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“It is fundamentally important to ensure that all stakeholders of the Region – from EU- as well as non-EU– countries – can participate in the work on an equal footing. We strongly advocate the continuous alignment of the EU Strategy with the Northern Dimension policy, which constitutes a general framework for cooperation between EU, Russia, Norway and Iceland.” This message was emphasized by Christina Gestrin, Chairman of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, in her address to the concluding session of the 1 st Annual Forum on the EU Strategy of the Baltic Sea Region. “We can do better in coordinating our various activities in order to avoid duplication and boost the collective impact of our efforts“, she continued. The Forum gathered some 500 participants from virtually all stakeholder organizations in the Baltic Sea Region. The purpose of the Forum was to get an overall picture of the progress of implementation of the EU Strategy and its 15 priority areas. “I believe that this Forum can serve as a kind of a ‘town hall meeting‘, where citizens, experts and decision-makers can congregate and exchange opinions and ideas. A sincere and expanded dialogue with citizens, NGOs, civic organizations and others should be an integral part of the implementation of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region”, Gestrin stressed. “At the end of the day, the value and success of the Strategy will be judged not by its internal logic, but by its capacity to improve the welfare – in a wide sense – of the citizens of the Region”, she concluded.

Environmental, economic and other perspectives on shipping were at the centre of the agenda when the BSPC WG on Integrated Maritime Policy met in Copenhagen on 15 June. The meeting, which was led by WG Vice Chair Ms Lisbeth Grönfeldt Bergmann, included presentations by Mr Niels Bjørn Mortensen, A P Møller-Mærsk Group, Mr Jan Fritz Hansen, Danish Ship Owners Association, Ms Raimunda Liutkeviciene, CBSS Expert Group on Maritime Policy, Ms Jaqueline McGlade, European Environment Agency, and Mr Francis Zacharie and Mr Bjarke Bøtcher, Danish Maritime Safety Administration. The meeting also discussed and fine-tuned the WG’s political recommendations to its mid-way report at the 19 th BSPC in Mariehamn 29-31 August.

The economic aspects on trafficking in human beings was the overarching theme for the third meeting of the BSPC Working Group on Civil Security, which was convened in Oslo on 10 June. Guest speakers at the meeting were Mr Jan Austad, Norwegian National Coordinator on Trafficking in Human Beings, Mr Harald Bøhler, Head of the Oslo Police STOP Group, Ms Bjørg Norli, the Oslo Pro Centre, and Mr Sven-Erik Nagelgaard from the Norwegian criminal police. The WG will now proceed to produce a mid-term report with political recommendations, which will be presented at the 19 BSPC in Mariehamn on 29-31 August.

“I am glad to reaffirm the close, continuous and constructive interaction between CBSS and BSPC. In our opinion, CBSS has a central role as a driver for comprehensive action to manage the challenges of the Baltic Sea Region. In BSPC, we have a pronounced ambition to synchronize our objectives and priorities with those of the corresponding bodies of the CBSS”, said Christina Gestrin, Chairman of the BSPC, in her address to the 8 th Baltic Sea States Summit in Vilnius on 2 June. “The promising initiatives and programmes that have been launched in and for the Baltic Sea Region must be transformed into practical deeds and results. The EU Baltic Sea Strategy, for instance, should be closely aligned with and conducted in the spirit of the Northern Dimension, which, like CBSS itself, brings together both EU- and non-EU members as equal partners. An inclusive cooperation between all relevant stakeholders is necessary in order to find credible and sustainable solutions to the challenges of the Baltic Sea Region” she underlined. The biennial Baltic Sea States Summit is a forum for strategic deliberations and decisions by the Prime Ministers of the countries in the Baltic Sea Region.

On 1-3 June, the city of Vilnius has been the home of three consecutive Baltic Sea meetings. On 1-2 June, the Baltic Development Forum held its 2010 Summit on the theme of An Agenda for Jobs, Investment and Sustainable Growth. On 2 June, the 8 th Baltic Sea States Summit was convened, gathering Prime Ministers from the whole Baltic Sea Region, the President of the EU Commission and the BSPC. Last in the line, the BSPC Enlarged Standing Committee met in the Parliament of Lithuania on 3 June.

“BSPC will continue to support the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan as the central tool for the restoration of good ecological status of the Baltic Sea by 2021” says Christina Gestrin, Chairman of the BSPC, attending the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting in Moscow on 20 May . “Already at the Ministerial Meeting in Krakow in 2007, the HELCOM member states pledged to present National Implementation Plans at the Moscow meeting in 2010. The Baltic Sea is in a dire ecological state, and can not afford any delays of the actions to save it. Therefore, it is regrettable that not all HELCOM member states had managed to present Implementation Plans at the Moscow meeting. Now we expect that the rest of the states will follow suit and present their Implementation Plans at the high-level meeting of HELCOM in early 2011”, concludes Gestrin.

