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Priority Areas

The NEI priority areas reflect the concrete needs in the region. Since NEI's launch, projects in each area have been developed and implemented, and U.S. embassies in the region, in cooperation with their many contacts, 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 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.

Trade and Business Promotion. U.S. embassies and consulates in the region, including the Foreign Commercial Service offices in Stockholm, Copenhagen, St. Petersburg, and Moscow have developed a Baltic Rim Commercial Program to support American companies interested in investing in and trading with the Baltic and Nordic states and northwest Russia. They have, for example, organized a number of sector-specific trade fairs to bring together potential U.S., Baltic, and Nordic business partners. The Partnership Commission established under the U.S.-Baltic Charter includes the U.S.-Baltics Business Forum that 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. The Related Sites page of this web site includes other business-related links.

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. has developed a number of programs to help complete the development of functioning 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 states. An NEI Law Enforcement Task Force directs cooperation with the Council of Baltic Sea States Task Force on Organized Crime. Department of Justice Resident 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 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 the Nordic partners, the U.S. has undertaken a number of activities to promote social integration in these Estonia and Latvia, including native language training programs. 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 Conference on Women and Democracy in Conjunction With the Vital Voices Democracy Initiative, held in Reykjavik October 8-10, 1999 and co-sponsored by the United States, Iceland, and the Nordic Council, developed a number of projects which are now being implemented in Russia and the Baltic states to promote the full participation of women in political and economic life and build people-to-people contacts throughout the region.

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 U.S. goals: restructuring of the power sector, development of an effective price and regulatory framework, and privatization of the energy sector in order to attract strategic investment, including particularly 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 of its Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (similar to the Chernobyl Plant design) 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. An NEI Task Force oversees a number of nuclear waste management projects in the Russian northwest and far east. Examples include the Murmansk 80-tonne Cask, which will provide transportation and interim storage for special nuclear fuel from Russian nuclear submarines and icebreakers that is currently stored aboard barges and service vessels, and a low-level radioactive waste treatment facility in Murmansk. These projects help address radioactive waste management challenges stemming from U.S. nonproliferation programs and, at the same time, promote environmental stewardship in Russia. In a related effort, the U.S. is engaged in negotiations to establish a multilateral nuclear environmental assistance program for Russia. Other regional projects include the Great Lakes/Baltic Sea Partnership run by the Environmental Protection Agency and a U.S.-Swedish program to improve environmental management at military bases in Lithuania and Latvia. The U.S. embassy in Copenhagen manages the Environmental, Scientific, and Technological Affairs Hub (EST) for the Nordic/Baltic 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 such as the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Nordic countries are engaged in numerous activities to combat these diseases. Together with Finland and UNAIDS, the U.S. is developing a pilot HIV/AIDS treatment program in the region. With Swedish, Latvian, and EU co-funding, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are establishing a Center of Excellence for Multidrug-Resistant TB in Latvia, which will serve as a magnet research, treatment, and training center for the entire region. The EST hub in Copenhagen also handles public health activities throughout the NEI region.

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

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

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