Overview

(Archive)

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. The U.S. government's policy framework for the region, the Northern Europe Initiative (NEI), was launched in 1997 with three overall goals: the integration of the Baltic States into a regional network of cooperative programs with their neighbors; the integration of northwest Russia into the same cooperative regional network; and stronger U.S. relations with and increased regional cooperation among the Nordic states, Poland, Germany, and the European Union. NEI funds, roughly $30 million since the program's inception, are spent in six broad areas:

Business and Trade Promotion: Developing regional trade ties supports political and social integration across northern Europe and expands U.S. business opportunities there. Foreign Commercial Service (FCS) offices throughout the region work directly with U.S. businesses and local "AmChams." 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 BIS-NIS program provides similar support to companies interested in doing business in Russia. 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: The U.S. has dispatched advisors from the Justice Department and federal agencies to provide advice to their regional counterparts. We have coordinated with regional agencies such as the Baltic Sea States Task Force on Organized Crime to combat trafficking in persons, smuggling, drug trafficking, corruption, and money laundering among other issues.

Civil Society: Believing that increased public participation in the political system will contribute significantly to internal stability and economic prosperity, we have promoted native language training for Russian-speakers to encourage social integration in Latvia and Estonia. Projects designed to strengthen the political and economic role of women in society provide broad benefit to the nations of the region.

Energy & Environment: The U.S. Government has supported the development and implementation of a Baltic regional energy investment strategy and a common regional electricity market. NEI undertakes emerging regional environmental challenges, including a Great Lakes-Baltic Sea fellowship program, cross-border watershed management projects, a U.S.-Swedish program that provides training in environmental management for military bases in the region, and nuclear waste management projects in northwest Russia.

Public Health: The U.S. government joins with international health organizations and the Nordic countries in a wide range of activities to help combat the alarmingly high rate of tuberculosis and HIV infection in parts of northwest Russia and the Baltic states.