to be: the environment, nuclear safety, Kaliningrad, cross-border cooperation, the fight against organised crime, energy, transport infrastructure and information technologies.
In Llulissat, the Premier of the local government of Greenland, Jonathan Motzfeldt, called on the EU to incorporate an "Arctic window" in the northern dimension, in particular in environmental matters and research. While hoping that the Arctic regions could be integrated into the northern dimension, Mr Haarder emphasized the development of relations with Moscow with a view to enlargement. "The priority of the new action plan should be to ensure the effectiveness of the border between the EU and Russia and to develop the frontier regions", he stated. The northern dimension was created especially around the Baltic so as to integrate Russia, observed a Danish diplomat, recalling that until now, only the Göteborg Summit conclusions of June 2001 have included a reference to the reflection the EU should commence on its Arctic dimensions. Mr Motzfeldt also mentioned the possibility of an agreement with the EU going beyond the fisheries agreement between the two parties (which will undergo a mid-term review in 2003). At the Commission, the prospect of an association agreement is viewed with considerable scepticism. "Greenland, which has ties to the EU as do other associated territories, would like to participate further in Community programmes, but a new agreement is not on the agenda," commented a Commission source.