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42-796: In 2008, the International Barents Secretariat was established in Kirkenes . The secretariat supports the multilateral activities within the Barents Euro-Arctic Council and Barents Regional Council and secures the coherence and efficiency of the cooperation. The IBS maintains the archives of the Barents Euro-Arctic council and the Barents Regional Council and works as an information database. Where appropriate, there

84-693: A cross-border platform for exchange between civil servants and professionals in respective field both on the national and regional level. Over the past years, the Working Groups have also implemented several projects. The representatives of the three indigenous peoples, the Sámi, the Nenets and the Vepsians, cooperate in the Working Group of Indigenous Peoples (WGIP) . It has an advisory role in both

126-590: Is Andersgrotta , a vast underground bunker built during World War II that provided shelter to the town's residents. Tours of the bunker are available. A pride parade held in 2017 in Kirkenes attracted participants from neighbouring Russia, who were unwilling to participate in LGBT events in Russia due to hostility from the government and police. In addition, the parade saw participants from Amnesty International and

168-686: Is a town in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Finnmark county, in the far northeastern part of Norway . The town lies on a peninsula along the Bøkfjorden , an arm of the large Varangerfjorden , and is located just a few kilometres from the Norway–Russia border . The 2.29-square-kilometre (570-acre) town has a population (2023) of 3,404 and a population density of 1,486 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,850/sq mi). When

210-515: Is a military base that is home to the Garrison of Sør-Varanger at Høybuktmoen . Connected to this base are the six border stations along the Russian border. This base and these border stations are there to protect against illegal immigrants as well as other illegal activities across the border. The only public border crossing is at Storskog , southeast of Kirkenes. In the city centre of Kirkenes

252-511: Is also at a point further east than Saint Petersburg . Unlike the vast majority of Norway, Kirkenes is located east of the neighbouring country of Finland. Because of this, travelling directly west from Kirkenes actually changes the time zone forwards instead of backwards, as it usually does. Travelling directly east from Kirkenes (into Russia) changes the time zone forward by an hour in summer, but by two in winter. When Russia implemented permanent daylight saving time between 2011 and 2014, there

294-832: Is also coordination with the relevant activities of the Nordic Council of Ministers , the Council of the Baltic Sea States , the Arctic Council and the Northern Dimension . Finnish authorities said (Q4 2024), that they have decided that after next year, the country will no longer be a member. During the Cold War the Barents region was an area of military confrontation. The underlying premise

336-404: Is being continued. The Subgroup on Nature and Water (SNW) works with biodiversity conservation, protected areas, sustainable forestry management, sustainable management of water resources and water use, transboundary water bodies, mitigation and adaptation to climate change and ecosystem approach. Work is based on projects. Aim of the Barents rescue cooperation is to improve the possibilities of

378-474: Is directed to be a road map and action plan for regional level cooperation to raise up questions, development needs and regional special characteristics related to transport and logistics topics. The action plan is based on series of projects. Kirkenes Kirkenes ( Norwegian ; pronounced [ˈçɪ̂rkəneːs] ) , Girkonjárga ( Northern Sami ; pronounced [ˈkir̥ː.ko.ˌɲaːrːka] , or Kirkkoniemi   ( Kven )

420-598: Is established to strengthen cooperation in order to create an efficient transport system in the Barents Region. BEATA cooperation integrates the different means of transport including border crossing points, customs co-operation, maintenance and reconstruction as well as new projects to improve infrastructure. Barents Region Transport and Logistics (BRTL) action plan is collected under three key development areas which are development of industrial ecosystems, transport corridors and platforms for information sharing. The BRTL

462-465: Is northern taiga , with forest of pine and birch. The average date for the last overnight freeze (low below 0 °C (32.0 °F)) in spring is 26 May and average date for first freeze in autumn is 22 September giving a frost-free season of 116 days (Kirkenes Airport, 1981-2010 average). Kirkenes Airport is situated 5 km outside the town and has been recording since 1940. Kirkenes is close to Norway's border with Russia, and this location influences

