Nordic Council of Ministers

The projects eligible to the funding from the Nordic Council of Ministers must benefit the Nordic countries, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland. Projects may also include at least two out of the Nordic countries, Greenland, Åland, and the Faroe Islands and a non-Nordic country. Projects must generate Nordic synergies and have a strategic purpose. Most of them are run by a particular administrative body.

Each year, some 500 projects and activities are launched and run within the framework of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The majority are run by an “administrative body”, usually a national institution or organisation in the Nordic Region commissioned for the purpose by the Nordic Council of Ministers. The Nordic Council of Ministers also issues direct calls for funding applications on particular topics from time to time.

Nordic co-operation is based on the vision “Together we are stronger” and its four pillars:

• Freedom of movement
• Innovation
• Visibility
• International engagement

The various councils of ministers draw up plans, strategies and programmes that reflect their political priorities. The Nordic Council of Ministers also has three intersectoral strategies: for sustainability, gender equality, and children and young people. The country holding the Presidency each year also has a “priority budget”. Projects applying for funding should, of course, comply with the Nordic Council of Ministers’ vision, the various co-operation programmes, the annual programmes for the Presidency, and the inter-sectoral strategies.