News

On 24 January 2017, the working Group on “Sustainable Tourism” held its fifth meeting. More than 30 Baltic Sea parliamentarians, experts, observers and administrative employees followed the invitation of Sylvia Bretschneider to the rooms of the Information Office of the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern at the European Union. The session began with a video conference between Brussels and Madrid. Ms. Isabel Garaña, Regional Director for Europe at the UN World Tourism Organization informed the participants about the global developments in the tourism sector with a special view on the International Year for Sustainable Tourism of the United Nations. Subsequently, Prof. Paul Peeters from the Centre for Sustainable Tourism and Transport of the University of Breda gave a presentation about the connections between environmental protection, climate change and sustainable tourism.Especially in the field of the optimization of traffic routes, concrete recommendations for actions in order to establish “Sustainable Tourism” have been presented. The third expert was Mr. Carlo Corazza, Head of Unit Tourism, Emerging and Creative Industries of the European Commission , who briefed the participants on support measures for linked private and public tourism projects. Furthermore, Mr. Veiko Spolītis , member of the Parliament of Latvia, was elected as second Vice Chair of the Working Group. In addition, textual and organizational questions concerning the future work have been discussed. As a result, the forthcoming Working Group meetings will take place in Kiel in March and on the Åland Islands in May. They are primarily going to deal with the elaboration of concrete political recommendations for action for the final report of the Working Group. Young people who are nominated by the parliaments of the BSPC will be involved in the consultations in Kiel. Hence, the interparliamentary cooperation on “Sustainable Tourism” chaired by Sylvia Bretschneider is extended by transnational cooperation with young adults. Sylvia Bretschneider gave a comment after the end of the meeting: “The consultation of the Working Group in Brussels with representatives of the United Nations and the European Commission showed how relevant the topic sustainable tourism is. Especially taking the fact into consideration that the United Nations declared the year 2017 as the international year of sustainable tourism for development. We will have to assess the contributions of the experts very intensely. We are well on our way concerning the elaboration of concrete recommendations of action for the governments of the Baltic Sea Region in the forthcoming meetings. I am particularly looking forward to work with the young people from the Baltic Sea Region within the framework of the next session.”

BSPC Standing Committee meets in Brussels Under the Chairmanship of BSPC-President Carola Veit, the President of the Hamburg Parliament, the BSPC Standing Committee gathered at the European Parliament in Brussels on 23 January 2017 to exchange with partner-organisations about current common issues and to prepare the upcoming Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference in Hamburg. Representatives and delegations of European Parliament, European Commission, Council of the Baltic Sea States, HELCOM, the House of Representatives of Belarus and of BSPC members from Åland-Islands, the Baltic Assembly, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, the German Bundestag, Hamburg, Latvia, Lithuania, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the Nordic Council, Norway, the Russian Federation, Schleswig-Holstein and Sweden participated in the meeting. The Standing Committee was greeted by the Standing Committee member and Chair of the EP Delegation for relations with Switzerland and Norway and to the EU-Iceland Joint Parliamentary Committee and the European Economic Area Joint Parliamentary Committee, Mr Jørn Dohrmann. In accordance with the BSPC work programme and objectives in 2016- 2017, – to further the cooperation between the CBSS and the BSPC – to promote the implementation of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan – to support the development of an equal Baltic Sea Strategy – including regular reporting from the European Commission BSPC Standing Committee had invited CBSS, HELCOM and the European Commission to give progress reports and to discuss current common issues. Progress Report from the Council of the Baltic Sea States Ambassador Guðmundur Árni Stefánsson , Chairman of the Committee of Senior Officials of the Council of the Baltic Sea States, Ambassador of Iceland, thanked the President of the BSPC Carola Veit for taking part at the High-Level Panel Discussion – 25 Years Nordic-Baltic Cooperation in Iceland. She was giving valuable insights into the work of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, highlighting the importance of the dialogue between CBSS and BSPC, and its importance for enhanced cooperation in the region. Ambassador Stefánsson sent regards from Iceland’s new Foreign Minister, Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson. He pointed out that regional organisations are an important tool to stimulate cooperation within Europe and that successful regional cooperation has, time and again, proven its worth. Practical cooperation and dialogue on a broad range of issues can, in general, rebuild and foster mutual trust and have a positive impact internationally. He underlined inter alia that the developments in the BSR and in Europe are a cause for concern. The flow of refugees and the number of displaced people, children included, has not been greater since WWII. The increased threat of terrorism is obvious and it can be seen extremism gaining strength in Europe. At the same time Europe has experienced tensions in the area because of the situation in Ukraine. Therefore the priorities of the Icelandic CBSS Presidency are: democracy, equality and children. This underpins the CBSS long-term priorities, aiming to foster a regional