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Under the Chairmanship of BSPC-President Prof. Dr. Jānis Vucāns, the BSPC Standing Committee gathered in the Latvian city of Liepāja to prepare the Silver Jubilee edition of the conference this August in Riga. Delegations from the Baltic Assembly, Denmark, Finland, the German Bundestag, Hamburg, Latvia, Lithuania, the Nordic Council, the Russian Federation, Sweden and the Åland-Islands participated in the meeting. The meeting was greeted by the Deputy Mayor of Liepāja Mr Gunārs Ansiņš, who highlighted the industrial strengths of the city as well as its touristic assets. The meeting was also preceded by presentations from Ilya Ermakov, Senior Adviser Economic Cooperation, Maritime Policy, Energy at the Secretariat of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), and Dr. Uwe Sassenberg, Project leader of the International Project “Baltic Tram” (Transnational Research Access in the Macroregion). Mr Ermakov provided the meeting with some general information about the Baltic Sea Labour Forum as well as recent events and activities. The CBSS Secretariat is lead and coordinator of the Baltic Sea Labour Forum. The meeting discussed, amongst others, possible input by the Baltic Sea Labour Forum for the annual conference of the BSPC this August in Riga, whose main focus will be education and labour mobility in the Baltic Sea Region. Dr. Uwe Sassenberg briefed the parliamentarians on the Baltic TRAM project – one of several activities of the ScienceLink network, which is a cooperative venture involving leading universities, research centres and regional development partners in the Baltic Sea region, whose aim is to turn scientific findings into innovations more swiftly. The key aim of BALTIC TRAM is to link Research Infrastructures at research centres and universities with industrial enterprises in the Baltic Sea Region. The meeting then had a very extensive exchange of opinions on a number of issues. The meeting further prepared the 25 th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, to take place on 28-30 August 2016 in Riga, discussed the follow-up of the resolution of the 24 th annual conference in Rostock, informed itself about the work of the BSPC Working Group on Sustainable Tourism, and deliberated on the conclusions from a mission by the BSPC to Belarus, whose parliament had earlier applied for the status of Observer at the BSPC.

From 12 to 14 April a delegation of 8 parliamentarians of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference visited Minsk to discuss the issue of possible relations between the BSPC and the Parliament of Belarus. Background of the visit was that the Belarusian Parliament approached the BSPC to launch a process of contacts with the BSPC through a letter from the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus in April 2015. In this letter the request for the interest of developing cooperation with the BSPC in the spirit of trust and mutual respect was announced. Thus, the intention of the delegation was to travel to Minsk with open minds, to ask questions and to scrutinize. Members of the BSPC delegation were: Prof. Dr. Jānis Vucāns (Latvia, President of the BSPC), Ms Carola Veit (Hamburg, Vice-President of the BSPC, Germany), Ms Maria Tolppanen (Finland), Mr Franz Thönnes (Germany), Ms Giedre Purvaneckienė (Lithuania), Ms Dorota Arciszewska-Mielewczyk (Poland), Ms Valentina Pivnenko (Russia) and Mr Hans Wallmark (Sweden), the BSPC Secretariat and international advisers of the respective parliaments. The delegation met with representatives of the opposition as well as of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly and the government. Discussions were held with the Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly, Mr Viktor Guminsky, the Chairman of the Standing Commission on International Affairs , Mr Vitaly Busko, the Chairman of the Standing Commission on Human Rights and Mass Media, Mr Andrei Naumovich, Ms Alla Naumchik, the Head of delegation of the National Assembly to maintain contacts with the BSPC and Deputy Chairperson of the Standing Commission on Ecology Issues, Environment and Chernobyl Catastrophe, the chairpersons and members of several other Standing Committees -, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Mr Evgeny Shestakov and other high ranking representatives of Ministries of Energy, of Education, of Public Health, of Sports and Tourism as well as of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection and of Scientific Institutes. Each delegation member also used the possibility to talk with the Ambassadors and other representatives of the respective embassies about their experiences in Belarus. The points of view of the opposition sides were discussed with Mr Nikolai Statkevich, one of the candidates of the Belarus presidential election 2010, and with Mr Andrei Dmitriev, who managed the campaign of Ms Tatiana Korotkevich, the opposition candidate in the 2015 presidential election. With regard to 30 years Chernobyl disaster remembrance in April 2016 the delegation visited also the National research Centre for Pediatric Oncology, Hematology and Immunology. The aim was to gain a comprehensive overview of Belarusian positions and opinions in general and specified to current themes of the BSPC. All for the BSPC relevant and sensitive topics were discussed frankly and intensively. At the next BSPC-Standing Committee meeting, which will take place in May, the information and impressions of this visit will be evaluated to discuss the possibilities of further cooperation with the Belarusian side.

