The Sami Parliamentary Council, where the three Sami Parliaments are represented, has extended observer rights, which means that the SPR gets the right to participate in committee meetings where issues affecting the Sami are discussed – but they do not get the right to vote. The issue of becoming full members is an important issue as they three Sami Parliament work for.
“Not simply”
Nordic Council President Jorodd Asphjell participated in the seventh Sami Parliamentary Conference in Árviesjávrrie. Taking up SPR as full members is not simple. The last time the Nordic Council’s presidium dealt with the Sami Parliamentary Council’s status within the Nordic Council’s operations was in 2021.
– The Helsinki agreement between the five Nordic states will have to be changed if the Sami are to be included as ordinary members. There has not been a majority for it before, but a compromise has been extended observer status, Jorodd Asphjell answers via email.
Hope for in-depth cooperation
The Nordic Council is the official Nordic cooperation parliamentary body. The Nordic Council was established in 1952. The council has 87 elected members, from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden as well as from the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland.
– The Nordic Council hopes that the cooperation with SPR can be further deepened based on their current status as observers, replies Jorodd Asphjell.