In the middle of spring in Brussels, Northern Sparsely Populated Areas (NSPA) and the Arctic Five university alliance hosted an event with roundtable discussions under the title The role of the Arctic in the EU's research agenda 2025 onwards. The event was put together to discuss the role of the Arctic in the EU’s future research agenda, current status of The EU’s Arctic Policy and a more holistic approach to Arctic issues.
In March 2023, the NSPA Steering Committee approved a position paper on the European Commission’s initiative on EU Talent Pool. The NSPA welcomes the Commission's consultation and puts forward its views regarding the initiative that aims to strengthen EU’s attractiveness to skilled workforce and help employers to find workforce they need.
In February 2023, the NSPA Steering Committee approved a position paper on the Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2025–2027 as part of the Comission's consultation on the past, present and future of the EU’s Horizon research and innovation programmes 2014–2027. The NSPA welcomes the Comission's consultation and puts forward its views regarding the future Strategic Plan of the Horizon Europe for the period 2025–2027.
EU Arctic Forum gathered high-level representatives from the EU and Arctic region to discuss recent developments and challenges in the far north.
THE NSPA POSITION IN BRIEF The NSPA welcomes the initiatives to protect and improve ecosystems with lost or impaired function and finds it positive that the aim is wide and include all the ecosystems across the Europe.
The NSPA Bioeconomy and Energy Working Group would like to invite stakeholders in the NSPA regions to a meeting on EU energy issues. The aim of the meeting is to share the newest development in the EU, with a focus on the effects from the war in Ukraine and the current energy crisis.
That was the very clear message from Nils Kristian Sørheim Nilsen, the Director of North Norway European Office, on behalf of the NSPA yesterday.
How can we increase focus on Arctic issues and strengthen cooperation with the EU network? These questions were raised by the Arctic Five during their visit to Brussels for the Nordic University Days and meeting with relevant Arctic actors. The three European offices of NSPA facilitated the meetings.
In June 2022, the Steering Committee of the Northern Sparsely Populated Areas approved a position poper on the European Commission’s initiative on brain drain – mitigating challenges associated with population decline. The NSPA welcomes the Commission’s ambition to contribute to reducing regional disparities in the initiative on “Brain drain”, raising the problem with population decline and the lack of skilled workforce in European regions.