On 22/23 March, the XVII International Environmental Forum “Baltic Sea Days” took place in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Maria Tolppanen, member of the Finnish Parliament, and Jørn Dohrmann, member of the European Parliament, represented the BSPC at the forum and continued thus the tradition of vivid exchange of experience and information as well as of joint participation in conferences. Maria Tolppanen held a speech on behalf of the BSPC and underlined the BSPC’s efforts to further on support the work of HELCOM as much as possible. This ambition was also adopted in the resolution of the 24 th annual conference of the BSPC in Rostock last year. Under point 10 the parliamentarians from all around the Baltic Sea committed themselves to “strengthen and further develop HELCOM as the main coordinating body in the effort to protect the Baltic marine environment, and to strongly support the implementation of the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP), and to stress the importance of BSAP as the environmental pillar of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region”. Ms Tolppanen stressed that the BSPC especially supports the new HELCOM approach on the second holistic assessment of the ecosystem health of the Baltic Sea – the so called HOLAS II. HOLAS II will provide updated information on the status of the marine environment and cumulative pressures and impacts from major human activities. For the first time, social and economic analysis will be truly incorporated into the HELCOM assessment by linking human activities to pressures and impacts on ecosystem components within one holistic framework. This new and very practical measure will promote the understanding of the ecosystem approach what is very welcomed by the BSPC. Furthermore, Ms Tolppanen commented on the HELCOM Commission Meeting that was held 9 to 10 March. One of the most important steps or maybe even a milestone taken on that meeting was the adoption of the NECA Roadmap for the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. This roadmap for designating a NOx emission control area (NECA) in the Baltic Sea in parallel with the North Sea is a major decision in terms of concrete nutrient pollution reduction potential. In the name of all BSPC members, she thanked HELCOM for this approach and noted that surely it will be highlighted in the next BSPC resolution. Moreover, she explained that with the new established Working Group on Sustainable Tourism, the BSPC will tackle the challenges of fostering tourism in the Baltic Sea Region and at the same time conserve a good environmental state of the region. The overarching objective of the Working Group is to elaborate political positions and recommendations pertaining to sustainable tourism. For this purpose, the Working Group should establish and maintain contacts with relevant institutions, organizations and other actors in the Baltic Sea Region. Therefore, the BSPC appreciates every input from HELCOM or other actors of the Baltic Sea Region.

