Pavel Sazhinov raised the issue at a meeting with the international secretariat of the Norwegian Parliament in Murmansk this week.
“The regional level of the cooperation between Russia and Norway is constantly decreasing. Meetings in the Barents Regional Council are more and more rare, and the representation at the meetings is very weak,” says Pavel Sazhinov. He represents the Communist Party in the Murmansk Oblast regional parliament.
“If we enhance the parliamentary cooperation, the regional teamwork will be stronger,” argues Sazhinov.
The Barents Regional Council today consists of the Governors from the 13 member counties in region. Over the last years, fewer and fewer of the governors actually turns up at the meetings and are instead represented by administrative staffers.
Pavel Sazhinov lists a number of issues important for regional development across the borders in the Barents Region. Unfortunate, he says, there are more talks than action in areas like transport- and logistics. He wants more liberal visa-regime, intensified economic ties and east-west air-links.
On the national level, bi-annual Barents Parliamentarian conferences are arranged, but with no formalized bindings to the Regional Council. Next meeting takes place in Harstad, northern Norway, in late April. Four members of the Murmansk regional Duma will participate and the discussion on how to reform the Barents Regional Council is believed to be debated.
