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In 1991 the three Baltic countries, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, regained their independence following the democratic wave that swept across the region. Today, 25 years later, the close and intensive Nordic-Baltic cooperation is a well-established priority for all the states in question. Carola Veit, President of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference therefore was invited by the Icelandic CBSS presidency to reflect on the parliamentary dimension of the cooperation during a symposium with the President of Iceland and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Iceland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on September 26 th in Reykjavik. Carola Veit there pointed out, that the Baltic States underwent enormous changes, both domestically as well as with regard to foreign policy. They identified EU and NATO membership as key pillars of their future development. But they also concluded that together they are stronger, and this lead to the foundation of the Baltic Assembly. At the executive level they have become active members of the Council of the Baltic Sea States, at the parliamentary level they fully engage in the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference. Carola Veit marked the particular importance of the “parliamentarian way of cooperation” and hence of the intensive dialogue between Baltic Sea Parliamentarians, the executive level and civil society the BSPC stands for since 1991. “BSPC – the parlamentarian way of cooperation” Because since the foundation of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference in 1991 with the primary goal to create a platform for open parliamentary dialogue to overcome the cold war and to establish the Baltic Sea as a sea of freedom and cooperation, a lot has happened – much of which nobody could have foreseen. The intensity of the work of the BSPC increased every year, also driven by the Baltic Parliaments, for whom innovation, economy, labor market and education have traditionally played an important role. Carola Veit also presented the remarkable results of this year’s 25 th BSPC annual conference in Riga: Under the Latvian Chairmanship the BSPC dealt with the issues of education, most importantly vocational training and focused on creativity and entrepreneurship in education. The benefits of labor mobility in Europe and the revision of the social security coordination rules have been discussed in the Baltic metropole. In contrast to former conferences the BSPC recently concentrates on two or three important policy fields also to initiate cooperation and to achieve progress in the whole region. Democracy and Participation – priorities of the Hamburg Chairmanship Therefore, the member parliaments ask their governments to report on the implementation of the BSPC recommendations for action. And the reactions become more and more comprehensive every year. Carola Veit also introduced her priority issues. During the current Hamburg Presidency these are Democracy and Participation: the dialogue with focus on inalienable rights will be one of the ongoing priorities of her BSPC chairmanship. She will focus on it in connection with youth exchange as well as on Science and Research as “hard” topics. Additionally, a two-year-working group on Sustainable Tourism will end up reporting in next year’s conference in the Free and Hanseatic Town of Hamburg. Finally, Carola Veit underlined the importance of Cooperation and dialogue based on mutual understanding and trust between parliaments, governments and civil society. This is of crucial importance to ensure continued peace and well-being in the North. The continuation of the dialogue on executive – CBSS – level therefore is an important element of the dialogue in the Baltic Sea Region. Continuation of dialogue on ministerial level In this context she pointed out, that the BSPC in its last year’s resolution called on the governments for a resumption of the Ministerial meetings of the Council of Baltic Sea States. With regard to a first step in this direction during the recent Polish CBSS Presidency she expressed the hope that regular meetings of the CBSS Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Heads of Governments can also recommence. Since for more than 20 years the Baltic Sea region fortunately had been a non-priority-area on the maps of the NATO, it had been a region of peace and Northern Europe had been far away from cold war or armed conflicts. She was quite sure that everybody would like to return to this while sharing the common awareness of the necessity to never stop talking, though talking about main values, agreement is not always easy. She identified significant differences among the BSPC member-states just regarding the migrant and refugee-crisis which was on the agenda of every single meeting the last one-and-a-half years. Carola Veit concluded her speech with the words: “Let us go on – parliaments, governments and societies – working on a peaceful and prosperous common region, let us continue our successful and committed Nordic- Baltic-Cooperation in the whole Baltic-Nordic-Region.”