The Working Group on Sustainable Tourism agrees on the first part of political recommendations and discusses more focused priorities at its 2 nd meeting in Helsinki. On 20 th and 21 st March the Working Group on Sustainable Tourism gathered for the second time. After the inaugural meeting in Rostock, 11 members of Parliaments from all around the Baltic Sea region met under this meeting’s thematic focus on best practices on Sustainable Tourism. Beginning on Sunday evening Petteri Takkula (Development Manager, the Governing Body of Suomenlinna) gave an expert presentation about “UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Baltic Sea Region, Case Study: Sustainable Tourism Strategy for Suomenlinna”. According to Petteri Takkula the highest challenge is to preserve the cultural heritage on the one hand and to present and market it on the other hand. The only way to meet both requirements is a respectful use of the resources to achieve a successful asset management. His core conclusion is that the protection, preservation and presentation of the intrinsic value produces sustainable extrinsic value for the destination. On Monday morning the meeting continued at the Port of Helsinki with an expert presentation of Kari Noroviita (Director, Passenger Harbours, Port of Helsinki) and Antti Pulkkinen (Harbour Master) about the “Cruise Ship Waste Water treatment in the Baltic Sea Regions – Best Practices of the Port of Helsinki”. The representatives from the Port of Helsinki explained the expansion of the port, especially the waste water facilities. The background of the necessity to renew the port reception facilities in the entire Baltic Sea region is an international agreement between all Baltic Sea rim states with the aim to achieve the status as a so-called “special area” via the International Maritime Organization. The Baltic Sea states committed themselves to implement the requirements of the international agreement (IMO MARPOL Resolution und Annex IV, MEPC.200 (62)) within the next years. Afterwards, the meeting was provided two presentations about the “Finnish Strategies and Experiences on Sustainable Tourism” by Nina Vesterinen (Senior Specialist, Ministry of Employment and Economy) and the second about “Cycling Tourism in Europe, case Iron Curtain Trail” by Raija Ruusunen (Project Manager, Karelia University of Applied Sciences) in the Finnish Parliament. Both presentations offered good and very practical examples and approaches that can be transferred to other regions. Following the presentations, the members of the meeting discussed under the chair of Sylvia Bretschneider the issues of the Working Group Mandate, including a strategic prioritization, and the Working Programm as well as a first draft of the Mid-way Report as outcome of the Working Group. The meeting also agreed on the first part of political recommendations which will be forwarded to the annual Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference in Riga, 28 – 30 August 2016. The next Working Group meeting will be held in Petrosawodsk in June. Until this upcoming meeting, the members of the Working Group decided on comprehensive “homeworks” for themselves and Baltic Sea member’s governments. The following parliamentarians participated at the 2 nd Working Group meeting: Sylvia Bretschneider (Parliament of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), Sara Kemetter (Parliament of Åland), Andre Sepp (Parliament of Estonia), Riitta Myller (Parliament of Finland), Dorothee Martin (Parliament of Hamburg), Veiko Spol?tis (Parliament of Latvia), Linas Balsys (Parliament of Lithuania), Jacek Protas (Parliament Poland), Valentina Pivnenko (Parliament of Russia), Pyry Niemi (Parliament Sweden) und Bernd Voß (Parliament of Schleswig-Holstein).

Jochen Schulte attended the Final Conference of the Project “Vasco da Gama – Training for Greener and Safer Maritime Transport”, which took place in Brussels on 1 March. The issue of skills development in the maritime economy was one of the core issues of the project. The aim of the project was to contribute to achieving the development of high professional skills and the development of Education and Training within the EU. In particular, it focused on improving the skills of persons employed in European shipping with a view to addressing specific challenges such as maritime safety and the reduction of environmental damage. It also aimed to lay the foundations for mobility within Europe, involving education and training institutions. The project was led by the Conference of Peripheral and Maritime Regions of Europe (CPMR), an organization that brings together some 150 regional authorities. The main drivers of the project – the French region of Bretagne and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern – emphasized the importance of maritime professions at the regional level. Jochen Schulte praised the project’s character as an incubator for projects covering a variety of topics and geographical areas, all focused on promoting mobility and the key role given to regional authorities, while at the same time developing partnerships with other professional and academic stakeholders from the sector. Jochen Schulte underlined the activities of the BSPC in this respect, not least against the background of the current BSPC Work Programme. The Maritime Rapporteur recapitulated the lessons-learned from the project. 1) The importance of exchange programs: The first Vasco da Gama Summer School was held on 24-29 August 2015. It was organized jointly by the CPMR and Kalmar Maritime Academy. Participants from the Atlantic, Baltic, Black Sea and North Sea benefited from briefings and discussion time with high-level speakers on the issues of maritime safety and security, integration of the human element and cultural influences in these areas, and greening of maritime transport. A series of case studies and exercises gave an operational dimension to the training course. All parties involved had agreed that this first Summer School had been a great success and that it is worth repeating in the future. It is the stated goal of the organizers that the lessons learned from this first edition will help to develop the content of future Vasco da Gama Summer Schools. This important milestone should be further developed. 