Overview of the Northern Europe Initiative

In the past decade, the area surrounding the Baltic and Barents Seas has developed into a dynamic and increasingly vital part of Europe. As part of its broader efforts in Europe, the United States seeks to promote stability, prosperity, and security, bolster U.S. trade and investment, and further integrate the countries of the region into key Western institutions and security structures. The Northern Europe Initiative (NEI), launched in 1997 and led by the U.S. Department of State, is a key element of U.S. Government strategy to achieve these goals. NEI seeks to bring together and energize government agencies, the private sector, and the community of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to build a "culture of cooperation" among the Baltic states, northwest Russia, the Nordic countries, Poland, and Germany.

The Northern Europe Initiative pursues three broad objectives:

• Integrate the Baltic states into a regional network of cooperative programs with their neighbors and support their efforts to prepare for membership in key European and Euro-Atlantic institutions;
• Integrate northwest Russia into the same cooperative regional network to promote democratic, market-oriented development in Russia as well as to enhance Russia's relations with its northern European neighbors; and
• Strengthen U.S. relations with and regional ties among the Nordic states, Poland, Germany, and the European Union.

Priority Areas
Under NEI, the U.S. has identified six priority areas in which regional and cross-border cooperation is particularly useful. Since NEI's launch, projects in each area have been developed and implemented, and U.S. missions in the region, working with their contacts in local governments, the business community, and the NGO community, continue to develop additional programs. NEI projects have two things in common: they address concrete practical needs, and they do so in a way that promotes cooperative cross-border and regional linkages. They range from large-scale multi-million dollar nuclear waste management projects to small, targeted NGO-run development programs. Few of these projects are financed solely by the U.S. Government; most are co-financed by other governments in the region and/or private NGOs. U.S. Government financial contributions come primarily from funds appropriated under the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act and the Freedom Support Act (which governs assistance to Russia).

The six priority areas encompassed by the Northern Europe Initiative are:

Business and Trade Promotion. Developing regional trade ties and expanding U.S. business opportunities in northern Europe go hand in hand. U.S. embassies there have developed a number of programs to support American companies interested in investing in and trading with the Baltic and Nordic states and northwest Russia. Foreign Commercial Service (FCS) offices throughout the region work directly with businesses and local U.S. Chambers of Commerce. The Central and Eastern Europe Business Information Center (CEEBIC) has staff in Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn who develop trade leads and counsel U.S. companies concerning trade and investment opportunities. In Washington, CEEBIC trade specialists provide support services to U.S. companies and hold business outreach programs. The private sector dialogue of the Partnership Commission established under the U.S.-Baltic Charter enables the business community to discuss its needs directly with U.S. and Baltic economic decision-makers. The Baltic-American Enterprise Fund (BAEF), established in 1994 with $50 million in U.S. funds, provides capital in all three Baltic states for small- and medium-sized companies and for residential mortgages. Through these and other efforts, the U.S. seeks to promote increased trade and investment, a key part of building a region of prosperity and stability.

Law Enforcement. Establishing the rule of law in all aspects of public and private life is crucial to political stability and economic prosperity. Under NEI, the U.S. is implementing a number of programs to help complete the development of efficient legal systems in the Baltic states, combat corruption and money-laundering there and in northwest Russia, and establish the legal framework to encourage trade and investment. The U.S. provides direct legal assistance and training to all three Baltic states and Russia and supports the Riga Graduate School of Law in Latvia, which provides a modern legal education to students from all three Baltic republics. An NEI Law Enforcement Task Force directs operational cooperation with the Council of Baltic Sea States (CBSS) Task Force on Organized Crime. Department of Justice regional legal advisers assist Russia and the Baltic states in strengthening legal procedures and judicial systems, and the U.S. helps support an international police-training center in Poland that is open to participants from the region.

Civil Society. Throughout the NEI region, increased public participation in the political system will contribute significantly to internal stability and economic prosperity. Estonia and Latvia in particular face the challenge of integrating their Russian-speaking minorities in a way that strengthens social cohesion. Together with its Nordic partners, the U.S. has undertaken a number of activities to promote social integration in Estonia and Latvia, including native language training programs in Latvia and a job retraining and language training program for Russian speakers in northeastern Estonia. The U.S. co-finances (with the Soros Foundation) the Baltic American Partnership Fund (BAPF), established in 1998 to develop a dynamic NGO community in the three Baltic states. The October 1999 Reykjavik Conference on Women and Democracy, co-sponsored by the United States, Iceland, and the Nordic Council of Ministers, developed a number of projects now being implemented in Russia and the Baltic states to promote the full participation of women in political and economic life and to build people-to-people contacts throughout the region. A follow-up conference in June 2001 in Vilnius will further these efforts.

