PURPOSE: to establish a new partnership with Greenland and Denmark (which ensures the sovereignty).
LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Decision 2014/137/EU on relations between the European Union on the one hand, and Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark on the other.
BACKGROUND: the Joint Declaration of the EU-Greenland- Denmark adopted the common objectives of a new partnership and formed the policy foundation to the Council Decision 2006/526/EC, which set out the cooperation framework between the parties for the period 2007-2013. The partnership established by Council Decision 2006/526/EC expired on 31 December 2013.
The Union needs to build comprehensive partnerships with new actors on the international scene in order to promote a stable and inclusive international order, to pursue common global public goals and to defend core Union interests, as well as to increase knowledge of the Union in third countries and overseas countries and territories (OCTs).
In this context, the partnership pursuant to this Decision should allow for the continuation of strong relations between the Union on the one hand, and Greenland and Denmark on the other, and should respond to global challenges, allowing for the development of a proactive agenda and the pursuit of mutual interests.
CONTENT: the Decision sets the rules relating to relationsbetween the Union on the one hand, and Greenland and Denmark on the other.
The objective of this partnership is to preserve the existing close and lasting links between the Union and Greenland to be maintained while supporting the development needs of Greenland.
It acknowledges in particular the geostrategic position of Greenland in the Arctic Region, the issues of exploration and exploitation of natural resources, including raw materials, and ensures enhanced cooperation and policy dialogue on those issues.
General principles of the partnership: the partnership shall, in particular, define the framework for policy dialogue on issues of common interest for either partner, providing the basis for broad cooperation and dialogue in areas such as:
The partnership should be implemented in coherence with other areas of the Union's external action as well as with other relevant Union policies. To this end, measures financed under this Decision shall be programmed on the basis of the Union's cooperation policies set out, inter alia, in agreements, declarations and action plans, and in accordance with the relevant cooperation strategies. Cooperation activities shall be decided upon in close consultation between the Government of Greenland, the Government of Denmark and the Commission.
Specific objectives and main areas of cooperation: these can be summarised as follows:
1. to support Greenland in addressing its major challenges, in particular, the sustainable diversification of the economy, the need to increase the skills of its labour force, including scientists, and the need to improve its information systems in the field of Information and Communication Technologies, and to cooperate with it to that end;
2. to contribute to the capacity of the administration of Greenland to formulate and implement national policies, in particular, in new areas of mutual interest as identified in the Programming Document for the Sustainable Development.
The implementation of these objectives shall be measured by the indicators defined in the Decision.
The main areas of cooperation of the partnership are notably the following:
Financial envelope: in the line with the Regulation fixing the multiannual financial framework for the period 2014-2020 the indicative amount for the implementation of this Decision for the period from 2014 to 2020 is EUR 217 800 000.
Union financial assistance may be given to the following activities:
Union financial assistance shall be provided mainly through budget support.
PDSD: within the framework of the partnership, the Government of Greenland is responsible for the formulation and adoption of sector policies in the main areas of cooperation referred to before. On that basis, the Government of Greenland shall prepare and submit an indicative Programming Document for the Sustainable Development of Greenland (the ‘PDSD’) to provide a coherent framework for the cooperation between the Union and Greenland, that is consistent with the overall purpose and scope, objectives, principles and policies of the Union.
There are provisions to set the framework for the development and implementation of the PDSD, based on consultations and dialogue with civil society, local authorities and other relevant stakeholders.
The PDSD should in addition be adapted to the needs and respond to the specific circumstances of Greenland, including climate change impacts and socio-economic development.
Governance: the Government of Greenland would be responsible for finalising the PDSD which should be approved in accordance with the examination procedure. Specific measures are provided for the adoption of amendments. This procedure also applies to substantial reviews that do not substantially affect the PDSD.
Implementation rules: the Union aid would be implemented under the common rules of the implementation of the EU external policy programmesand the PIC.
Mid-term review of the PDSD and evaluation of the implementation of this Decision:by 31 December 2017, the Commission, the Government of Greenland, the Government of Denmark should undertake a mid-term review of the PDSD and its impact on Greenland as a whole. By 30 June 2018, a report should be drawn up by the Commission on the achievement of the objectives and the European added value of this Decision, by means of results and impact indicators on the efficiency of the use of resources, with a view to adopting a decision on the renewal, modification or suspension of the types of measures financed under this Decision.
ENTRY INTO FORCE: 16.03.2014. The Decision applies from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2020.