Top of the Barents

On this page we have the opportunity to talk to the Foreign Ministers and other High Representatives of the Barents countries and regions to shed light on the results and the future of the cooperation.

Nenets Autonomous Okrug: overcoming distances

The Nenets Autonomous Okrug just took over the Barents Regional Council (BRC) Chairmanship from Västerbotten. We asked the new Chair, Mr. Governor Yury Bezdudny to share his views on the Barents Cooperation.

Finland: Building sustainable connections across borders

Finland is taking over the Presidency of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council from Norway. We invited Foreign Minister of Finland to shed light on their priorities for the next period

Interview with the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs on the outgoing BEAC Chairmanship

We are very much looking forward to hosting the 18th Ministerial Meeting in Tromsø on 26 October, when we will hand the chairmanship over to Finland. The meetings will be streamed online for everyone to follow.

Sergey Lavrov's interview before the 18th BEAC Ministerial Session

Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs replied to our questions prior to the BEAC Ministerial in Tromsoe.

Arctic challenges are borderless

Michael Siebert from the European External Action Service shares his views about cross-border cooperation from the European perspective

Sweden: A Barents success for everyone

Ann Linde is the Foreign Minister of Sweden. We spoke to her here about her thoughts on prosperity, the environment, and gender equality in the Barents Cooperation.

Mechanisms for meaningful dialogue

Norwegian Sami Parliament member Piera Heaika Muotka has been chairing the Working Group of Indigenous Peoples (WGIP). We spoke to him here about his experiences with the Barents Cooperation.

Friendship and concrete cooperation projects across borders

Gøril Johansen has been leading the Norwegian BEAC Chairmanship during 2019-2021 and we asked her to share her views on the Barents Cooperation

Bringing together the regional and the national

We asked Mikael Bergström, who has been chairing the Barents Regional Committee under the Västerbotten chairmanship at the Barents Regional Council (2019-2021), to share his views on the Barents Cooperation.

We share the same interests and we face common challenges

Chair of the Joint Working Group on Health and Related Social Issues Jörgen Gyllenblad shares his thoughts on the exceptional period of digital meetings

Breaking down barriers between young people

Daria Makhotina and Martin Gamst Johnsen are leading the work the Barents Regional Youth Council and we asked them to share their views on including young people in the Barents Cooperation

Building on sustainable and efficient connectivity in the region

Senior Adviser Paal Iversen has been chairing the Working Group on Transport and we asked him to share his views on the cooperation in the Barents region.

Denmark: A close interest in Barents Cooperation

State Secretary for European Affairs and the Arctic Mr. Carsten Grønbech-Jensen will represent Denmark at the upcoming 18th BEAC Ministerial Meeting in Tromsø. We spoke to him about Denmark’s perspectives on the Barents Cooperation.

Nature doesn't recognize state borders

Ministerial Adviser Henna Haapala has been chairing the Working Group on Environment and we asked her to share her views on the cooperation in the Barents region.

Iceland: We warmly welcome the strong focus on youth

Prior to the upcoming BEAC Ministerial Meeting we asked the Icelandic Foreign Minister Gudlaugur Thór Thórdarson to share his thoughts about the cooperation in the Barents Region.