ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses on the official Nordic cooperation within the Nordic Council (NC) and the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM) into a wider regional context, analyzing the interaction between Norden and its adjacent areas, as well as its role within the European Union's (EU) regional policies towards northern Europe. While focusing on joint Nordic endeavours rather than the individual Nordic countries regional policies towards northern Europe, it especially examines the Nordic adjacent areas policies, the different formal and informal formats of Nordic-Baltic cooperation, and Norden's role in Baltic Sea cooperation, including EU-steered regional activities Northern Dimension (ND), European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) and Arctic cooperation. The focus of official Nordic cooperation was on intra-Nordic interaction. Nordic governments played important roles in establishing regional institutions: Denmark co-initiated the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS); Finland was the driving force behind the EU's (ND); while Sweden's efforts were crucial in elaborating and adopting the EUSBSR.