2) The contribution to the networking of the stakeholders: For instance, cadets from the involved academies can participate in experimental pilot training sessions that will be organized in 2 different maritime basins. A high-quality cross-national master program in Sustainable Shipping at an advanced level has been developed, which ran from January to June 2015, with the participation of close to 50 people: students and seafarers from Sweden, France and Germany. Various professionals from across the shipping supply chain have been brought together in the development of a course module. The project has thus contributed to a network of partners, which extends from the Black Sea over other sea basins all the way to the Baltic Sea, and which constitutes the nucleus for exchange and cooperation in this region. 3) The necessity of the input from the involved regions: The regions are key actors in the improvement of the attractiveness and internalization of maritime professions, as they are responsible for education and training, as they are drivers of regional economies and economic sectors, and as they are the ones best equipped with knowledge about the local and regional situations and needs. The difficulty – and the objective of this project – lies in combining these strengths and insights in a mutually beneficial manner. “Continue the Vasco da Cama” label Jochen Schulte concluded by urging stakeholders to continue and build upon the “Vasco da Gama” label even after its formal conclusion. The project could be continued in the framework of the separate sea basins, for instance with support from Interreg. GD MARE distinguishes its Blue Growth initiative among others based on sea basins, and the education and training in maritime professions should be an integral part of any growth strategy. The regions could offer their know-how to the Commission and its GDs in so far as personnel and quality needs are concerned, for instance in the areas of sea traffic or the “Blue Economy”. To do so, CPMR should mind the EU context. It must turn to respective priorities and initiatives to complete them, to develop technical synergies with them and, to participate in them as appropriate. Special attention should be paid to the initiatives such as the Blue Careers Initiative. The CPMR is already working on sectors such as maritime transport, port logistics, and shipbuilding as part of discussions on the implementation of technical partnerships that should ensure the design and development of European cooperation projects. The regions play an equally important role in this regard. A concept catalogue should be developed based on the experiences gained so far and together with the CPMR General Secretariat interregional projects should be designed and implemented by the regions.

Under the Chairmanship of Prof. Dr. Jānis Vucāns, the BSPC Standing Committee gathered at the European Parliament in Brussels to prepare its upcoming Silver Jubilee edition in Riga and to exchange with EU and CBSS representatives. 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, and EP Vice President Anneli Jäätteenmäki, who is also responsible for Baltic, Nordic and Arctic Affairs. The Vice President underlined that the EP regards the EUSBSR and the Northern Dimension as focal points for regional cooperation in the BSR and in Northern Europe, to which all partners should commit, and encouraged the BSPC Standing Committee to explore possibilities for addressing still existing challenges with regard to cooperation in the region, and to raise awareness on successful cooperation. Ms Maria Luisa Cabral from the European Commission’s DG Employment then briefed the Standing Committee on the main topic of the Latvian BSPC Presidency’s Work Programme, namely education & labour mobility. She highlighted the economic benefits of more people being ready to work in other Member States, while also acknowledging its downsides. Consequently, the Commission would be working on a deeper and fairer internal market, while ensuring growth and jobs through structural reforms and the implementation of an ambitious investment plan. The Chair of the CBSS’s Committee of Senior Officials, Ambassador Michał Czyż, then briefed the Standing Committee on new developments and activities within the CBSS’s three long-term priorities “Sustainability”, “Regional Identity”, and “Safety”. Moreover, the CBSS would continue efforts on making all regional cooperation formats work well together. The future CBSS mission should be recalibrated as follows: closer collaboration with the EU on BSR development including the context of EU–Russia relations, closer CBSS cooperation with its observer states, strategic partners and neighbouring regions, paving the way for creating a single Baltic cooperation space through improved regional synergy and cohesion. Against the background of ongoing discussions within the BSPC regarding Belarus, the Standing Committee was then briefed by Mr Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski, Chair of the EPO Delegation for Relations with Belarus, and Mr Dirk Schübel, European External Action Service (EEAS), on Belarus and the Eastern Partnership after the Presidential election in Belarus. The Standing Committee is currently engaged in deliberations over its stance concerning Belarus. The BSPC President will soon inform the Belarusian side about the outcomes of the Brussels meeting. Additionally, the parliamentarians prepared the 25 th edition of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, which is to take place in Riga on 28-30 August 2016. An exchange of opinions and experiences on the refugee crisis in Europe was also on the agenda.

