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Valentina Pivnenko, Chairman of the BSPC and First Deputy Chair of the State Duma Committee for Regional Policy, took part in the Nordic-Russian Parliamentary Round Table talks in Helsinki 14-15 May. The talks focussed on energy efficiency and sustainable energy production, emphasizing the interests of the far orth as a unifying factor. “It is in our common interest to conserve energy and to produce it in an environmentally safe and sound manner,” said Valentina Pivnenko. More information about the Round Table can be found at the Nordic Council website.

The first meeting of the Enlarged Steering Committee (ESC) of the Baltic Sea Labour Forum (BSLF) took place in Hamburg on 20 th April. The BSLF is one of the outcomes of the Baltic Sea Labour Network project, which was concluded in 2011, and in which BSPC was Associate Partner. BSLF is a network for exchange and communication between the key labour market actors in the Baltic Sea region. Its primary aim is the promotion of social dialogue, tripartite structures and cooperation as crucial elements of sustainable economic growth and social development in the Baltic Sea Region. BSPC will continue its committment to the BSLF. Franz Thönnes, MP, Bundestag, member of the BSPC Standing Committee and BSPC Rapporteur on Labour market issues, chaired the first meeting of the BSLF ESC. “The BSLF is continuing the successful cooperation between the social partners and the political bodies in the Baltic Sea Region, which will strengthen the social dialogue. The BSLF should deal with the challenges of developing a sustainable and fair labour market in our region”, Thönnes stated. Further information

BSPC was invited to the fifth meeting of the South-East European Cooperation Process Parliamentary Dimension Working Group (SEECP PD), held in Belgrade on 3 April. The Parliaments of South-East Europe Cooperation Process have recently launched a debate on the vision, mission and modalitites of strengthening the parliamentary cooperation in South-East Europe. For that purpose, the SEECP PD was created with the purpose of finding new ways to intensify inter-parliamentary activities in the region and to establish working relations with related international organizations. Jan Widberg, Head of BSPC Secretariat, gave a briefing on the mission, structure, role and impact of the BSPC. For more info on SEECP, see: rspcsee.org

What should the Southern Baltic Sea Region look like in 2020? Green growth and energy efficiency, cross-border education and labour markets, integrated maritime policy – these were among the issues debated at the 10 th Southern Baltic Sea Parliamentary Forum in Kiel 12-13 March, where members of the parliaments around the southern Baltic Sea assembled in the State Parliament of Schleswig-Holstein to hammer out a joint vision for the Southern Baltic Sea Region in 2020. BSPC was represented by Arkadiusz Litwinski, MP, Poland. The final document of the Forum , entitled “Southern Baltic Sea 2020”, is intended to present sustainable development strategies for the Southern Baltic Sea Region, based on the principles of subsidiary and regional autonomy. An English version of the document is available through the BSPC Secretariat. For more info on the Forum, visit: http://www.landtag.ltsh.de/aktuell/veranstaltungen/2012/03-maerz/10-parlamentsformum-so.html

The BSPC Working Group on Green Growth and Energy Efficiency convened its second meeting in Helsinki on 2 March. The overall theme of the meeting was “Measuring Energy Efficiency”. The WG made study visits to the Katri Vala Heating and Cooling Plant, the Nordic Investment Bank, and the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation. Briefings were given by Mr Pekka Sauri, Deputy Mayor of the City of Helsinki, Mr Juhani Aaltonen and Mr Marko Riipinen, Helsinki Energy, and by Mr Johan Ljungberg, Senior Director, Head of Environment, NiB, and Mr Magnus Rystedt, Managing Director, Nefco. The meeting was opened with expert presentations by Professor Peter Lund, Aalto University, and Mr Patrick Matschoss, PhD, University of Oldenburg, Finnish Institute of International Affairs. The next meeting of the WG will be held in Riga on 8 June.

