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The BSPC Working Group on Innovation in Social and Health Care held its second meeting in Tromsö on 27-28 March. The meeting unanimously elected Ms Olaug Bollestad, Norway, to succeed Raimonds Vejonis as Chair of the WG, sine Vejonins was appointed Minister of Defence of Latvia in January 2014. An opening expert presentation was provided by Ms Pille Kink from the Estonian E-Health Foundation. After the meeting, the WG made a study visit at the Norwegian Centre for Integrated Care and Telemedicine, where briefings were given on coordinated care and demographic challenges in rural areas, telemedicine innovation and implementation, flexible e-learning in health care, homecare and prevention, and barriers and legal aspects of cross border telemedicine. The next meeting of the WG will be convened in Birstonas, Lithuania, on 19-20 June.

“Today it feels timely to reiterate the importance and benefits of the peaceful and constructive dialogue between the peoples of the Baltic Sea Region. The joint agreements and achievements that we have made, for instance in the environmental field, are obvious proofs that it is cooperation – not confrontation – that pays off in the long run” said Christina Gestrin, BSPC, in her address at the XV International Environmental Forum Baltic Sea Day in St Petersburg 20 March. “Environmental cooperation has indeed produced several positive effects. A good example and concrete expression of regional environmental cooperation is the project “Gulf of Finland Year”, which is a joint endeavour between Estonia, Russia and Finland” she said. However, Gestrin cautioned that “the work is far from over. It is, to take one example, worrying that there are still close to 200 waste water treatment plants in Leningrad oblast region in need of urgent renovation.” She stressed that “Clean shipping could evolve into an export sector with strong competitiveness and revenues for the entire Baltic Sea Region. Take the example of the Vasa Region, which is the biggest energy technology cluster in northern Europe: 12% of Finland´s total export originates in Vasa, although only 2% of Finland’s population lives there. If all the states in the Baltic Sea Region decided to explore and exploit the potential of Green Growth and Blue Growth, the entire region could evolve into a global frontrunner, demonstrating that environmental sustainability and economic growth can go hand in hand” Christina Gestrin concluded.

Energy efficiency in the Baltic Sea Region was the highly topical theme for a joint BSPC-CBSS-BASREC seminar hosted by the Finnish Parliament in Helsinki 4 March. The seminar was initiated by the CBSS Finnish Presidency 2013-2014. One of its core priorities is the follow-up of the recommendations of the BSPC Working Group on Green Growth and Energy Efficiency. Christina Gestrin, member of the Finnish Parliament and BSPC, underlined in her opening remarks that “no one dealing with politics and social development can or should avoid discussions about energy resources, energy efficiency and climate change. It is obvious that a sustainable future energy provision in a situation of serious climate change calls for strengthened cooperation and joint international efforts.” Stressing that “the Baltic Sea Region should strive to become a leader in the field of energy efficiency“, she cautioned that “the financial crisis is not an acceptable excuse to postpone measures to combat climate change. That would only mean that the costs for managing the effects of climate change will increase in the long run.” The Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Erkki Tuomioja, commended the interaction between CBSS and BSPC, and recognized the recommendations of the WG as important political levers to promote energy efficiency, not least on the local and regional level. Cecilie Tenfjord-Toftby, member of the Swedish Parliament and Chair of the Working Group, recapitulated the recommendations of the WG. “We are around 85 million people in the Baltic Sea catchment area“, she noted. “Together, we can become a very important player in the field of Green Growth and Energy Efficiency. We have the potential to transform our conventional economy to a green one, in which production and consumption is carried out in an environmentally sustainable manner.” Pointing out the gains to be made by energy efficiency measures, she asserted that “a successful implementation of green growth will boost economic performance, create many new opportunities for businesses around the Baltic Sea, increase security in the supply of essential resources, and support the efforts to curb dangerous climate change”. She concluded by noting that “we are moving in the right direction, but we need to do it at a higher speed in order to avoid serious environmental consequences which will eventually hurt our economies and our well-being. Stringent and persistent policies and actions are needed to realize the potential for sustainable and competitive green economies.”