The BSPC Secretary Level gathered at the German Bundestag on 8 January to prepare the agenda and meeting of the BSPC Standing Committee on 28 January at the European Parliament in Brussels. The meeting was welcomed by the longstanding member of the BSPC Standing Committee and Vice Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Bundestag, Mr Franz Thönnes. Mr Thönnes highlighted in his introductory words that the European countries and the states around the Baltic Sea were all confronted with a number of challenges, including the continued inflow of refugees, risks of terrorism and the fostering of the EU’s monetary Union. Nevertheless, too many countries reacted with nationally-oriented answers to these challenges. Mr Thönnes expressed his hopes that the realization would grow that no country on its own could be successful in addressing these challenges. More common decisions in Europe were required. The same would be true for the countries in the Baltic Sea Region. Hence he welcomed the preparations in Berlin for the upcoming meeting of the BSPC Standing Committee in Europe’s capital. Besides the refugee crisis, important issues on the agenda would be the follow-up of the resolution of Rostock, the further determination of a process of contacts with the House of Representatives of Belarus, the further agenda of the BSPC’s new Working Group on Sustainable Tourism, and an exchange of opinions with high-ranking European representatives and decision-makers.

Jānis Vucāns, President of the BSPC, addressed the 46 th PABSEC General Assembly in Bucharest, emphasizing the importance of inter-parliamentary cooperation against the background of difficult challenges, such as combating terrorism, the current situation of refugees and the crisis in Ukraine.. Since the fight against terrorism was a central topic of this conference Mr Vucāns pointed out that “our fight against terrorism is not only about defending our security but also about our fundamental values, namely freedom, democracy and human rights. It is therefore very important, that against this background parliamentarians from different regions come together and stand together as friends, and that this issue is not just discussed at the level of the EU and national states. In this current period of time, cooperation at parliamentary level has intrinsic value because such cooperation involves the elected representatives of the citizens of the participating countries.” Referring to the topic of the refugees he emphasised: “It is important that we strengthen our dialogue on this issue in Europe also on a regional level. South East Europe is greatly affected by the overwhelming numbers of refugees transiting through some of its countries, just as the Baltic Sea Region is affected as well. I would like to mention, that the Baltic Sea Region is home both to some of the most important actors and facilitators in the conflict in Syria, as well as to those countries, which now accommodate significant amount of the Syrian refugees. The Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference believes in the utmost importance of intense cooperation and good, peaceful neighbourliness. This includes also the necessity of strengthening the cooperation between such inter-parliamentary organisations like PABSEC and BSPC.” With regard to the situation in Ukraine Mr Vucāns informed about this year’s resolution in which BSPC welcomed “the agreements concluded in Minsk, which may lead to a peaceful solution of the conflict…” and insisted on their “thorough and unwavering implementation and appeal to the parties to provide comprehensive support to the work of and in the OSCE.” Mr Vucāns´referred also to the 24 th BSPC conference in Rostock and the newly-launched Working Group on Sustainable Tourism to illustrate how the BSPC and PABSEC can cooperate in a range of important policy fields, including tourism. Concluding his remarks, he asserted that the BSPC strives to drive concrete cooperation in the region, ultimately contributing to a safe and secure Europe, and is therefore interested in approaches by other regions to regional cooperation.