On 16 February, the European Parliament Environment Committee will debate a proposal for a European directive aiming at adapting a European legislation on sulphur emissions to the stronger IMP regulations concerning the reduction of sulphur limits in marine fuels as from 1 January 2015 in SECAs. The Committee will also discuss the report on this issue by EP Rapporteur Ms Satu Hassi. Mr Jochen Schulte, Chairman of the BSPC WG on Integrated Maritime Policy in 2009-2011, has directed a letter to Ms Hassi, drawing the attention of the European parliamentarians to the concerns of the WG members regarding possible competitive disadvantages for Baltic Sea shipping. He points out, i.a., the necessity of accompanying measures in order to, on the one hand, prevent an unwanted traffic shift from sea to land transport and, on the other hand, facilitate the transition to low-sulphur fuels and ship propulsion systems.

The final report of the BSPC Working Group on Integrated Maritime Policy has just been released in a printed version, which will be distributed to the WG members and other stakeholders. A few copies are also available through the BSPC Secretariat. The report is also published as pdf on the WG’s webpage .

The BSPC Working Group on Green Growth and Energy Efficiency held its inaugural meeting in the Swedish Parliament in Stockholm on 12 December 2011. The meeting was led by the WG Chairman Ms Cecilie Tenfjord-Toftby, Sweden. Expert presentations were provided by Ms Mia Crawford, CBSS/Baltic 21, and Mr Fredrik von Malmborg, Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications, Sweden. The meeting was primarily devoted to initial discussions about the mandate, scope and priorities of the WG, recognizing that the overarching mission of the Group is to elaborate political recommendations on Green Growth and Energy Efficiency, and to bring an added political value from the parliamentary side to the process of creating sustainable growth in the Baltic Sea Region. The next meeting of the WG will be held on 2 March 2012.

The 20 th Anniversary of the Baltic Assembly was celebrated in connection with the 30 th Session of the Baltic Assembly in Tallinn on 25 November. Bertel Haarder, President of the Nordic Council and member of the BSPC Standing Committee, conveyed warm greetings from Valentina Pivnenko, Chairman of the BSPC, to the Baltic Assembly on the occasion of its 20 th Anniversary. “Mutually beneficial cooperation is of fundamental importance. BSPC has always appreciated and benefited from the dedicated involvement and participation of the Baltic Assembly in the work of the BSPC, and we in the BSPC look forward to many more years of fruitful interaction. A clear testimony to this is that Estonia has offered to assume the Chairmanship of BSPC in 2012-2013”, Haarder stated.

The Baltic Sea Labour Network (BSLN) project, in which BSPC is Associate Partner, held its Final Conference in Hamburg on 15-16 November, drawing over 200 representatives of various social partners from all over the Baltic Sea Region. A wide range of keynote speeches, working sessions and side events contributed to the success of the Conference, which was a worthy finale of the BSLN project. The project, launched in October 2008, has managed to bring together representatives from employer organizations and trade union organizations throughout the Baltic Sea Region in a series of projects all devoted to developing sustainable labour markets in the Region. The Final Conference adopted an exhaustive Resolution, in which it advocated the establishment of a Baltic Sea Labour Forum, which will be located at the CBSS Secretariat in Stockholm. Franz Thönnes, MP, Bundestag, Member of the BSPC Standing Committee and BSPC Rapporteur on Labour Market issues, opened and closed the Conference, and also chaired the Drafting Committee as well as the first meeting of the Forum on 16 November. Jan Widberg, Head of BSPC Secretariat, also took part. Documents from the Final Conference are available on the BSLN website .

The final report of the BSPC Working Group on Trafficking has just been released in a paper version. A limited number of copies are available thorugh the BSPC Secretariat. The report is also published in PDF format on the WG webepage .

The new Standing Committee of the BSPC convened on the premises of the Hamburg Parliament on 7 November. The new Standing Committee, which is headed by the BSPC President Valentina Pivnenko, constitutes a merger of the previous Standing Committee and Enlarged Standing Committee, and thus includes all national parliaments, regional parliaments and parliamentary organizations of the Baltic Sea Region as regular members. The meeting primarly focussed on various follw-up initiatives to the 20 th BSPC. Moreover, it agreed to appoint Cecilie Tenfjord-Toftby, MP, Sweden, as Chairperson of the new BSPC Working Group on Green Growth and Energy Efficiency