General Meetings and Leadership:
– Annual general meeting rotates between members
– Composed of six MPs from each nation
– Presidium of three members oversees organization
– Established in 1985 as West Nordic Parliamentarian Council of Cooperation
– Name changed to West Nordic Council in 1997
Shared History and Economic Base:
– Greenland and Faroes are autonomous territories of Denmark
– Iceland is a former Danish possession
– All nations dependent on fisheries
– Council’s main objectives include promoting West Nordic interests
– Focus on resource management and pollution
Objectives of the Council:
– Promote West Nordic interests
– Guardians of North Atlantic resources and culture
– Follow up on West Nordic cooperation
– Work with Nordic Council
– Act as parliamentary link for inter-West Nordic organizations
Relationship with Nordic Council:
– Separate entity from the Nordic Council
– Members of West Nordic Council are also members of the Nordic Council
– Some cooperation between the two councils
Hoyvík Agreement and Free Trade Zone:
– Hoyvík Agreement: Iceland-Faroes free trade agreement
– Potential expansion to Greenland for a West Nordic free trade zone
The West Nordic Council (Danish: Vestnordisk Råd, Greenlandic: Nunat Avannarliit Killiit Siunnersuisoqatigiiffiat, Faroese: Útnorðurráðið, Icelandic: Vestnorræna ráðið) is a cooperative forum for the parliaments and governments of Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland. It was initially founded in 1985 as the West Nordic Parliamentarian Council of Cooperation but the name was changed in 1997. The council is composed of six MPs from each nation appointed by their respective parliaments. The annual general meeting of the council rotates between the members and is its highest authority. A presidium of three members, including the council's president, oversees the organization of its work and activities.
West Nordic Council | |
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 Logo | |
 Map of member states | |
| Headquarters | Reykjavík, Iceland |
| Establishment | |
• Established | September 24, 1985 in Nuuk, Greenland |
Website www | |
The nations of the Council share a somewhat common recent history: Greenland and the Faroes are autonomous territories of Denmark and Iceland is a former Danish possession. They also share a similar economic base, all being dependent on fisheries. The council's main objectives are:
- To promote West Nordic (North Atlantic) interests.
- To be guardians of north Atlantic resources and North Atlantic culture and to help to promote West Nordic interests through the West Nordic governments – not least with regards to the serious issues of resource management, pollution, etc.
- To follow up on the governments' West Nordic cooperation.
- To work with the Nordic Council and to be the West Nordic link in Nordic cooperation.
- To act as the parliamentary link for inter-West Nordic organisations, including Arctic parliamentary cooperation.
The West Nordic Council is separate from the Nordic Council, although all of the members of the West Nordic Council are also members of the Nordic Council and there is some cooperation between the two.