identity, develop a sustainable and prosperous region and build a safe and secure region. CBSS believes that there are substantial benefits from this broad practical cooperation that takes place within the CBSS, including the area of human trafficking, civil protection and child protection. In the past six months CBSS had driven forward several events with a focus on the priorities of democracy, equality and children. CBSS held a Round Table on Youth Affairs and a Baltic Sea Youth Dialogue with young journalists from the region. The CBSS intends also to stimulate knowledge sharing and best practices in regards to the implementation of the UN Sustainable Developments Goals. The CBSS Expert Group on Sustainable Development is developing an Action Plan for the Baltic 2030 process built on the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). In all matters of the SDGs CBSS finds regional cooperation to be very important. Ambassador Stefánsson closing his speech informed that CBSS is now in the process of planning a high-level meeting in June this year on the occasion of the 25 th anniversary of CBSS. He asked for support of the BSPC in making this high level political dialogue between the member countries possible. Briefings on Belarus and the Eastern Partnership after election in Belarus The Standing Committee was currently engaged in deliberations over its stance concerning Belarus. The next step has been taken in this process at the SC meeting in Brussels, thus the House of Representatives of Belarus was invited to inform about the current situation in Belarus. Mr Valery Voronetski , Chairman of the Standing Commission on International Affairs of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Belarus presented the political situation after elections in September 2016. He pointed out that during elections, 827 international observers and 32,105 citizen observers were accredited. The OSCE admitted that 11 September parliamentary elections were efficiently organized. Women were well-represented in the election process. Out of the 114 women candidates standing in these elections, 38 were elected. This is more than twice the amount in the outgoing parliament and represents some 35 per cent of all members of parliament. The speaker also underlined that 27 out of 110 parliamentarians were elected for the second time and this ensures a continuity of the parliament’s work also with regard to its international cooperation. In October 2016 the Republic of Belarus adopted its first national human rights plan. It contains 100 measures to improve the human rights situation in the country. In response to the question on death penalty still imposed in Belarus the speaker recalled the national referendum in which the majority of citizens stood for capital punishment. He also admitted that in the new House of Representatives a committee dealing with the issue has been established. Mr Andrzej Zdrojewski MP, Chair of the EP Delegation for Relations with Belarus confirmed that following an official invitation by the authorities of the Republic of Belarus, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) deployed an Election Observation Mission (EOM) to observe the 11 September 2016 parliamentary elections. The elections were efficiently organized but, despite some first steps by the authorities, a number of long-standing systemic shortcomings remain. The constitutional and legal framework does not adequately guarantee the conduct of elections in line with OSCE commitments and other international obligations and standards, and a number of key long-standing OSCE/ODIHR and Council of Europe Venice Commission recommendations remain unaddressed. Therefore, the European Parliament in the resolution on the situation in Belarus stated that the progress made in Belarus is insufficient. The reform on the election law will be the key issue to further developments in the relations with Belarus. The BSPC Standing Committee continued its discussion about the further procedure for the BSPC’s engagement with Belarus on the basis of the informations and contributions. Priorities of the EU Chairmanship of HELCOM Ms Marianne Wenning, Chair of HELCOM presented Priorities of the EU Chairmanship of HELCOM. She admitted that with regard to priority ”Reaching a healthy ecosystem in the Baltic Sea by 2021’ the new holistic assessment, HOLAS II, will reveal the Helcom countries efforts have led to improvements in the Baltic Sea environmental status, since HOLAS I in 2010. The results will be released by mid-2017 and updated by mid-2018. Pressures and impacts will be further quantified, including via the latest ‘Pollution Load Compilation’, allowing to evaluate progress towards the goals of the Baltic Sea Action Plan. This work will also help contracting parties that are EU Member States in fulfilling their obligations under EU marine legislation. Moreover, implementation of the regional action plan for marine litter will be a priority. In addition to the environmental benefits, this will also demonstrate the strength of Baltic regional cooperation in meeting global commitments. Ms. Wenning acknowledged that further synergies with regional or European governance frameworks will be sought, for instance with the European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. She explained, that the adoption of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development should strengthen ocean governance and Regional Sea Conventions, in particular HELCOM, should play a crucial role in the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 on oceans and seas. Progress report on the European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region Mr Peter Schenk from the European Commission, Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy, who has principal responsibility for overseeing the EUSBSR briefed the meeting with recent developments in the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. A Commission report on the implementation of macro-regional strategies was published on 16 December 2016, and the