BSPC Vice Chairman Jörgen Pettersson from the Åland Islands points out the crucial importance of further strengthening the interparliamentary cooperation in order to look for answers to international challenges, such as the migration and refugee crisis as well as the threats posed by terrorism. Mr Pettersson addressed the European Conference of Presidents of Parliaments in Strasbourg on 15 September 2016 on the common points of view and recommendations of the BSPC, agreed during the 25 th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference with regard to these International challenges. Platform for open parliamentary dialogue Mr Pettersson underlined the BSPC’s role as a platform for open parliamentary dialogue to overcome the cold war and to establish the Baltic Sea as a sea of freedom and cooperation. “Cooperation and dialogue are indispensable to prevent conflict and promote joint progress”, opined Mr Pettersson. Need for mutual trust and dialogue Against the background of the BSPC’s Silver Jubilee, he emphasized that this vision has not changed. He referred to paragraph 2 of the resolution of the 25 th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, in which the Baltic Sea parliamentarians call on the governments in the Baltic Sea region to take further steps to re-establish mutual trust and dialogue in the Baltic Sea Region, in particular within the Council of the Baltic Sea States. Further, he referred to the BSPC’s call to welcome mutual cooperation and peaceful solutions of international disputes, taking into account best practices for example in the Baltic Sea Region, citing the case of his homeland, Åland, as a great example of crisis management. Thanks to international agreements in 1921, Åland is a neutralized and demilitarized autonomy in the Baltic Sea; in daily life referred to as “The islands of peace”. He reiterated the importance of bearing this approach in mind, especially against the background of the current situation in Europe. “A fair solution that can be accepted by all involved sites can only be achieved by dialogue and cooperation, particularly in times of crises”, Mr Pettersson stated. Ongoing refugee crisis Referring to the situation of refugees in Europe, Mr Pettersson illustrated the “worst living nightmares” of fathers and mothers. “They cannot guarantee their children’s safety. They lack power to make decisions. They flee for their lives with their kids clinging to their parents. That’s not dignified. It’s not human. It’s not what our ancestors expected from us when they rebuilt Europe after the war. We do not only owe ourselves to act in a civilized manner. We are in debt to those who shaped our continent and we are in even greater debt to them who are not yet born but have every right to grow up and shape their own future and their own happiness. We need action to make that happen.” Mr Pettersson emphasized that the large number of refugees will remain a challenge for the foreseeable future, stressing that individual countries could not address the problem with merely national solutions. Therefore, the BSPC had called on the governments in the Baltic Sea Region “to closely work together in coping with the ongoing challenges connected with the refugees in the region and to continue to ensure the decent treatment of and the right to safe asylum for these refugees in the countries of the Baltic Sea Region” as well as to “foster closer cooperation and, as far as necessary, following EU respectively UN declarations in tackling illegal and irregular migration.” Meetings in the margins of the conference The BSPC Vice Chairman also met with the Speaker of the Council of the Russian Federation, Ms Valentina Matvienko, and the President of the German Bundestag, Prof. Dr. Norbert Lammert, in the margins of the conference.

This Silver Jubilee edition of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Confernce was an overwhelming success, according to the conference participants. With the unanimous adoption of a resolution on cooperation, education and the labour market in the Baltic Sea Region, the 25 th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference was successfully concluded in Riga on 30 August. The Conference unanimously appointed Carola Veit from Hamburg as new BSPC President. Jörgen Pettersson from the Åland Islands and Prof Dr Jānis Vucāns from Latvia were appointed Vice-Chairmen of the Conference. Ministers and Vice Ministers of Labour and Welfare addressed the Conference On Tuesday morning, the Ministers and Vice Ministers of Labour and Welfare from Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Norway and Estonia addressed the conference in great detail on labour mobility; trends, causes and solutions of youth unemployment; and support mechanisms, especially for youth. Jānis Reirs, Minister of Welfare from Latvia, Algimanta Pabedinskienė, Minister of Social Security and Labour from Lithuania, Ms Anette Kramme, Vice Minister for Social Security and Labour from Germany, Thor Kleppen Sættem, State Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs from Norway, and Egle Käärats, Secretary General on Labour and Employment Poliy from Estonia, addressed the parliamentarians. Contributions from BSPC Working Group and Rapporteurs The Vice Chairman of the BSPC Working Group on Sustainable Tourism, Sara Kemetter from the Åland Islands, presented the Working Group’s Mid-way report to the conference participants. The group will elaborate its final report for the 26 th BSPC in Hamburg. The parliamentarians were also updated by the BSPC Rapporteur on Integrated Maritime Policy, Jörgen Pettersson from the Åland Islands, the BSPC Rapporteur on Cultural Affairs Sonja Mandt from Norway, the BSPC Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings Thomas Stritzl from Germay, and the BSPC Rapporteur on Eutrophication Saara-Sofia Sirén from Finland on new developments in their respective fields of action. Their written reports are available on the Rapporteurs’ webpage . More information about the Riga conference.