“Climate change has escalated into one of the most pressing challenges of our times. Urgent and serious action is necessary to avoid future environmental and social disasters. We need stronger efforts to curb climate change, to adapt to its consequences, and to fortify the preparedness to prevent and manage emergencies. International and transborder cooperation is indispensable“, said Christina Gestrin in her address to the 42 nd General Assembly of PABSEC, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, in Tbilisi, Georgia on 18 December. “Green growth and energy efficiency are key tools to contain climate change. Climate smart solutions are good for the environment and for our societies. They also offer opportunities to promote innovation, business development, employment and competitiveness in the growing market of green technologies”, she continued, and commended the so-called “Baltic2 Black” project, which for three years has maintained close contacts between expert networks in the Baltic and Black Sea regions in order to share knowledge and develop new monitoring and assessment methods. “Parliamentarians have a responsibility to keep the political spotlight on environmental and social challenges. International parliamentary cooperation is a powerful political driver of social development and an instrument to safeguard its democratic legitimacy”, Gestrin concluded. More information on PABSEC can be found at: www.pabsec.org

“The Arctic, Barents and Baltic Sea Region all belong to Northern Europe. Although being physically separate, the regions nevertheless share many fundamental challenges. Hopefully, they will also be able to share common solutions to these challenges”, said Laine Randjärv, Chairman of the BSPC 2012-2013, in her address at the 3 rd Northern Dimension Parliamentary Forum in Arkhangelsk on 11 November . “Innovation is a key factor in social and economic development. It is a central driving force for the adaptation to new industrial structures, market conditions, and social transformations. Innovation is a means of strengthening economic progress, global competitiveness and social welfare. There is a huge potential for innovation in emerging markets in for instance green growth, energy efficiency and life sciences”, she stressed. Emphasizing that a healthy population is both a strong indicator of social welfare and a necessary condition for socio-economic development and labour productivity, she maintained that “strong efforts must be carried out to deal with the emerging problems caused by an ageing population and an increase in lifestyle-related diseases. The overarching mission of the recently launched BSPC Working Group on Innovation in Social and Health Care is to elaborate political positions and recommendations on innovation in health and social welfare systems and services.” Ms Randjärv concluded by reaffirming that “cooperation between parliamentarians – like in then Northern Dimension Forum – can therefore contribute not only to the relevance and efficiency of the efforts undertaken to develop the region, but, above all, to their democratic legitimacy.”

The BSPC Working Group on Innovation in Social and Health Care (WG ISHC) held its inaugural meeting in Riga on 4 November. The meeting was led by the WG Chairman Raimonds Vejonis. The meeting appointed Olaug Bollestad, Norway, and Wolfgang Waldmüller, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as vice Chairmen. An expert presentation on “Innovation in Social and Health Care – An Ecosystems Approach” was delivered by Thomas Karopka, Project Manager of ScanBalt HealthPort. The presentation can be retrieved at the WG webpage. The meeting was primarliy devoted to a reconfirmation of the WG mandate and deliberations over its scope of work, priorities and mode of work. The next meeting will be convened in Norway in March 2014.

The annual Round Table of the Baltic Sea Labour Forum was convened in Helsinki on 1 November. The keynote speech of the Round Table was delivered by the Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Erkki Tuomioja. The Round Table adopted a Resolution which addressed the overarching issues of youth unemployment and mobility of labour. BSPC is a member of the BSLF, and had been actively engaged in drafting the Resolution. The Round Table also adopted an Action Plan on Cross Border Mobility in the Baltic Sea Region, which will be conveyed to the governments and other relevant stakeholders in the Region. The resolution and the Action Plan can be accessed at the BSLF website .

BSPC was invited to share experiences from Nordic and Baltic Sea Region interparliamentary cooperation at a parliamentary seminar on “Legal Status and Political Functions of Interparliamentary Organizations”, arranged by the Regional Secretariat for Parliamentary Cooperation in South-East Europe. Jan Widberg gave a comparative overview of some key features in the development and work of Nordic Council and the BSPC. “Both organizations were founded against a background of dramatic events, and in a belief in international cooperation and dialogue as central means to prevent conflict and promote prosperity”, he emphasized. “In both cases, a need was felt to construct a platform for open-ended parliamentary dialogue on an equal footing on how to deal with joint challenges and potentials.” Pointing to similarities and differences between the two organizations, Widberg stressed that ”the decisive factor for the success of a parliamentary recommendation is its realism, relevance and added value.” Among the lessons learned from the development of the BSPC is the necessity to build a fundamental joint commitment to cooperation as such, to choose a few and relatively easy issues to start up cooperation and learn how to cooperate, to build the organization step-by-step and make it no more complex than what is needed to fulfill its tasks at any time, and to nurture inter-personal relations and networks. The Parliamentary Cooperation in South-East Europe is the parliamentary dimension of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP). The Parliamentary cooperation was reaffirmed in a Memorandum of Understanding for Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation in SEE signed in 2008 in Sofia, and is being coordinated by a regional secretariat in Sofia. The intention now is to transform the parliamentary dimension into a permanent SEECP Parliamentary Assembly in late fall 2013, and the Sofia seminar was a step in that process. Further information

