The Barents Euro-Arctic Region

Cooperation in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region was launched in 1993 on two levels: intergovernmental (Barents Euro-Arctic Council, BEAC), and interregional (Barents Regional Council, BRC), with sustainable development as the overall objective. The region was an area of military confrontation during the Cold War. The underlying premise was that close cooperation would secure long-term stability in political and other relations and reduce possible tensions. This objective has already been successfully achieved. The Barents cooperation has fostered a new sense of unity and closer contact among the people of the region which is an excellent basis for further progress. The Barents Regional Council unites 13 member counties and a representative of the indigenous peoples in the northernmost parts of Finland, Norway and Sweden and north-west Russia.