The President of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, Prof Dr Jānis Vucāns, opened the 25 th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference on Monday morning. Over 200 parliamentarians, ambassadors of the Baltic Sea States in Latvia, experts and other invited guests were welcomed by the President of the Republic of Latvia, Mr Raimonds Vējonis, and the speaker of the Latvian parliament, Ms Ināra Mūrniece. “Historic events that took place at the end of August 25 years ago” The Latvian President expressed his pride to address the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference at the moment when the organization celebrates the historic events that took place 25 year ago and also led to the founding of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference. Mr Vējonis stressed that these events had also brought to an end 50 years of occupation and allowed the three Baltic States to become free and independent once more. The President also pointed out that the region has developed into an economically vibrant, secure and stable area. Thanks to the openness of the markets in the region and the close economic ties that have been established, the Nordic Baltic region has developed fast during the last 25 years and has become one of the most dynamic, IT- and innovation-oriented regions of the world. “Stronger when we are unified in our dedication to cooperation and peace” The Speaker of the Latvian Parliament, Ms Ināra Mūrniece, congratulated the BSPC President and the delegations on the occasion of the BSPC’s Silver Jubilee. She recapitulated that the founding fathers of the Baltic Sea regional cooperation had had a vision of peace. This vision should inspire more than ever to build bridges and tear down walls. She especially welcomed Iceland’s Aalthingi as the oldest parliament in the world and expressed her special thanks to Iceland for putting democracy as the key priority for their Presidency in the Council of the Baltic Sea States. “Aggressive behaviour cannot be tolerated in the 21 st century” After the Report from the BSPC President, in which the BSPC President especially highlighted the BSPC’s thematic focus in 2015/2016, a visit from members of the BSPC Standing Committee to Minsk in April as well as the increasingly comprehensive feedback from the governments to the resolutions of the BSPC, the former Prime Minister of Latvia and current Vice President of the European Commission, Mr Valdis Dombrovskis, emphasized the role of the Baltic Sea Region as a generator of economic prosperity. According to the Vice President, the region is a hub of competitive economies with a bright future. Mr Dombrovskis stressed that the countries in the region had shown political unity in times of crisis, and underlined that aggressive behaviour could not be tolerated in the 21 st century. Conclusion of the first day of the Conference The conference furthermore debated how to develop competitiveness in the Baltic Sea Region by linking education and the labour market, and held a ceremonial session in honour of the BSPC’s Silver Jubilee under the participation of two long-standing BSPC members, Mr Trivimi Velliste from Estonia and Mr Franz Thönnes from Germany, as well as the President of the Nordic Youth Council, Mr Anna Abrahamsson. More information about the Riga conference .

The Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference holds its 25 th annual conference on 28-30 August 2016 in Riga. The Latvian parliament is host of this Silver Jubilee edition under the chairmanship of the BSPC-President and President of the Baltic Assembly Prof. Dr. Jānis Vucāns. Around 200 parliamentarians, ambassadors of the Baltic Sea States in Latvia, experts and other invited guests are expected to participate in the conference. More information about the Riga conference.

The 25 th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference will commence on 28 August in Riga. In honour of the Silver Jubilee of the organisation, an Anniversary Booklet reflecting on the past 25 years since the foundation of the BSPC in 1991 has been published. It will be distributed at the Riga conference and can also be accessed on the BSPC webpage .

With a view to the 25 th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference in Riga, the BSPC Rapporteur on Cultural Affairs has issued her report on developments in this field for the time period 2015-2016. The report will be distributed at the Riga conference and can also be accessed online on the Observer’s webpage .

With a view to the 25 th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference in Riga, the BSPC Observer in HELCOM has issued her report on HELCOM developments in 2015-2016. The report will be distributed at the Riga conference and can also be accessed online on the Observer’s webpage .

With a view to the 25 th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference in Riga, the BSPC Rapporteurs on Integrated Maritime Policy have issued their report on developments in this field for the time period 2015-2016. The report will be distributed at the Riga conference and can also be accessed online on the Rapporteurs’ webpage .

The Working Group on Sustainable Tourism will present its Mid-way Report to the 25 th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference in Riga. The printed report will be distributed at the annual conference in Riga; the digital version – along with an annex to the report containing all expert presentations – can now be accessed online on the Working Group’s webpage .

