Nordic Council

The Nordic Council is an intergovernmental forum for co-operation between the Nordic countries.

The Nordic Council was established following World War II. Its first concrete result was the introduction in 1952 of a common labour market and free movement across borders without passports for the countries' citizens.

Members of the Council

These are:

Nations (all the sovereign states within the Nordic countries):

• Denmark
• Finland
• Iceland
• Norway
• Sweden

Autonomous territories (all except the Faroe Islands):

• Faroe Islands (Realm of Denmark)
• Greenland (Realm of Denmark)
• Åland Islands (Realm of Finland)

Associate and prospective members

The Faroe Islands have expressed their wishes for full membership in the Nordic Council instead of the current associate membership.

The Sámi political structures have long desired formal representation in the Council's structures, and are increasingly de facto included in activities touching upon their interests.

The official languages of the Nordic Council are the three main Scandinavian languages (Norwegian, Swedish and Danish), but not the non-Scandinavian Finnish language.

In addition, the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have expressed their wishes to apply for membership in the Council. The Nordic Council opened its information offices in all three countries in 1991.

Also there are two Nordic Council offices in Northwestern Russia (in Saint Petersburg and Kaliningrad).

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