Editor's note

International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Tuesday, 19.03.2024, 10:07

Two forums to shape the Baltic Sea regional future

Eugene Eteris, European Studies Faculty, RSU, BC International Editor, Copenhagen, 07.11.2016.Print version

One Forum is aimed at revealing the EU strategy for the Baltic Sea region up to 2030; another assembles high-level decision-makers from business, politics, academia and media to figure out some practical steps for implementing a “futurist strategy”. The former is gathering for the 7th time, the latter for the 18th; both are taking place this week in Stockholm, Sweden

The first forum is originating from the EU’s general integration idea and aims at closer sub-regional cooperation. For the Baltic Sea area (now uniting eight EU member states) it is called the EU strategy for the Baltic Sea region (EUSBSR) and is, in fact a “sub-regional arm” of the European Commission dating back to 2008. The strategy’s seventh forum with a challenging and promising title: “One Region, One Future-Vision 2030 for the Baltic Sea Region” is taking place in Stockholm in the second November’s week.

 

The Forum will discuss how the EU sub-regional strategy intends to contribute to an optimal regional development within three main objectives: saving/protecting the Baltic Sea area, connecting all countries and communities in the region and increasing peoples’ prosperity.

It has to be mentioned that the EUSBSR-strategy is one of many other EU “instruments” to support Europe's progressive development, in particular along the transition to a more sustainable and low-carbon future (which hopefully will be another forums’ item).

With this in mind, a couple of days before the present Stockholm’s “summit”, the Commission approved “the saving EU project”, i.e. so-called LIFE-program – the EU’s financial instrument supporting environmental, nature conservation and climate action projects in the EU states in 2016.

 

However, to implement the “saving project” the member states must be more active! In fact, out of about 140 LIFE-projects from 23 EU states there are –unfortunately- only two from the Baltic States:

- One from Latvia (LIFE CoHaBit/Carnikava Municipality); the aim of the project is to conserve and restore vulnerable coastal habitats in Latvia's Piejura Nature Park.

- And one from Lithuania – LIFEMagniDucatusAcrola/Baltic Environmental Forum Lithuania. The project is to protect the aquatic warbler (Acrocephalus paludicola) as Europe's rarest migratory songbird and a globally threatened species.

It seems that eight EU states surrounding the Baltic Sea are not very active in acquiring the EU’ “saving funds”: Germany, as the most is having 11 projects, Sweden - 6, Poland - 4 and Finland and Denmark with 1 each. It’s a striking difference compared with 37 projects in Italy or 38 in Spain!

Source: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/news/newsarchive2016/november/index.htm#pr

 

Another forum in Stockholm, originating in Denmark in 1998, is the leading think-tank and network for high-level decision-makers from business, politics, academia and media in the Baltic region. It is called the Baltic Development Forum, BDF; it is gathering for the 18th time and having both a longer history and includes into its assessment structures more countries (some even outside the core region, so-called “semi-outsiders”). This larger membership includes even non-EU states around the Baltic Sea area, e.g. Island, Norway and Russia.

 

BDF is having also close working relationships with numerous institutions, bodies and or organisations dealing with the Baltic Sea regional issues: e.g. Baltic Sea Region Energy Cooperation, Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, Council of the Baltic Sea States (dates back to 1991), Nordic Council of Ministers, Northern Dimension Initiative, Union of Baltic Cities, just to name a few.

 

Most urgent for BDF’s analytical work is to increase the Baltic States’ competitiveness in the world (and, of course in EU in general). For example, the three Baltic States’ competitiveness level in the world reflects their quite modest socio-economic situation: according to the present global ratings, Estonia occupies 30th rank, Lithuania 35th and Latvia is on the 49th place among 138 states. These states’ government authorities and the EU institutions (as well as BDF as a think-tank) should approach such critical estimates as serious signal for urgent steps to increase competitiveness.

eng/editors_note/?doc=17220&ins_print  

 

The two forums provide a cumulative and synergic effect to the Baltic Sea region. Politicians and business community in the Baltics shall follow closely the outcomes of both for the advantage of the progressive development in our region.

 

The Baltic Course’s international desk will help readers to get the most important conclusions of the vital forums’ discussions.  

 





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