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“BSPC has called for active support to projects with the objective of reducing harmful emissions from ships and developing reception facilities for waste water from ships. In order to enforce the IMO ban from October 2010 on waste water discharge from passenger ships and ferries in the Baltic Sea, it is necessary that the states around the Sea urgently make adequate port reception facilities available” said Christina Gestrin, Chairman of the BSPC, in her keynote address to the European Maritime Day in Gdansk 19 May. “Strong measures are needed to improve maritime surveillance, safety of navigation and environmental risk reduction, for example by harmonizing and elaborating existing ship reporting systems and vessel traffic services. We have also strongly urged governments to strengthen the joint regional and national capacity to tackle major spills of oil and hazardous substances”, she stressed. The European Maritime Day, arranged by the European Commission, is the biggest annual maritime event in Europe, gathering close to a thousand participants. Follow the link to access the EMD homepage,

“A continued utilization of nuclear power requires strengthened efforts for safety and security”, said Valentina Pivnenko, member of the Russian State Duma and vice President of the BSPC, at the Parliamentary Round Table held in Murmansk on 27-29 April. International cooperation on nuclear safety must be further reinforced, and there is a growing need for international standards and a full and transparent information-sharing between nations”, she maintained . BSPC was also represented at the Round Table by Janis Reirs, vice President of the Baltic Assembly and member of the BSPC enlarged Standing Committee. “More attention should be paid to the development and use of safe and innovative technologies in the nuclear industry in order to protect human life and the environment from potential nuclear disasters”, he stressed. The Parliamentary Round Table, which is an annual event, gathered parliamentarians from the Russian Federation, the Nordic Council and the BSPC. The Final Statement from the Round Table can be retrieved from the Nordic Council website (external link):

The BSPC Secretariat took part in a meeting of the Committee of Senior Representatives of the Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being (NDPHS) in Oslo 14 th April. A number of proposals for cooperative actions were presented and agreed. NDPHS will, i a, appear at the 20 th BSPC to share their expertise and knowledge about the issue of alcohol and substance abuse and its consequences for social and economic development. This can serve as input to political opinion-building and decision-making in the field of health and social welfare. Click on the link to access the NDPHS website.

Franz Thönnes, member of the German Bundestag and BSPC’s representative in the Steering Committee of the Baltic Sea Labour Network, took part in the Committee’s meeting in Helsinki on 31 st March. The BSLN Steering Committee advocates the establishment of a Forum for Social Dialogue in the Baltic Sea Region with the aim of influencing policy- and decision-making in the field of labour market relations, promoting transnational social dialogue, and networking and exchange of experience between the social partners and political institutions in the Baltic Sea Region. The Forum will assemble tripartite representatives from the countries in the Baltic Sea Region once a year in an Annual Round Table meeting. The SC meeting also included a meeting with Russian stakeholders. “Well-functioning and fair labour markets are a key element in developing our welfare models in a fair and sustainable direction”, said Franz Thönnes. “North-West Russia is a very important part of the Baltic Sea Region, and that is why representatives from Russia have been invited to Helsinki to plan the future cooperation with us and to take part in the upcoming Forum for Social Dialogue.” Further information

Ways of improving competitiveness in the maritime sector was the main focus of the fifth session of the BSPC Working Group on Integrated Maritime Policy, held in the Parliament of Sweden, Stockholm, on 24 th March 2011. Expert presentations were given by Dr Gernot Tesch, Scandlines, and Dr Martin Kruse, Northern German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (Economic impact of the classification of the Baltic Sea as a sulphur emission control area (SECA)), by Mr Måns Jacobsson, former Director of IOPC funds (Oil spill liability and the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds), by Mr Bernt Stedt, Chairman of HELCOM Response Group (Response capacities to combat oil spills), by Ms Riita Pöntynen, Shortsea Promotion Centre Finland (Measures to improve co-modality), by Mr Pierre Schellekens, European Commission (EC communication on Maritime Spatial Planning), and by Mr Sten Jerdenius, VASAB (Baltic sea cooperation on maritime spatial planning). The meeting was also attended by Mr Lars Almklov, Chairman of CBSS Expert Group on Maritime Policy. The next and final meeting of the WG will take place in Schwerin on 20 th June. On that occassion, the WG will finalize its political recommendations.