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504-519: Is situated about 400 kilometres (250 mi) north of the Arctic Circle , resulting in midnight sun and polar night both lasting for sustained lengths of time depending on season. Kirkenes is located just east of the 30th meridian east . As a result, it is further east than Istanbul , which marks one of the European borders with Asia. The easternmost point of Norway and the municipality

546-652: The Kirkenes Church was built here in 1862. Kirkenes was a village until 1998 when it received town status. During the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany , Kirkenes was one of the many bases for the German Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe 's Jagdgeschwader 5 , and apart from that, the area served as a main base for supplies to the Murmansk front (see Lapland War ). Reportedly, Kirkenes

588-745: The Kirkenes Declaration in 1993. The BEAC Foreign Minister's Sessions is the highest decision-making body in the whole Barents cooperation. Foreign ministers meet biannually with the transferring the BEAC Chairmanship to the next country. The XVIII BEAC Foreign Ministers' meeting took place in Tromsø, Norway on 26 October 2021. Also Prime Ministers, Ministers of Environment, Transport, Culture, Competitiveness and Health have met and discussed topical issues. The meeting documents and joint declarations can be found here . Joint Communiqué of

630-833: The Kirkenes Declaration of 1993. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs or representatives of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, the Russian Federation, Sweden and the Commission of the European Communities participated in the conference, which was also attended by observers from the United States of America, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Poland, and the United Kingdom. The BEAC was created in order to provide impetus to existing cooperation and consider new initiatives and proposals. The objective of

672-628: The Norwegian Helsinki Committee . Kirkenes's location on the Northeast Passage and the effect of climate change on sea ice have led to expressions of interest to develop port and transport infrastructure in the town, including from state-owned enterprises of China . Public reception to such projects in Kirkenes is mixed. Kirkenes is one end of the route of the Hurtigruten , which cruises daily up and down

714-479: The post mortem and memorial service, the bodies were returned to their homesteads. The majority of the inhabitants of Kirkenes are of a Norwegian background, and a minority are Sami . Others are originally from Finland, either members of the Kven population or of a newer influx of more or less recent Finnish immigrants. Also, about 500 people are relatively recent Russian immigrants . For several months in 2015,

756-595: The 13th Ministerial Session RUS Declaration RUS The Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) is the BEAC body responsible for coordinating the cooperation activities and organizing the work within BEAC between the meetings at the Foreign Minister level. The CSO is represented by the civil servants from the governments of the member states and the European Union. Representatives of the observer countries have

798-777: The BEAC and the BRC which means that their participation is welcome in all Barents Working Groups. The WGIP Chair is also member of the Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) and the Barents Regional Committee , and that they are always represented at the BEAC Ministerial Sessions and the Barents Regional Council meetings. Barents Regional Youth Council (BRYC) consists of youth representatives from Northern regions of Finland, Norway, Russia and Sweden and has an indigenous youth representative from one of

840-533: The BRC for the period 2021–2023. The chairmanship rotates biennially between participating regions in Finland, Norway, the Russian Federation and Sweden. The BRC meets twice a year and is composed of the highest regional representatives of the participating regions as well as representatives of all three groups of indigenous peoples of the Barents region. Regional Committee (RC) prepares the meetings. RC consists of civil servants from member counties. Priorities for

882-575: The Norway coast to and from Bergen . Kirkenes is served by Kirkenes Airport, Høybuktmoen . There are non-stop flights to Oslo , Vadsø , Vardø , Alta and Tromsø . The European route E6 highway has its northern terminus at Kirkenes. The northern terminus of the European route E105 highway is located in Hesseng, just south of the town. Kirkenes is also the terminus of Kirkenes–Bjørnevatn Line ,

