The Centre Group seeks to promote the following objectives:
1. Borderless North
The Centre Group wishes to remove all remaining obstacles to free movement in the Nordic countries. The citizens of the Nordic countries should be freely able to choose their place of residence, work and education, and they should have the same social benefits regardless of their place of residence. The borderless North should be made as an example to a borderless Europe and a borderless world.
2. Maintaining and reinforcing Nordic welfare
The Nordic countries have made different choices on welfare issues, but the fundamental values – equality, involvement and solidarity – are common to all of them. The Centre Group considers it important that welfare services are guaranteed to all citizens of the Nordic countries. The material security and civil rights in the Nordic countries have been based on the fact that all citizens are guaranteed equal rights regarding education, society, work and healthcare. This has been accomplished through legislation and public services.
Globalisation and the integration of Europe will expand the markets for goods produced in the homeland. At the same time, the labour markets will become even more integrated, while taxes and other fees will become more harmonised. The Centre Group wishes to adjust the welfare society so that it can meet the present challenges. It is important that economic considerations should not inhibit the realisation of important welfare objectives.
Taking care of the weakest is also part of Nordic welfare. The welfare of animals is part of the welfare of the entire society.
It is important for the Centre Group that decisions should be made as close to the citizen as possible.
The Centre Group wishes:
- To promote the unification of welfare services across the Nordic countries.
- To ensure that all citizens of the Nordic countries have the opportunity to work and to benefit from welfare services.
- To facilitate inter-Nordic cooperation in issues related to welfare and working life.
- To improve the competitiveness of the Nordic countries by investing into science, research and innovations, and by developing new services.
3. Utilising our shared culture as a resource
Ideally, Nordic cooperation is cultural cooperation. Our shared cultural heritage is much more than just the traditional manifestations of culture. It is based on values that have resulted in the formation of our democratic societies.
A shared cultural heritage is an asset in a world that is constantly becoming more diversified and globalised. This shared heritage can help us understand and embrace difference and develop dialogue with people coming from other cultures. Our culture may also help us succeed in the world as we face increasing competition. The Centre Group strives to use our cultural resources to improve our competitiveness.
4. Strengthening non-governmental organisations
Nordic democracy is based on active civil involvement and a vibrant civil society. Our welfare society has developed hand in hand with strong non-governmental organisations and movements, i.e. the so-called Third Sector. This is precisely what the diversity of our societies is based on in the globalised world.
It is important to develop the democratic institutions in our neighbouring countries, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In these countries, as well as in Russia and Belarus, non-governmental organisations play a key role as enforcers of democracy. It is important to promote cooperation between Nordic non-governmental organisations and their sister organisations in other countries.
The Centre Group wishes to support the efforts taken by non-governmental organisations against human trafficking, child pornography and narcotics.
5. Cooperation to achieve a safe environment
There are increasing threats on the environment in spite of the fact that the law mandates the Nordic countries to preserve the nature and to promote sustainable development. The Nordic countries should pay particular attention to the preservation of the arctic regions. We know that if the arctic glaciers melt, this will have a profound global effect on both humans and animals.
Preserving the arctic nature requires close cooperation between the Nordic countries, the European Union, Russia, the United States, the Barents Council and the Arctic Council.
The Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the Arctic Ocean are also threatened by the lack of natural resources and increasing traffic. Moreover, oil and nuclear disasters pose a significant threat.
The Centre Group thinks that the Nordic countries should jointly invest in research on alternative and renewable energy sources. The Nordic countries should be at the forefront in decreasing our dependency on oil and other fossilized fuels.
The Centre Group wishes:
- To support research on the effects of climate change and other environmental challenges to the arctic regions.
- To continue to improve the condition of the Baltic Sea together with the other surrounding countries.
- To make the Nordic Countries forerunners in the development and use of alternative energy sources.
- To promote Nordic research on alternative energy, with the intention to decrease our dependency on fossilised energy sources.
6. Development of the Nordic EU cooperation
The Nordic countries have much to give to the European Union. Strong civil society, equality among different groups of people, the economic independence of each individual, cherishing of the diversity of the society, respect for clean food and clean nature, a way of life that is socially, economically and economically in accordance with sustainable development – these are just some of the strengths of the Nordic countries on the basis of which we should actively take part in the development of our entire continent. We may be small if we work alone, but together we are much larger.
The Centre Group’s opinion is that the Nordic countries should work in cooperation in the EU. This will enable us to be proactive and take initiative – something for which we may not have resources as individual, small countries. We should constantly be alert for issues that are relevant to the Nordic countries in the EU’s agenda, and we should also actively work together to introduce such matters into it. At the same time we must ensure that any legislation that is being formulated will not obstruct the freedom of movement between our countries.
One of the objectives of the Centre Group is that the Nordic countries should be the forerunners of a borderless Europe. In spite of the EU – or, indeed, because of the EU – we should boldly try to find solutions that promote regional mobility, even if these solutions may still be far away in the context of the EU.
7. Improving and focusing the work of the Nordic Council
The Centre Group thinks that when it comes to the political cooperation between the Nordic countries, we should raise the “bar”, or the level of ambition, much higher than where it is today. The Nordic Council and the Council of Ministers should be used to achieve our shared and explicitly determined objectives.
The Nordic Council is an expert organisation on Nordic cooperation, where the experts comprise of Members of Parliament who have been elected in democratic elections. The task of MPs is to influence the governments of the Nordic countries, hoping that the governments will better take into account the shared assets of the Nordic countries and utilise them. The results of the work conducted in the Nordic Council and, especially, in its committees, should be utilised much more efficiently than what they are today.
