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– The Barents cooperation has constituted a formalized collaboration primarily between Russia, Norway, Finland, and Sweden – designed to promote stability and sustainable development in a region that was characterized by military tension during the Cold War.
– The cooperation was established through the Kirkenes Declaration in 1993, stemming from a top-political process led by the MFA’s in Norway and Russia – and a regional process with initiatives for business and cultural cooperation between northern counties in the two states. These two levels structure the cooperation.
– The Barents Euro-Arctic Council is the format for intergovernmental cooperation – which also includes Denmark, Iceland, and the EU as members. Nine countries have observer status. An international Barents Secretariat, established in Kirkenes in 2008, provides administrative assistance.
– The Barents Regional Council has gathered 13 regional units in the four ‘core countries’ and representatives from the three indigenous peoples in the region – the Sàmi, Nenets, and Veps.
– There are several working groups under the council bodies, i.a. for health and social issues, environment, education and research, culture, indigenous affairs, and business.
– The Norwegian Barents Secretariat in Kirkenes, established in 1993, has supported Norwegian-Russian collaborations in the region through i.a. funding. In February, the secretariat closed its three local offices in Russia. Later, in June, the secretariat was tasked with focusing mainly on regional cross-border cooperation with Sweden and Finland, but it has still been able to support people-to-people cooperation with Russian civil society.
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