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924-527: The Russian part of the Barents region. In 2005 Environment Ministers of the four Barents countries defined a goal to launch investment projects in all Barents Environmental Hot Spots aiming to eliminate them. Subgroup on Hot Spots Exclusion was established under the Working Group on Environment to facilitate the process. Significant environmental improvements have been achieved and 12 full hot spots and 3 partial ones have been eliminated. Work at other sites

966-677: The coast, Kirkenes exhibits a more continental subarctic climate ( Dfc ) than further west along the Northern Norwegian coast. This is due to less maritime air from the west reaching across the land east to Kirkenes. The all-time high 32.7 °C (91 °F) was recorded in July 1972 and the record low −41.8 °C (−43 °F) in January 1999. The coldest low after 2000 was −32.7 °C (−27 °F) in February 2003. The vegetation

1008-565: The field of Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response defines the objectives and scope of the cooperation. The Committee has developed the Barents Joint Rescue Manual which is the operational tool of the rescue cooperation. Rescue cooperation is practiced in the Barents Rescue Exercises organized every third year. Barents Euro-Arctic Transport Area Barents Euro-Arctic Transport Area (BEATA)

1050-630: The history of war and peace along the Norwegian–Russian border, Sami art exhibitions by the artist John Savio (1902–1938), and a history of the mining industry in the area. The museum has a small shop and café. Almost every last Thursday of each month the Russian Market takes place on the central square where traders from Murmansk sell their merchandise. Here you can find everything from matryoshkas , linen cloths, and handicrafts, to Russian crystal and porcelain dishes. Just outside Kirkenes

1092-424: The indigenous peoples of the Barents Region. BRYC promotes the interests of young people living in the Barents region. It aims to strengthen people-to-people cooperation and empower young people to participate actively. BRYC members are elected by youth councils or chosen by their county administration. The council meets two times a year to discuss youth activities of the region. BRYC Annual Meeting and Annual Event are

1134-408: The local economy. The Norwegian Barents Secretariat , which works to promote Norwegian-Russian collaboration, is located in Kirkenes. In 2010, Norway's and Russia's Foreign Ministers signed an agreement that made it easier for 9,000 Norwegians and 45,000 Russians living near the common border to visit each other. Tourist attractions include Grenselandmuseet (The Border Area Museum), which shows

1176-1056: The main activities of the BRYC. Barents Scholarship for Cultural Cooperation was established by the Ministers of Culture of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council in 2016. The scholarships have been awarded in Arkhangelsk in 2017, in Umeå in 2019 and in Tromsø in 2021, once per BEAC presidency. Scholarships are awarded to professional artists and artistic associations within the cultural field in the Barents region. Scholarships are based on an overall assessment of experience and ambitions, artistic quality in previous work and Barents affiliation. Barents environmental hot spots are major polluters and issues imposing environmental hazards to surrounding communities and nature. The hot spot list from 2003 consists of 42 hot spots from various sectors such as mining and metallurgy, pulp and paper, water and wastewater located in

1218-459: The neighbouring suburban villages of Hesseng , Skytterhusfjellet , Sandnes , and Bjørnevatn are all included with Kirkenes, the urban area reaches a total population of almost 8,000 people. Although Kirkenes is the Norwegian town closest to the Russian border, the town of Vardø to its north is located further east in Norway. Due to its close proximity to Russians, Finns, and Skolt Sami,

1260-459: The partisans collect information about the German occupation. In the summer of 1943, their activities were discovered and many of them were sent to a prisoner-of-war camp near Kirkenes. Following a court-martial the 11 were sentenced to death and were killed near the memorial spot on 18 August 1943. When the common grave was opened in 1946 it was found that the men had been beaten to death. Following

1302-520: The regional cooperation are identified in the Barents Program which is a framework for the inter-regional Barents cooperation. The program is an operational framework to strengthen the Barents cooperation and offer a joint platform to maintain stable development and people-to-people cooperation in the North. The two councils have established thematic Working Groups . The Working Groups constitute

