I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1026 
To foster cross-border cooperation in Northern Europe. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 1, 2005 
Mr. SHIMKUS (for himself and Mr. MCCOTTER) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on International Relations 
A BILL 
To foster cross-border cooperation in Northern Europe. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cross-Border Coopera-
tion in Northern Europe Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Northern Europe is a vital part of Europe 
and one that offers continuing opportunities for 
United States investment. 
(2) Northern Europe offers an excellent oppor-
tunity to continue to implement the United States
vision of a secure, prosperous, and stable Europe, in 
part because of— 
(A) historical tradition of regional coopera-
tion; 
(B) the opportunity to engage the Russian 
Federation in positive, cooperative activities 
with its neighbors to the west; 
(C) commitment by the Nordic and Baltic 
states to regional cooperation and integration 
into western institutions; and 
(D) long-standing, strong ties with the 
United States. 
(3) In 1997, the United States established the 
Northern Europe Initiative (NEI) which provided a 
conceptual and operational framework for United 
States policy in the region, focused on developing a 
regional network of cooperation in the important 
areas of business and trade promotion, law enforce-
ment, the environment, energy, civil society, and 
public health. 
(4) Since then the United States Northern Eu-
rope Initiative has sponsored a wide variety of re-
gional and cross-border projects, including the fol-
lowing:
(A) A United States-Lithuanian training 
program for entrepreneurs from Belarus and 
Kaliningrad. 
(B) The Great Lakes-Baltic Sea Partner-
ship program implemented by the Environ-
mental Protection Agency. 
(C) A Center of Excellence for Treatment 
of Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis in Riga, 
Latvia. 
(D) A regional HIV/AIDS strategy devel-
oped under United States and Finnish leader-
ship. 
(E) Multiple efforts to combat organized 
crime, including regional seminars for police of-
ficers and prosecutors. 
(F) Programs to encourage reform of the 
Baltic electricity market and encourage United 
States investment in such market. 
(G) Language and job training programs 
for Russian-speaking minorities in Latvia and 
Estonia to promote social integration in those 
countries. 
(H) A mentoring partnership program for 
women entrepreneurs in the northwest region of 
Russia and the Baltic states, as part of broader
efforts to promote women’s participation in po-
litical and economic life. 
(5)(A) With the then pending accession of Esto-
nia, Latvia, and Lithuania to the European Union 
(EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization 
(NATO), the United States recognized the need for 
new policy approaches to Northern Europe. In 2003, 
the United States established the Enhanced Partner-
ship in Northern Europe (e-PINE). 
(B) The United States Enhanced Partnership 
in Northern Europe provides the conceptual and 
operational framework for United States policy in 
the region, focused on developing a regional network 
of collaboration between Nordic and Baltic countries 
and the United States in promoting cooperative se-
curity, vibrant economies, and healthy societies with-
in Northern Europe and beyond its borders. 
(C) Much of the focus of the Enhanced Part-
nership in Northern Europe has been on collabo-
ratively extending the lessons learned from the suc-
cess of Baltic states to other countries in the region. 
(D) Though primarily policy-oriented in focus, 
the Enhanced Partnership in Northern Europe has 
also sponsored projects and initiatives in the region, 
including the following: