North Sea Region

Cultural and economic co-operation has a strong tradition in the area, dating back to the Vikings[1] and the Hanseatic League.

The partnership of the CPMR North Sea Commission consists of most Norwegian county councils (Trondelag, More og Romsdal, Vestland, Rogaland, Agder, Vestfold og Telemark and Viken), the regions Halland, Västra Götaland and Örebro in Sweden, the three Danish regions of Nordjylland, Midtjylland and Syddanmark, the German Länder Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony and Bremen, all coastal provinces of the Netherlands (Groningen, Friesland, Drenthe, Flevoland, North Holland, South Holland and Zeeland) and the Province of West Flanders in Belgium as well as counties and authorities from eastern England (Southend-on-Sea) and Scotland (Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Fife and Highland).

[4] The population density of the region varies widely, ranging from sparsely populated areas like Finnmark (1.5 per square kilometre (4/sq mi)) in Norway to densely inhabited urban centres like the German city of Hamburg (2,243/km2 (5,810/sq mi)).

[4] However, there are notable differences concerning economic performance and employment between the areas in the North Sea Region.

Currently, the economic structure of the regions bordering the North Sea is undergoing considerable changes, such as shrinking labour markets in the agriculture and fisheries sector and a decline in old industrialised areas.