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1344-448: The rescue service agencies to cooperate across the national, federal and regional borders on emergency and rescue issues. It is possible to provide assistance more effectively, faster and at lower operating cost in the region of long distances, sparsely populated rural communities, limited rescue personnel and equipment, restricted means for transport and hospital resources available in case of larger accidents. Agreement on Cooperation within

1386-515: The right to participate. The CSO meets on a regular basis 4-5 times per year in the country holding the Chairmanship of the BEAC. The Chairperson of the CSO is a representative of the government of the chair country. The BRC unites fourteen counties or similar sub-national entities from the Barents Region and the chairmanship of the BRC rotates between these counties. Nenets, Russia, is the chair of

1428-471: The same time as the BEAC was established. The aim of the BRC is to cooperate in the regional level following the Kirkenes Declaration. The chairmanship of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council rotates between Finland, Norway, Russia and Sweden. Finland holds the chairmanship for the period 2021–2023. Ministers of the four Barents countries (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia) have met regularly since

1470-468: The three countries ( Muotkavaara ), where the three time zones meet. There are only a few such places in the world. It is forbidden, according to both Norwegian and Russian law, to circumambulate the border marker , as the only lawful route across the Norwegian–Russian border is at the border control at Storskog . The midnight sun shines from May 17 to July 21. The corresponding polar night extends from November 21 to January 21. Despite its location at

1512-403: The town is also known as Kirkkoniemi   ( Finnish ) , Киркенес   ( Russian ) , and Ǩeârkknjargg   ( Skolt Sami ) . The area around Kirkenes was a common Norwegian–Russian district until 1826, when the present border was settled. The original name of the peninsula was Piselvnes ("Pis River headland"), but this was changed to Kirkenes (meaning "church headland") after

1554-586: The town served as a border crossing point for Syrian refugees, with hundreds per week crossing the border on bicycles, traveling into Norway from Russia (via Murmansk and Nikel ). Kirkenes is located in the extreme northeastern part of Norway on the Bøkfjorden , a branch of the Varangerfjorden , which is a vast bay connected to the Barents Sea near the Russian–Norwegian border . The town

1596-496: The work of the council is to promote sustainable development in the Barents region, bearing in mind the principles and recommendations set out in the Rio Declaration and Agenda 21 of UNCED . The regional representatives together with a representative from the indigenous peoples signed a co-operation protocol establishing the Barents Regional Council (BRC) to support the cooperation in the Barents region in regional level at

1638-462: The world's second-most northerly railway line, used to transport iron ore from the mines at Bjørnevatn to the port at Kirkenes. The proposed Arctic Railway would see Kirkenes connected with northern Finland. The town of Kirkenes is also the starting point of EV13 The Iron Curtain Trail , a cycling route that runs along the historic border between the capitalist West and the communist East during

1680-467: Was a three-hour difference travelling forward from the eastern part of the municipality to westerly Russian areas during winter. Kirkenes shares time zone with areas much further west, e.g. Galicia in Spain which has a solar time difference of 2½ hours. One can drive 100 kilometres (62 mi) south, and walk 10 kilometres (6.2 mi), into the Øvre Pasvik National Park , reaching the border point of

1722-555: Was second after Malta on a list of European towns experiencing air-raid alarms and attacks, with more than 1,000 alarms and 320 air attacks. The town was occupied by the Red Army on 25 October 1944 when the German Wehrmacht was pushed out and fled the area after having destroyed most of the remaining infrastructure. Only 13 houses survived the war. Close to the town there is a memorial to 11 freedom fighters who helped

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1764-544: Was that close cooperation secures political long-term stability and reduces possible tensions. This objective has already been successfully achieved. The Barents cooperation has fostered a new sense of unity and closer contact among the people of the region which is an excellent basis for further progress. BEAC was founded at the conference on cooperation in the Barents Euro-Arctic Region took place in Kirkenes (Norway) on 11 January 1993 in accordance with

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