achievements and the challenges were analysed in the paper. The achievements had been: Increased political awareness of challenges and opportunities specific for the Baltic Sea Region; mobilisation of projects across borders (more than 120 Flagships); increased knowledge and joint initiatives; better coordination of existing networks and participation of neighbouring non-EU countries. Challenges are: Maintain commitment, mobilise funding and communicate results. In order to tackle the challenges with regard to communication, the Commission launched the Communication Strategy for the EUSBSR. With regard to funding, Managing Authorities Network received a support as a ‘pilot ‘of the ERDF. The second call for projects of the Interreg Baltic Sea Region programme, ‘Seed money projects’ and ‘targeted support’ to the implementation of the EUSBSR has been announced, and last but not least the EUSBSR funding portal has been created. Mr Schenk invited all participants to the 8 th EUSBSR Annual Forum in Berlin, on 13/14 June 2017 which will be hosted by Germany – the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the CPMR – Baltic Sea Commission and in close cooperation with the European Commission. The 26 th BSPC, Hamburg 3-5 September 2017, Working Group and Rapporteurs BSPC President Carola Veit informed the Standing Committee on the progress of preparations of the upcoming Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference in Hamburg to realise a high-level political dialogue and to involve youth. Main themes of the conference will be democracy and participation, science and research as well as sustainable tourism. The BSPC Working Group on Sustainable Tourism conducted a meeting in Brussels back-to-back to the meeting of the BSPC Standing Committee. On initiative of the Parliament of Schleswig-Holstein there will be organised again a Baltic Youth Parliamentary Forum 13-14 March 2017 in Kiel back-to-back with a meeting of the BSPC Working Group on Sustainable Tourism to discuss this issue with young people and give them the opportunity to develop recommendations for the resolution of the conference. The BSPC Standing Committee appointed – additional to Sylvia Bretschneider, Mecklenburg Vorpommern – Saara-Sofia Sirén from the Finnish Parliament as Co-observer and Co-rapporteur to HELCOM.

The highest Executive Committee of the BSPC, led by the new President of the BSPC, the President of the Hamburg Parliament, Carola Veit, held its first meeting under the new Presidency on the premises of the Hamburg Parliament, the so-called Bürgerschaft, on 15 November. Delegations from Åland-Islands, the Baltic Assembly, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, the German Bundestag, Hamburg, Latvia, Lithuania, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the Nordic Council, Norway, the Russian Federation, Schleswig-Holstein and Sweden participated in the meeting. Implementation of resolutions The main focus was put on the follow-up of the resolution of the 25 th annual conference, which took place in Riga from 28 – 30 August 2016, and the reports of the national and regional governments about the implementation of the 24 th BSPC resolution on the basis of political analyses. Involving youth Furthermore, an intensive discussion was held about the integration of young people into decision-making processes. Representatives of several parliaments and parliamentary organisations informed about a number of youth projects and their ways of involving young people in politics and democratic decision-making processes. The Standing Committee intends to continue the dialogue between young people and Members of Parliament. As already during the preparation of the 24 th BSPC the BSPC parliaments and parliamentary organisations will send young people to a Baltic Sea Youth Parliamentary Forum, which will take place on 13-15 March 2017 in Kiel, Schleswig Holstein. There, the young people will discuss sustainable tourism with the members of the BSPC Working Group, they will develop proposals for the next BSPC resolution and present them at the BSPC in Hamburg on 3 – 5 September 2017, referring the United Nations’ Year of Sustainable Tourism Development. Science, research and the Baltic science network With regard to the other priority of the Hamburg BSPC Presidency ‘Science and Research’ the 2 nd Mayor and Minister (Senator) of Science, Research and Equalities of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg addressed the SC members. Ms Fegebank provided information about the latest developments in the Baltic Science Network, the leading transnational forum for higher education, science and research cooperation in the Baltic Sea region. The network serves as a platform for targeted multi-lateral activities concerning research and innovation excellence, mobility of scientists and increased participation. In order to intensify and expand the collaboration of universities and research institutions in the Baltic Sea Region in 2014 the Hamburg Senate resolved the “Hamburg Baltic Sea Strategy for science and research” on the basis of an education and research conference. In the meantime Denmark, Estonia, Finland, several German federal states, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden and Russia as well as all important Baltic Sea regional institutions are involved. In the discussion the Standing Committee emphasized a strong interest in intensifying the scientific collaboration in the Baltic Sea Region, qualitatively as well as quantitatively, and in supporting the Baltic Sea Science Network as an important tool to enhance macro-regional dimension in science and research policy, from which the higher education research institutions should benefit. Discussion about Belarus The Standing Committee members decided to continue their discussions about the further procedure for the BSPC’s engagement with Belarus at their next meeting on 23 January 2017, which will take place back-to-back with the next meeting of the Working Group on Sustainable Tourism in Brussels on 24 January 2017.