Energy. Reform of the energy sector is a critical building block for northern Europe's economic growth. Under NEI, the U.S. Government has been supporting the development and implementation of a Baltic regional energy investment strategy and a common regional electricity market. These efforts promote several key goals: restructuring the power sector, developing an effective price and regulatory framework, and privatizing the energy sector in order to attract strategic investment, especially including U.S. investment. Energy market reform and regional market integration are particularly urgent in the Baltic region because of the Lithuanian Government's commitment to close down for safety reasons Unit #1 (similar to the Chernobyl Plant design) of its Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant prior to 2005. The U.S. is working closely with the international donor community and international financial institutions to support this decision and to help the region -- and Lithuania in particular -- develop sustainable, economic, and safe energy alternatives.

Environment. Dealing with the many environmental challenges in the NEI region -- both nuclear and non-nuclear -- requires a regional approach. Regional environmental efforts run by the Environmental Protection Agency include a Great Lakes/Baltic Sea fellowship program, several cross-border watershed management projects that bring Baltic and Russian experts together, and a U.S.-Swedish program that provides training in environmental management for military bases in the region. An NEI Task Force oversees a number of nuclear waste management projects in the Russian northwest. Key projects include the Murmansk 80-tonne Cask, which will provide transportation and interim storage for special nuclear fuel from Russian nuclear submarines and icebreakers currently stored aboard barges and service vessels, and a low-level radioactive waste treatment facility in Murmansk. The U.S. and several regional partners are engaged in negotiations to establish a framework agreement covering these and similar projects -- the Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Program for Russia (MNEPR). The U.S. embassy in Copenhagen serves as a hub for environmental activities throughout the NEI region.

Public Health. Tuberculosis and HIV infection rates are exceptionally high in parts of northwest Russia and the Baltic states. Under NEI, disease experts from the U.S., international health organizations, and the Nordic countries are engaged in a wide range of activities to combat these diseases. Working together with UNAIDS and the governments in the region, the U.S. helped launch a regional HIV/AIDS strategy in 2000 to guide all international treatment efforts in the region. The strategy is now being implemented in cooperation with the Baltic Sea States Task Force on Infectious Diseases. In March 2000, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) opened a Center of Excellence for Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis in Latvia, which is co-funded by Sweden, and Latvia. The Center serves as a magnet research, treatment, and training center for the entire region. In the public health area, too, the U.S. embassy in Copenhagen serves as a hub for activities throughout the NEI region.

NEI: A New Approach to Diplomacy
The Northern Europe Initiative is a conscious effort to develop a more active public-private partnership in the conduct of diplomacy, in which the U.S. Government works closely with the business and NGO community to achieve shared goals. It is also an effective way to use increasingly scarce U.S. resources efficiently. Through NEI, U.S. contributions of financial support, expertise, and diplomatic clout are multiplied by cooperating with our Nordic partners and with regional organizations and programs. The U.S. Government works with organizations such as the Barents Euro-Arctic Council and the Council of Baltic Sea States (the U.S. is an observer in both), the Arctic Council (of which the U.S. is a member), and the Nordic Council, each of which conducts programs in the region. The U.S. also coordinates NEI activities with those being developed by the European Union under its Northern Dimension strategy, and many NEI projects involve participation by and funding from other states in the region and from interested NGOs. Such multifaceted cooperation enhances the impact of U.S. efforts and ensures the most effective use of U.S. resources.

Russia -- A Key Partner
NEI encompasses northwest Russia, including the Kaliningrad region, and is an important part of broader U.S. Russia policy. The U.S. goal is to demonstrate that integration and cooperation in the NEI region benefit Russia as well as its Baltic neighbors. A number of NEI projects, including in the areas of public health, environmental management, and law enforcement, focus specifically on cross-border problems affecting northwest Russia and its neighbors, and new cooperative projects are being developed to promote increased people-to-people contacts between Russia and the Baltic states. By strengthening the cooperative links between Russia and its neighbors, NEI increases security for all and helps build the foundation for greater economic prosperity in the region.

U.S.-Baltic Bilateral Programs
NEI is a vital complement to the U.S.-Baltic Charter of Partnership, signed in January 1998 by President Clinton and the three Baltic Presidents, which enshrines the shared vision of a Europe whole and free and the place of the Baltic states within that Europe. The Baltic Charter guides our bilateral relations, offering a framework for cooperation that includes a joint high-level Partnership Commission, bilateral working groups on economic and business ties and on security relations, and the private sector component (noted above) that brings together U.S. and Baltic business leaders and senior government officials for regular interchange.

For more information or to give feedback, please contact:

Conrad Tribble, NEI Coordinator
Office of Nordic and Baltic Affairs
U.S. Department of State
Washington, DC 20520

Email: nei@state.gov
Tel: (202) 647-5669
Fax: (202) 736-4170

Web Site: http://www.state.gov/p/eur/rt/nei/