Police, prosecution and the court of law were the main themes when the BSPC Working Group on Trafficking held its 6 th meeting in Riga on 4 March. Expert presentation were provided by Dimitrijs Trofimovs, Director of Sectoral Policy Department, Ministry of the Interior, Latvia, Arturs Vaišla, Head of Unit 3 for Fight against Trafficking in Human Beings and Soutenerism, the Organised Crime Combating Board, the State Police, Latvia, Aivars Bergmanis, Prosecutor of Specialized Prosecution Office to Combat Organized Crime and Other Specific Kinds of Crime, Prosecution General Office, Latvia, and Lasma Stabina, Senior Desk Officer of Policy Implementation Division, Sectoral Policy Department, the Ministry of the Interior, Latvia. The presentations and some pictures from the meeting can be found on the WG webpage . The WG also discussed a first draft of political recommendations for its final report. The meeting was well covered by Latvian media.

The Northern Dimension policy must be targeted on dealing with concrete challenges said Christina Gestrin, chairman of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, when addressing the 2 nd Northern Dimension Parliamentary Conference in Tromsö on 23 February. Climate change, energy efficiency, maritime safety and security and public health are major and pressing issues that require concerted efforts by all stakeholders in the north. We have always been supportive of the Northern Dimension, continued Gestrin, precisely because we believe that any viable long-term solution to the challenges of the Northern region must involve all stakeholders in the region. The Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership work has yielded very positive results, such as the waste water treatment plant in St Petersburg, but continued efforts are necessary. It is of utmost importance to sustain and develop projects within the Partnership to address the nuclear safety window, which aims at preventing and managing cross-border risks caused by nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel. We parliamentarians can exert political pressure on governments to fulfil their commitments and obligations, and act as watchdogs to make sure they do, concluded Gestrin.

An enhanced cooperation between business and the cultural sector can generate initiatives and activities that can contribute to local and regional economic development in the Northern Dimension area, said Valentina Pivnenko, member of the Russian State Duma and vice chairperson of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, when addressing the 2 nd Northern Dimension Parliamentary Forum in Tromsö on 22 February. -The Northern Dimension Business Forum should receive full support in its work to initiate business opportunities in the region. The overarching objective of the activities within the Northern Dimension is to solve the real problems that exists for the peoples of the north, concluded Pivnenko.

Christina Gestrin, Chairman of the BSPC, was awarded the Lasse Wiklöf Baltic Sea Prize on Monday 14 th February. The prize is a recognition of Christina Gestrin´s dedicated work for the environment of the Baltic Sea Region. The Baltic Sea Fund, which was founded in 1989, rewards outstanding environmental efforts in Finland, Sweden and the Åland Islands. This year´s winners were announced on Monday by the Governor of the Åland Islands, Peter Lindbäck. The prize award ceremony will take place on 7 th May in the Alandica Cultural Centre in Mariehamn. It will also include lectures by the prize winners.

Trafficking in children and children at risk were the themes when the Working Group on Trafficking held its 5 th meeting in Helsinki on 18 January. Expert presentations were provided by Lars Lööf, Head of Children’s Unit, CBSS, Niraj Nathwani, European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, and Dr Venla Roth, Senior Officer, the Office of the Ombudsman for Minorities, Finland’s National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings. The WG also commenced deliberations on the political recommendations in its final report, to be presented at the 20 th BSPC in Helsinki 28-30 August.

The theme of the fourth meeting of the WG Integrated Maritime Policy, held in Tallinn 23 November 2010, was Options for the Reduction of Emissions from Maritime Shipping. Expert presentations were delivered by Ms Ramona Zettelmaier, Lloyds Register Hamburg, Mr Jürgen Friesch, Hamburgerische Schiffbau-Versuchanstalt, Mr Mogens Schrøder Bech, Danish Maritime Authority, Mr Are Piel, Vessel Traffic Services Center Estonia, and Mr Ilmari Aro, Finnish Transport Agency. The meeting also appointed Mr Roger Jansson, MP, Åland Islands, as Vice Chairman of the WG, succeeding Ms Lisbeth Grönfeldt Bergman who has resigned from the Swedish Parliament.

The victims of trafficking in human beings were at the centre of deliberations at the fourth meeting of the BSPC Working Group on Civil Security/Trafficking in Hamburg 25 October. Expert presentations were provided by Caroline O´Reilly, Head of the Special Action programme to Combat Forced Labour, the International Labour Office; Veronica Munk, TAMPEP, European Network for HIV/STI Prevention among Migrant Sex Workers; and experts from the Coordination Office against Trafficking in Women (KOOFRA) in Hamburg. The Working Group was also given a status report on the CBSS Task Force on Trafficking in Human Beings by Marta Bociek, Project Officer at the Task Force.