The President of the BSPC, Prof. Dr. Jānis Vucāns, addressed the 47 th Plenary Session of the PABSEC General Asssembly in Moscow. He underlined the crucial need for the joint fight against international terrorism as well as for solving the refugee crisis, which the BSPC Standing Committee had dealt with extensively throughout the Latvian BSPC Presidency. He expressed his sincere condolences to all the victims and the families affected by the terrorist attacks on Istanbul Ataturk Airport on 28 June. “It is the job of politicians to ensure that people are safe and feel safe” “All across the world people feel threatened by terrorism and it is the job of politicians to ensure that people are safe and feel safe. But we must also look out that we do not solely focus on defending our security, but also on defending the values that make us strong. People coming together is the basis for any cooperation. But cooperation also contributes to peace.” “Cooperation is more important than ever before” Mr Vucāns emphasized that this has been the main objective of the BSPC ever since its foundation in 1991. “National and regional parliaments around the Baltic Sea, including EU Member States, the Russian Federation and Norway, came together after the Fall of the Iron Curtain to form a forum for political dialogue between our parliaments. The sea that once divided is now a sea of peace and freedom. But there is no denying the fact that there have also been signs of tension in the Baltic Sea Region. Especially in times like these, cooperation is more important than ever before, especially also at the inter-parliamentary level. The representatives from the countries around the Baltic Sea, who have been chosen by their constituents, must jointly work towards maintaining the peaceful cooperation that has characterized the region for the past 25 years.” Silver Jubilee of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference The President informed that the BSPC will remember its Silver Jubilee at its conference later this year in Riga, where issues of cooperation in the region will be given special attention. The conference will furthermore focus on issues related to the labor market and labor mobility in the region, namely on “how to develop competitiveness in the Baltic Sea Region by linking education and the labour market”, as well as on “realising employment opportunities – improving labour mobility and combating youth unemployment”. “Both issues are of fundamental importance to achieve the common goal of a prosperous region.” “Cooperation at parliamentary level has intrinsic value” Concluding his remarks, Mr Vucāns underlined that it is the strong belief of the BSPC that cooperation can be fostered if it focuses on concrete issues, which actually advance the wellbeing of the people. “Because of the variety of topics the BSPC deals with, we will always seek an exchange of opinions and ideas with other inter-parliamentary organizations. We believe in the importance of parliamentarians from different regions coming together and standing together as friends. Against the background of the variety of topics we deal with and the current political situation in Europe, cooperation at parliamentary level has intrinsic value because such cooperation involves the elected representatives of the citizens of the participating countries.” Meetings in the margins of the conference The BSPC President met with the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Mr Petro Agramunt , in the margins of the conference about the refugee crisis, ways of combating international terrorism and the “No hate, no fear” initiative recently launched by PACE. Jānis Vucāns also met with Mr Alexey Sergeev , the Secretary General of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Together with the Head of the BSPC Secretariat Bodo Bahr they discussed prospects of further cooperation on relevant issues of the international agenda, with a special focus on environmental cooperation. The BSPC President shared on the BSPC activities in the spheres of education and youth and expressed his hope that the IPA CIS would attend the upcoming 25 th BSPC in Riga, during which these topics will play a main role. Jānis Vucāns also invited the PABSEC President and President of the Serbian parliament, Ms Maja Gojković , to the 25 th BSPC, who will speak at the BSPC’s Silver Jubilee conference this August in Riga.

The Working Group on Sustainable Tourism streamlines its strategic priorities and agrees on political recommendations for the 25 th annual conference in Riga. On 20 th and 21 st June the Working Group on Sustainable Tourism held its 3 rd meeting in Petrozavodsk, Republic of Karelia. Among the regular Working Group members, the President of the BSPC, Prof. Dr. Jānis Vucāns, and Franz Thönnes, Head of the German Delegation to the BSPC, followed the invitation to the Working Group meeting in Russia. At the beginning of the two days, the Working Group was provided a visit to Kizhi Island, the largest open air museum of Russia. Since 1990 the Kizhi Architectural Ensemble is included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites. Therefore, the first presentation contained “The use of local expertise for the development of sustainable tourism in the object of Culture Heritage of UNESCO” which was held by Ms. Elena Bogdanova, Director, Federal State Budgetary Institution of Culture “State Historic-Architectural and Ethnographic Museum-Reserve “Kizhi”. For Kizhi Island it is a great challenge to preserve the cultural ethnic heritage and the wooden architecture on the one hand and to increase the number of tourists on the other hand. The presentation continued the expert presentation about “UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Baltic Sea Region, Case Study: Sustainable Tourism Strategy for Suomenlinna” which was held in Helsinki by Petteri Takkula. Within the actual Working Group meeting seven presentations concerning environmental issues in the Karelian region and impacts on the Baltic Sea as well as concerning objects of sustainable tourism development of the Republic of Karelia and concerning tourism development in Kalevala national municipal region were provided. Following the presentations, the meeting decided under the chair of Andre Sepp, Vice-Chair of the Working Group, on a new version of its strategic focus within its Working Programme. As consequence, the 13 former priorities were limited to 9 priorities so that the scope of work will now be more streamlined and focussed. Furthermore, the members of the Working Group agreed on political recommendations that will be forwarded to the upcoming 25 th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference which will take place in Riga, 28 – 30 August 2016. The next Working Group meeting will be held in Pärnu, 18 – 20 October 2016, back-to-back to the 9 th Baltic Sea Tourism Forum (BSTF). The forum will focus on three thematic priority areas such as seasonality (and tourism financing), sustainability and cooperation. Therefore, the Working Group will be incorporated in the program of the BSTF. The following parliamentarians participated at the 3 rd Working Group meeting: Andre Sepp (Parliament of Estonia), Riitta Myller (Parliament of Finland), Franz Thönnes (Parliament of Germany), Dorothee Martin (Parliament of Hamburg), Jānis Vucāns and Veiko Spolitis (Parliament of Latvia), Grzegorz Matusiak (Parliament Poland), Valentina Pivnenko (Parliament of Russia), und Bernd Voß (Parliament of Schleswig-Holstein).