The aim of the visit was to learn about the region’s possibilities and plans for the future. The program for the two days long visit to Murmansk included meetings with Murmansk regional Duma Speaker Yevgeny Nikora and Deputy Governor Aleksander Makaraov, excursions to Shtokman Development and DnBNor Monchebank and Statoil – Norwegian companies established in Murmansk.
Before returning to Brussels, the delegation spent one day in Kirkenes, Norway, where they had the chance to learn more about the Barents cooperation and ongoing projects related to the petroleum industry.
The delegation, constituting of about half of the working party’s members, came from different countries all over Europe. For most of them, this was the first trip to the High North.
EU’s Working Party on Eastern Europe and Central Asia (COEST) works on EU relations with the countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. COEST also deals with Arctic issues at a general level.
