A commission is to come up with proposals on how the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland can participate on an equal footing with other parties in the Nordic Council and Nordic Council of Ministers.
This has been decided this week.
This is stated by the Nordic Council of Ministers in a press release.
Both the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland have participated in the work of the Nordic Council, which also includes Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Iceland, for decades.
However, the three autonomous areas have long wanted to have more say in Nordic cooperation.
At the turn of the year, they were given a permanent seat on the council's presidium, which is the highest political leadership between the annual sessions.
The commission is to work on an update of the Helsinki Accords, which forms the framework for the Nordic Council.
The work is scheduled to be completed so that the commission's proposed amendments can be discussed at the Nordic Council session in October this year.
- The commission is to prepare a single comprehensive proposal for concrete changes to the text of the Helsinki Agreement and other measures to achieve equal participation of the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland in Nordic cooperation, the terms of reference state.
Eight members are to participate in the commission's work. The members are representatives of the Nordic countries and three autonomous regions.
Its work is internal.
Greenland began to boycott the political work of the Nordic Council when the three autonomous regions were not invited to a summit in 2024.
When it was decided to give the regions a place in the presidium, the council described it as a step towards "more relevant and inclusive cooperation".
However, the Greenlandic government wrote to the media outlet KNR that it would not yet participate in the political work.
- The previous government's message that Greenland should become a full member of the Nordic Council continues to be supported and maintained by the current government, said Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen in October.
The Helsinki Agreement dates from 1962. It was last amended in 1995.
The Nordic Council is the parliamentary body for Nordic cooperation and was formed in 1952. The Council has 87 elected members from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland.
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