The BSPC Working Group on Sustainable Tourism held its inaugural meeting in Rostock on 13 November. The meeting was chaired by the newly-elected WG Vice-Chairman Sara Kemetter from the Aland parliament. The meeting furthermore appointed Andre Sepp from the Estonian parliament as second Vice Chairman of the group. Expert presentations were held on opportunities of sustainable tourism in the Baltic Sea Region, an overview of the development of the Baltic Sea Tourism Forum, and the priority area “Tourism” in the context of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. The members were provided a comprehensive overview of the topic by the German Economics Institute for Tourism (dwif). The expert underlined the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainability in tourism and provided the meeting with a host of examples for demand for sustainable products and services in tourism. However, the expert did stress that there are obstacles to overcome, e.g. additional costs, lack of added-value and/or comfort, incomplete information or non-reliable sustainability logos. Regarding existing approaches in the Baltic Sea Region with a view to sustainable tourism, the expert highlighted the heterogeneity. The expert called on the members to find a common understanding of sustainable tourism. This point was further discussed by the second expert who briefed the WG on milestones of the Baltic Sea Tourism Forum, which among others strives to identify common approaches in tourism in the Baltic Sea Region. Lastly, the WG was briefed on the priority area “Tourism” in the context of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, which aims to establish the Baltic Sea Region as a common and coherent tourism destination. A vivid discussion ensued, among others regarding the profitability of sustainable tourism, incentives for going green, the branding of the Baltic Sea as a tourist destination, and the inclusion of the private sector into tourism strategies. The presentations can be retrieved on the WG webpage. The meeting was primarily devoted to a reconfirmation of the WG mandate and deliberations over its scope of work, priorities and mode of work.

The highest Executive Committee of the BSPC, led by BSPC President Jānis Vucāns, met for the first time under the new Presidency on the premises of the Latvian parliament on 6 November. Delegations from Åland-Islands, the Baltic Assembly, Denmark, Estonia, the European Parliament, Finland, the German Bundestag, Hamburg, Latvia, Lithuania, the Nordic Council, the Russian Federation and Sweden participated in the meeting. The content of the work focused on the follow-up of the resolution of the 24 th annual conference, which took place in Rostock from 30 August to 1 September 2015, and the implementation of the BSPC resolutions. The meeting furthermore discussed the current refugee crisis in Europe, highlighting the urgency of the problem and exposing different approaches in response to the situation. At the beginning of the Standing Committee Meeting the Parliamentary Secretary of the Latvian Ministry of Education, Mr Edvards Smiltens, President of the Council of the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Aigars Rostovskis, and the Special Representative of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly for the Baltic Sea Area, Mr Jurgen Klimke, addressed the SC members in a round of presentations. Mr Smiltens spoke about Latvians priorities in education, most importantly in vocational training and education (VET). Latvia deems the strengthening of the prestige of VET a priority, as VET is part of the innovation system. Ultimately, it should be the goal of higher education to enhance the creativity and entrepreneurship of students to become entrepreneurs, create jobs, provide new products and services and thus expand the national as well as global labor market. Mr Rostovskis later added in his contribution that the Baltic Sea Region should position itself as a global hub for education and innovation, both in order to provide students with the skills to start their own businesses and consequentially to further the prosperity and wellbeing in the region. German MP Jurgen Klimke talked about his work as Special Representative of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly for the Baltic Sea Area and expressed the willingness on the part of the OSCE to cooperate with the BSPC as a partner of similar interests.

