The Stoltenberg Report: New Life for Nordic Cooperation?

Sub-regional cooperation in Europe – that is cooperation between groups of neighbours in limited parts of the main Euro-Atlantic space – has been called the Cinderella among European organizations. It attracts little publicity or academic analysis and it does not seem to be any politician’s top priority. Nevertheless, it has made useful contributions to stability and reform at certain stages in post-Cold War history, notably in the early 1990s when the Council of the Baltic Sea States and the Barents Euro-Arctic Council were created among others. There are some signs that it is gaining prominence again at the end of the 21st century’s first decade.

Sub-regional cooperation in Europe – that is cooperation between groups of neighbours in limited parts of the main Euro-Atlantic space – has been called the Cinderella among European organizations. It attracts little publicity or academic analysis and it does not seem to be any politician’s top priority. Nevertheless, it has made useful contributions to stability and reform at certain stages in post-Cold War history, notably in the early 1990s when the Council of the Baltic Sea States and the Barents Euro-Arctic Council were created among others. There are some signs that it is gaining prominence again at the end of the 21st century’s first decade.