The BSPC Working Group on Sustainable Tourism held its 4 th meeting back-to-back to the 9 Baltic Sea Tourism Conference in Pärnu, Estonia, 18 – 20 October. As expert Rainer Aavik, the Deputy Mayor of Pärnu City Government, attended the meeting and provided the WG members a presentation concerning the tourism concept of Pärnu. Rainer Aavik explained that tourism in the „summer capital of Estonia“ focusses on „high end“ consumers and the demand markets from Finland and Sweden. Furthermore, the offers in the winter saison were customized at new demands so that among the „high end consumers“ also the new generation are targeted. As result, the city of Pärnu was nearly fully booked in the last year, especially at the week-ends. Further to the presentation, the members of the Working Group discussed the distribution of budgets and taxes in their states and regions. The attendees especially presented their different taxation models and tax incentives in the tourism sector. In general, it can be seen as a trend that tourism is a growing sector so that the fiscal policies in the Baltic Sea states have to react on these tendencies. 9 th Baltic Sea Tourism Forum – Speech by Sylvia Bretschneider Following the Working Group meeting, the members participated at the 9 th Baltic Sea Tourism Forum. This year’s conference focussed on two thematic priority areas: seasonality (1 st conference day) and sustainability (2 nd conference day). As chairwoman of the Working Group, Sylvia Bretschneider provided the participants of the forum a status report about the Working Group at the second day. She stressed that against the background that tourism sector is a competitive market, cooperation and the exchange of experiences are very important to achieve the promotion of the entire Baltic Sea region. Even though, there are already good examples of the intensive cooperation, like that forum itself, the close connection of all Baltic rim states needs to be further strengthened. Sylvia Bretschneider requested the participants to get in contact with the attendant Working Group members and to give them new ideas and inspirations for the improvement of the legal and political framework in the tourism sector. Participation of Sara Kemetter at expert debate As vice-chair of the Working Group Sara Kemetter also contributed to the Baltic Sea Tourism Forum. She participated at an expert debate with Dario Bazargan (Cruise Lines International Association – CLIA), Krista Kampus (Council of the Baltic Sea States – CBSS) and the moderator Jana Apih (Institute Factory of Sustainable Tourism, GoodPlace). Sara Kemetter also emphasized the importance of cooperation as an aspect of sustainability. As an example she mentioned that environmental challenges, like the pollution from the rivers, can only be jointly solved. Furthermore, she presented the participants the perspective from Åland. Åland has developed a back casting plan to achieve total sustainability until 2051. For this aim, they installed a Ministry for Sustainability and Economy which is supposed to monitor this process. The following parliamentarians participated at the 4 th Working Group meeting: Sylvia Bretschneider (Parliament of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), Sara Kemetter (Parliament of Åland), Andre Sepp (Parliament of Estonia), Grzegorz Matusiak (Parliament Poland) and Pyry Niemi (Parliament Sweden). The upcoming WG meeting will be convened in Brussels, 23 – 24 January 2017, back-to-back to the Standing Committee meeting (23 January 2017).

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 .