BEAR: Barents Euro-Arctic Region?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barents_Euro-Arctic_Council
“ History
During the Cold War the Barents region was an area of military confrontation. The underlying premise 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.
Kirkenes Declaration
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 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 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.[2]
The regional representatives together with a representative from the indigenous peoples signed a co-operation protocol[3] establishing the Barents Regional Council (BRC) to support the cooperation in the Barents region in regional level at the same time as the BEAC was established. The aim of the BRC is to cooperate in the regional level following the Kirkenes Declaration.”