The European Union, the Republic of Iceland, the Kingdom of Norway, and the Russian Federation,
Recalling the Guidelines for the Northern Dimension policy adopted at the Ministerial meeting in Brussels on 21 November 2005,
Considering the broad geographical definition of the Northern Dimension area from the European Arctic and Sub-Arctic areas to the southern shores of the Baltic Sea, including the countries in its vicinity and from North-West Russia in the east to Iceland and Greenland in the west,
Proceeding from geographic proximity, economic interdependence, common cultural heritage, common challenges and the possibilities to reap together the benefits in one of the most dynamically developing areas of the world,
Reaffirming their shared responsibility for the prosperity of Northern Europe, its sustainable development, and the well-being of its population, and their commitment to create favourable conditions for the development of the region and for further strengthening of mutually beneficial multilateral cooperation in Northern Europe, including cross-border and sub-regional cooperation,
Supporting the existing multilateral co-operation within the framework of different regional councils, such as the Arctic Council, the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, the Council of the Baltic Sea States and the Nordic Council of Ministers.
Declare their firm commitment to cooperate actively within the framework of the Northern Dimension policy on the basis of good neighbourliness, equal partnership, common responsibility and transparency;
Confirm their desire to make the Northern Dimension policy a regional expression of the four EU – Russia common spaces with the full participation of Iceland and Norway also focusing on issues of specific relevance in the North, such as the fragile environment, health and social issues and indigenous peoples' issues;
Confirm their readiness to contribute efforts to ensure that the Northern Dimension Policy provides concrete and pragmatic activities with the objective to achieve tangible results, taking into account the need to endeavour to ensure synergies with other regional programmes and initiatives;
Acknowledge the principle of co-financing by Northern Dimension partners and, when appropriate, from other sources, including the International Financing Institutions, as the general rule;
Confirm their readiness to cooperate with all international, regional, subregional and local organizations, institutions and other actors, including the business community and NGOs, that are ready to contribute to the development of the region;
Express their willingness to continue and further develop cooperation within the framework of the two existing ND partnerships – the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership (NDEP) and the Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Wellbeing (NDPHS) and to examine possibilities to apply the partnership model to other sectors. In this context, they will ask ND senior officials to examine the desirability of a Northern Dimension Partnership on Transport and Logistics, and to examine enhanced cooperation in the field of energy efficiency and renewable energy, inviting for this purpose also experts and international financing institutions.“
Take note of a list of projects submitted by the Russian Federation for possible implementation under the Northern Dimension framework.
Welcome the intention of various bodies and institutions to participate in the cooperation within the Northern Dimension framework, considering inter alia the proposed Northern Dimension Parliamentary Forum;
Adopt the Northern Dimension Policy Framework Document which will be the basis of practical implementation.