“Saving the Baltic Sea is a matter of ecological survival and of preserving continued deliveries from its ecosystem services. It is also an opportunity to gain competitiveness in Clean Tech and Green and Blue Growth, which will bring jobs, a sounder environment and better health” said Christina Gestrin, BSPC Co-Observer with HELCOM, at the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting in Copenhagen 3 October . She cautioned that BSPC is “concerned about the status and future of the so-called BSAP Fund. The Fund has a proven track record and functions as an important catalyst for facilitating project development and innovation”. Sylvia Bretschneider, BSPC Co-Observer with HELCOM, underlined the necessity to “strengthen innovation in support of new cleaner technologies as well as best current available technologies, to improve marine safety and clean fuels as well as energy efficient solutions for transportation on land and sea within the Baltic Sea Region. BSPC therefore explicitly supports in its resolution the efforts of the Helsinki Commissions Green Technology and Alternative Fuels Platform for Shipping”, she affirmed. The HELCOM Ministerial meeting was concluded with the adoption of a Declaration, which is available on the HELCOM website .

The EU-financed project Clean Baltic Sea Shipping (Cleanship) held its final conference in Trelleborg on 2-3 rd of September. Both BSPC rapporteurs Mr Jochen Schulte (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) and Mr Roger Jansson (Åland Islands) took part. The Cleanship conference adopted recommendations regarding i.a. port fees, based on a special environmental index, as well as adapted port services regarding power supply and sewage treatment. The question regarding marine fuels was also raised. The conference reached the same conclusions as the IMP Rapporteurs at the BSPC conference in Pärnu, namely that LNG is mainly for new ships, while marine diesel, scrubbers and ethanol is the solution for existing ships. The aim now is to urge ports and operators throughout the entire Baltic Sea Region to voluntarily implement the outcomings of the Cleanship project.

The WG made the following statement in connection with its meeting in Bornholm 9-11 June: The necessary transformation to a sustainable growth and improved energy efficiency requires easily available and affordable technologies and equipment for renewable energy generation, both in households and in enterprises. It is important to promote international cooperation on research and development on green technologies, and to find efficient models for manufacturing, trade and marketing that lowers the cost for the end consumers. The decision by the European Commission to impose punitive tariffs on Chinese-made solar panels (PV) is a step in the wrong direction. It constitutes an unfortunate protectionist measure that will reduce the availability of solar panels in the European market, increase the costs of the conversion to more sustainable energy systems, and delay the introduction of green technologies on a broad scale. The tariffs will therefore hamper the conversion to a greener society. Although the Commission claims that this is an anti-dumping measure, the tariffs will have negative consequences for the EU 2020 goals. This also underlines the importance of China joining the WTO and contributing constructively to the establishment of a level playing field and fair conditions for international trade. Cecilie Tenfjord-Toftby, MP, Chairperson of the Working Group, Swedish Riksdag, Tony Asumaa, MP, Åland Islands Lagting, Karin Gaardsted, MP, Danish Folketing, Christina Gestrin, MP, Finnish Riksdag, Mariusz Orion Jedrysek, MP, Polish Sejm, Siri Meling, MP, Norwegian Storting, Oleg Nilov, MP, State Duma of the Russian Federation, Jochen Schulte, MP, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Landtag, Maxim Shingarkin, MP, State Duma of the Russian Federation, Torsten Staffeldt, MP, German Bundestag, Sabine Steppat, MP, Hamburg Bürgerschaft, Ingela Nylund Watz, MP, Swedish Riksdag, Wille Valve, MP, Åland Islands Lagting, Nordic Council Committee on Business and Industry, Raimonds Vejonis, MP, Latvian Saeima

The BSPC WG on Green Growth and Energy Efficiency held its 6 th and final meeting in the Bright Green Island of Bornholm on 9-11 June. The citizens, politicians, public administration and enterprises of Bornholm have made dedicated and combined efforts to turn Bornholm into a 100% sustainable and carbon-free community by 2025, including local, sustainable and eco-friendly solutions for growth and new businesses. Expert presentations were given by Mette Tiensuu on “Bright Green Island”, by Camilla Sandfeldt on “Green Construction”, by Per Boesen on “Electric Cars in Bornholm”, by Winni Grosbøll, Mayor on Bornholm, on “Political Aspects on Bright Green Island”, and by Maxi Nachtigall from Baltic 21 on “Greening the Economy of the Baltic Sea Region”. The Working Group also made study visits to the ecogrid-demonstration house “Villa Smart” with a presentation by Maja Bendtsen, and to the “Vasagaard”, a sustainable forest pig farm. The WG meeting was primarily devoted to thorough deliberations over the WG Final report, which will be presented at the 22 nd BSPC in Pärnu on 25-27 August 2013.