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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.

“Enhanced regional cooperation benefits from a free movement of people and enterprises. It is necessary to continue the efforts for a gradual phasing out of the visa regime between the EU- and non-EU- countries in the Region” said Laine Randjärv, President of the BSPC, in her address to the 18 th CBSS Ministerial meeting in Pionersky on 6 June. Speaking directly after the Chair of the meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, she stressed that the BSPC “commends the work of the Russian Presidency of the CBSS in 2012-2013. Great efforts have been made to stimulate multilateral cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region. Sustainable economic development has been given keen attention. One of the main priorities has been the development of cooperation in the field of modernization and innovation”. BSPC too sees this as a main priority, Randjärv pointed out, emphasizing that “innovation is not confined to industrial production, but should be promoted in administrative sectors and for social governance as well. The challenges of the Region, such as e.g. environmental sustainability, labour market mobility, infrastructure and logistics, and organized crime, require innovative forms of cooperation and governance that transcend physical and organizational borders.” See also the CBSS website, where the Ministerial Declaration can be retrieved: https://www.cbss.org/the-18 th -ministerial-session-of-the-council-of-the-baltic-sea-states-cbss-will-take-place-5-6-june-2013-in-the-kaliningrad-region-of-the-russian-federation/

“The basic mission of BSPC is to raise awareness and opinion on issues of current political interest and relevance for the Baltic Sea Region and its citizens. BSPC shall promote and drive political initiatives to support a sustainable environmental, social and economic development of the Baltic Sea Region. It should, basically, exert political pressure on the Governments. The evolution of BSPC has been characterized by an incremental growth of its political scope and operational functions, in order to keep the organization lean, efficient and at all times well adapted to its political ambitions and practical tasks” said Jan Widberg, BSPC Secretary General, in his presentation at the Danube Floating Parliamentary Conference on 23 May. Widberg was invited to share some of the lessons learned during 20 years of parliamentary cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region. The floating conference was a step in the initiative to launch a “Danube Parliamentary Network” with from the national parliaments along the Danube as well as from the European parliament. The idea behind this initiative has been endorsed by German Chancellor Mrs Angela Merkel as natural part of the development of the EU Danube strategy. At the end of the floating conference, the participating parliamentarians signed a declaration to establish a Danube Parliamentary Network. For a video on the conference, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6c8G4uFj3U

The BSPC Standing Committee held its summer meeting in the picturesque university city of Tartu on 27 May. The meeting was chaired by Laine Randjärv, BSPC President 2012-2013 and former mayor of Tartu. The agenda was primarily devoted to the preparations for the 22 nd BSPC in Pärnu 25-27 August, to initial deliberations over the content and format of the Conference Resolution, and to the scope of work of the planned new BSPC Working Group on Innovation. The meeting also included study visits at the University of Tartu, the popular science centre AHAA, and the Estonian Genome Centre of the Uninversity of Tartu.

“International cooperation, at all levels and in different shapes, is a prerequisite for a continued democratic, social and economic development of the region. There are numerous potentials that can be harvested through enhanced cooperation in the region. A fundamental demand, however, is that economic development is pursued in a manner that safeguards social and environmental sustainability” said BSPC Vice Chairman Raimonds Vejonis in his address at the parliamentary Round Table in Syktyvkar, Republic of Komi, 15-16 May. The Round Table is an annual event that gathers parliamentarians from the Nordic Council, the Russian federal Assembly, the Parliamentary Association of North-West Russia, and BSPC. “Cooperation on for instance energy, infrastructure and logistics can improve both the external and internal accessibility of the region, which is necessary precondition for entrepreneurship, economic growth and competitiveness” Vejonis pointed out, and continued by stressing that BSPC has repeatedly called on the governments to make sustained efforts to facilitate mobility for people and enterprises, and to intensify the efforts for a gradual phasing out of the visa regime between EU- and non-EU- countries. “A sincere and expanded dialogue with citizens, NGOs, civic organizations and others should therefore be an integral part of political cooperation and decision-making. It is of particular importance to ensure that indigenous people and youth can be involved in the decision-making processes that are shaping the region, Vejonis stated, and emphasized that “the work of NGOs in the Baltic Sea Region should be supported, facilitated and heeded. The imposition of legislation that restricts international cooperation should be abolished”.