Christina Gestrin, Chairman of the BSPC, delivered a keynote address at the Nordic Forum for Security 2010, held in St Petersburg on 26-27 April. “Organized crime undermines the security and safety of the citizen. It corrupts the legal and administrative foundation of society. It distorts the free function of the market mechanisms. Organized crime is a fundamental threat against freedom and democracy“, stated Gestrin. She also discussed maritime safety and security in the Baltic Sea, and mentioned that BSPC has called upon governments to enhance preparedness to tackle oil spills, strengthen maritime safety and ship traffic monitoring, and boost efforts to phase out sub-standard ships. “BSPC strongly supports the implementation of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan”, she maintained, and concluded that cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region should be conducted as a cooperation between equal partners irrespective of their membership in the EU.

The second meeting of the BSPC Working Group on Integrated Maritime Policy was held on 15-16 April in the premises of the European Parliament and the Committee of the Regions in Brussels. Members of the European Parliament and representatives of the EU Commission and the Committee of the regions gave presentations and opinions on issues such as EU Integrated Maritime Policy, maritime transport, Trans-European Networks and cooperation between EU and Russia on maritime affairs. The European Ports Organization and the European Community Shipowners Association were also represented at the meeting, and informed about their views on port infrastructure, maritime traffic and emissions, and short sea shipping. The meeting coincided with the ash eruption of the Eyjafallajökull volcano in Iceland. The Working Group will now proceed to draft political recommendations and an interim report, to be submitted to the 19 th BSPC in Mariehamn in August 2010. The next meeting of the Working Group will be convened in Copenhagen on 15 June.

The second meeting of the BSPC Working Group on Civil Security, especially Trafficking in Human Beings, was held in the Swedish Parliament on 8 April. The meeting included a hearing of three experts in the field of Trafficking in Human Beings: Anna Ekstedt, Senior Advisor, CBSS Task Force against Trafficking in Human Beings; Lars Lööf, Head of Children´s Unit, CBSS; and Patrik Cederlöf, National Co-ordinator against Prostitution and Trafficking, the County Administrative Board of Stockholm. The hearing delivered extensive information on strategic as well as operational measures in the fight against Trafficking in Human Beings. It gave valuable input to the continued deliberations in the Working Group on the parliamentary role and contributions in the fight against Trafficking, and its support and exchange with other actors in this field.

”It is crucial that we start treating victims of trafficking as victims in need of help and assistance, not as illegal immigrants that should be kicked out of the country as soon as possible” said Line Barfod, Member of the Danish Parliament and Chairperson of the BSPC Working Group on Civil Security in her address today to the Regional Seminar on Human Trafficking , arranged in London by the Inter-Parliamentary Union. “Such an approach is necessary to combat and halt this modern slavery, and it calls for close cooperation across borders by parliamentarians”, Barfod emphasized. One of the central objectives of the IPU Seminar that runs for 22-23 February is to discuss how parliamentarians are involved in ensuring the enforcement and implementation of existing legislation against trafficking in human beings.

“Civil security is ultimately a matter of building and securing a stable democratic and inclusive society”, said Christina Gestrin, Chairman of the BSPC, in her address to the 28 th Session of the Baltic Assembly on 27 November. “The key to enhanced security and safety in the Region lies in deepened and widened cooperation, involving all countries of the Region on an equal and mutually beneficial basis. Parliamentary fora such as the Baltic Assembly, BSPC, and the Nordic Council are important arenas for candid political debate. They can contribute to the pursuit of transparent, democratic and pragmatic solutions to the challenges of the Region”.

“The BSAS is a very promising contribution to the mobilization of concrete commitments for a good ecological status and sustainable development of the Baltic Sea”, says Christina Gestrin, member of the Finnish Parliament and Chairman of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC). She participates in the Baltic Sea Action Summit (BSAS) in Helsinki on Wednesday 10 February. “BSPC, gathering parliamentarians from all countries around the Baltic Sea, will continue to exert political pressure on governments and decision-makers to take forceful action against the degradation of the Baltic marine environment. Governments must, for example, fulfill their pledges to implement the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan according to its agreed timetable”, maintains Gestrin. “The Baltic Sea must also be protected against technological and man-made disasters. Transport of oil and dangerous goods are increasing, and there is an urgent need to enhance the preventive capacities against calamities”, says Gestrin. This year, BSPC has committed itself to emphasize the issue of safety of navigation in the Baltic Sea. BSPC urges the governments to create a common agreement aiming at the creation of a ship reporting system for the whole Baltic Sea. The operation of ship reporting systems (SRS) and vessel traffic services (VTS) must be improved by better coordination and harmonization of existing systems in the region. These issues will be addressed at the 19 th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference in Mariehamn, Åland Islands, 29-31 August this year.