Jānis Vucāns, President of the BSPC, emphasized the need of deepening the parliamentary cooperation in the Baltic Sea Area, the crisis in Ukraine and the current situation of the refugees. Mr Vucāns referred to his contribution to the Nordic Council in the previous year, stressing that the cooperation between the BSPC and the Nordic Council has been a true success story. “Our cooperation has further intensified this year, when the President of the Nordic Council, Mr Höskuldur Thórhallsson, and the Nordic Council delegation attended the BSPC’s 24 th annual conference in Rostock.” Referring to the conference in Rostock Mr Vucāns explained that it took place under the heading “Baltic Sea Region – A Role Model for Innovation in Social- and Healthcare”. “Even if we dealt mainly with questions of innovation in social- and healthcare, the question of cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region of course played a key role in this year’s conference again. First and foremost, the crisis in Ukraine was again on our agenda. In our resolution we welcomed “the agreements concluded in Minsk, which may lead to a peaceful solution of the conflict…” and insisted on their “thorough and unwavering implementation and appeal to the parties to provide comprehensive support to the work of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe”. We also dealt with another topical issue, namely the refugee crisis, especially with regard to the social and health aspects of the situation. Expressing our solidarity with the refugees, which are forced to flee their homelands, and being aware of the big challenge to secure a safe residence we called on the governments in the Baltic Sea Region, the Council of Baltic Sea States, the World Health Organisation and the EU to ensure the decent treatment of the refugees especially concerning housing and healthcare. It is important that we strengthen our dialogue on this issue in the Nordic and Baltic Sea region, as the Baltic Sea Region, from one side, is home to some of the most important actors and facilitators in the conflict in Syria, but on the other side, it is a real area of accommodation in Europe for significant amount of the Syrian refugees. When we discussed cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region in our this year’s conference, the cooperation with Russia was a key aspect. Therefore the contribution of Mr Thórhallsson in this issue was very important. BSPC expects, that all Baltic Sea States will make their efforts to ensure that the Baltic Sea Region will continue to be a region of intensive cooperation and good, peaceful neighbourliness. To achieve that we will use all the opportunities of parliamentary, governmental and social exchange and dialogue. For this reason we also call for a resumption of the ministerial meetings of the Council of the Baltic Sea States. This will foster, in our opinion, the dialogue and strengthen cooperation.” Detailing the priorities of the Latvian BSPC Presidency, Mr Vucans stated that it will focus on education and the labour market, and the synergy between them. “As both are the cornerstones of wellbeing in the region, the Latvian Presidency has made those both issues very prominent in the BSPC Work Programme for the time period 2015 – 2016. It is our goal to find political answers to questions such as how to ensure an effective collaboration between the labour market and education; what policy measures to apply in order to promote investment; how to deal with youth unemployment and ability of the labour force, et cetera.” Concluding his remarks he asserted: “BSPC is active in a variety of fields and that is both because we hope to contribute to the wellbeing of our citizens and because we believe that we help drive concrete cooperation in the region, ultimately contributing to a safe and secure Baltic Sea Region. In my opinion it is very important and helpful for progress in several fields, if we bundle our common interests and further deepen the Parliamentary cooperation between Nordic Council and Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference.”

BSPC President Jānis Vucāns has addressed the particpants of the 7 th Barents Parliamentary Conference in Helsinki, Finland on 29 September 2015. The BSPC President spoke to the parliamentarians and invited guests in a session on “Environmental issues including climate change – Today and future cooperation in the environmental sector”. In his speech Mr Vucāns underlined the necessity of cooperation at parliamentary level and especially in the field of climate change: “The Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference has again highlighted in its annual conference four weeks ago the utmost importance of intense cooperation and good, peaceful neighbourliness. This includes the necessity of strengthening the cooperation in the Northern Dimension, for a stable foundation of relations and cooperation between each and every regional organisation and format. In the current period of time, cooperation at parliamentary level has intrinsic value because such cooperation involves the elected representatives of the citizens of the participating countries. The Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference has placed a special emphasis on environmental issues in many conferences. Our generation has a special responsibility to prevent a disastrous development of the ongoing climate change. Since 30 years the climate change is one of the fundamental political challenges in the world.” He underlined that climate change is a permanent issue for the BSPC since several years among others in the framework of its Working Groups on Energy and Climate Change as well as on Green Growth and Energy Efficiency. The BSPC President stressed the importance of a binding climate agreement for all states parties at the World Climate Conference in Paris at the end of this year. With a view to the regional level he equally called for an intensive cooperation and political exchange, among others between the Council of the Baltic Sea States, the Helsinki Commission and the BSPC. Mr Vucāns expressed the BSPC’s explicit support for the CBSS project BALTIC 21, which tackles the issue of climate change. With regard to the Barents Parliamentary Conference he pointed out: “In my opinion it is important and helpful for progress in several environmental fields if we – the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference and the Barents Parliamentary Conference – bundle our common interests on environmental issues.”