“NGOs can be seen as organizational manifestations of popular engagement in various civil issues. NGOs emerge as a means of safeguarding democratic and human rights and freedoms, building opinion, mobilizing resources, and exerting pressure on decision-makers. NGOs can have many functions that are conducive to a well-functioning parliamentary democracy which is firmly anchored at grassroots level. NGO´s play an invaluable role both as opinion-makers and independent experts, and their views, warnings and advice should be taken seriously”, said Raimonds Vejonis, BSPC Vice President, in his keynote address at the XI Baltic Sea NGO Forum in St Petersburg 16 April. Valentina Pivnenko, member of the BSPC Standing Committee, underlined in her opening words that “people-to-people contacts constitute the basis for regional cooperation and socio-economic development of the Baltic Sea Region. Therefore, it is fundamentally important to remove obstacles – such as visa restrictions – that impede the free cross-border movement of people and enterprises”. Vejonis stressed that it is BSPC´s opinion that “NGOs and their cooperation in the Region should be strengthened, for instance by giving administrative and economic support for the international networking of NGOs, and by supporting the continued activities of the NGO Forum. The imposition of legislation that restricts international cooperation among NGOs and hampers the possibilities to obtain international funding should be abolished”, he concluded. Information and documentation from the NGO Forum can be accessed at: www.bsngoforum.net

“It will become apparent that there are not only cross-over effects between green growth and integrated maritime policy, but also between the different maritime economic activities themselves. Shipyards no longer just build large container ships, but they are drivers for the region’s shift to a green economy”, said Jochen Schulte, BSPC Co-Rapporteur on Integrated Maritime Policy, in his opening address at the Conference on Competitiveness of the Maritime Economy in the Baltic Sea Region. The conference, which was held on 12 April in the Parliament of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Schwerin, gathered politicians, experts and practitioners to present and discuss issues such as blue growth, challenges for the port industry and the shipbuilding industry, and emerging maritime technologies. The core aim of the conference was to ponder how maritime economic activities could ensure a continued competitiveness of the Baltic Sea Region, and in which ways political decision-makers could promote and bring added value to the process. “When it comes to the delicate balance between economic and ecological aspects, practically every presentation at the conference has shown that the Baltic Sea Region features a maritime industry that has the capability of dealing with such a balance, which would set it apart from other industries around the world”, concluded Schulte.

“There are certain promising signs that the measures taken so far have paid some environmental dividends. However, there are still several cities and municipalities that have no modern waste water treatment facilities whatsoever. Continued efforts and resources must therefore be allocated to the construction of waste water treatment plants and to modernize decaying urban and municipal sewage systems”, said Christina Gestrin BSPC Observer to HELCOM, in her introductory address at the XIV International Baltic Se Days in St Petersburg 21 April. “I would also like to emphasize the need to enhance maritime safety and emergency management capacities”, she said. “We in BSPC have urged our governments to develop real-time maritime surveillance information and e-navigation technologies in order to improve vessel traffic management and augment the joint preparedness against accidents”. She went on to commend the BSAP Technical Assistance Fund, which is managed by NiB and NEFCO. “It is clear that the Fund has served the important purpose of facilitating more than 35 project proposals with realistic goals, viable structures and sound investment plans“, she stressed. “Efforts must therefore be made to retain and refill the BSAP Fund, and I hope that all Baltic Sea countries will contribute“. “Now we hope that the HELCOM Ministerial meeting in October will be a successful manifestation of our governments’ dedication to the BSAP and of their continued commitment to take concrete action to fulfil its goals by 2021”, Gestrin concluded.