The themes of the Centre Group for 2012 include
Nordic EU Cooperation
The Centre Group thinks that the new EU legislation should not form new bureaucratic barriers between the Nordic countries. This is why the Nordic cooperation regarding EU legislation, from the preparation of statutes to their enforcement, should be significantly optimised. Moreover, the cooperation between the commissions responsible for EU affairs in the Nordic parliaments should be improved. At the same time we should aim to develop the proactive inter-Nordic EU cooperation so that issues important to the Nordic countries should be included in the EU’s agenda and joint views could be formed on topics that are already on the agenda. The future goal should be an inter-Nordic strategy for EU operations.
The working methods of the Nordic Council should be further enhanced so that EU legislation is automatically taken into account in committee meetings. The Nordic Council should develop its EU know-how in order to be able to present Nordic views to the European Parliament, for example. Moreover, cooperation between the Nordic MEPs should be improved. The current EU debates between ministers should be included in the Nordic Council’s annual meetings.
The status of the Baltic Sea and the arctic regions in the EU should be strengthened.
Immigration and integration
The Centre Group’s opinion is that the Nordic countries should remain at the top level of the EU and the whole world in the integration of immigrants. The integration process should be based on the guarantee that extensive human rights are granted to all people who, for one reason or another, are staying in the Nordic countries either for a short or a longer period of time. All Nordic residents – both old and new – should have the right to live according to their own culture, religion and values. At the same time they have both rights and obligations as citizens.
Security policy
The Centre group thinks that the Nordic countries should strive for an even deeper cooperation on security policy and crisis management both in neighbouring areas and further away. The suggestions made by Thorvald Stoltenberg in 2009 should be further developed, and they should form a basis for concrete cooperation. The objectives should include an even clearer division of labour between the Nordic countries, synergy benefits and cost savings. A broad definition of security should serve as the basis for the Nordic cooperation on security policy. The cooperation between the Nordic foreign ministries on representation should be advanced in accordance with Stoltenberg’s recommendations.
