9 BSPC Resolution

RESOLUTIONThe participants of the 9th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference* assembled in Malmö, Sweden, September 4-5, 2000,taking note of the positive work carried out in the Council of Baltic Sea States (CBSS) and many other regional organisations as well as of the momentum for regional and sub-regional co-operation in the Baltic Sea Area created i.a. by the inauguration of the bridge across the Öresundcall on their own parliaments and on their governments- to further strengthen the possibilities and conditions for regional and sub-regional co-operation in the Baltic Sea area- to facilitate cross-border co-operation and establish new and effective Trans-European Networks in addition to consolidating existing onesespecially by- promoting youth exchange and tourism in the Baltic Sea Region by creating a Baltic Sea Youth Fund, based on the experience of the Baltic Sea Youth Secretariat in Kiel;- enhancing a close co-operation in the field of education and research between universities in the Baltic Sea Region in particular by establishing the Baltic Sea University Ring and an International Summer Academy on the subject of ”The Baltic Sea Region in the New Europe”;- creating an efficient IT infrastructure including building up a high speed data-highway for the benefit of all citizens in the entire region, thus allowing for, i.a. inter-active civic participation of all strata of the populations, the facilitation of internal and external economic life and the enhancement of social service, such as tele-medicine, in all parts of the region;- intensifying co-operation in the field of energy, not least concerning renewable energy sources, and improving the environment by using the flexible mechanism introduced in the Kyoto Protocol to avoid environmental dumping as well as ensuring nuclear and radiation safety;- improving transport systems around the Baltic Sea;- abolishing trade barriers including obstacles at border crossings;- creating conditions for further development of economic co-operation in the field of investment and trade by activation of small and medium size enterprises;- stepping up collaboration in fighting organised crime and cross-border law-breaking;- making sure that due consideration is given to environmental aspects and other hazards to sustainable development by ensuring the existence and implementation of regional, sub-regional, national and local Agendas 21 and by paying attention to HELCOM strategies;- developing the relations with the European Union in general and making the best possible use of the benefits created by the perspective of EU enlargement and the policies of the Northern Dimension in particular;- paying more attention to the special needs of cross-border co-operation, not least across the maritime borders, and integrate it into the EU-Interreg programmes;- improving national legislation and regulations aimed at ensuring fundamental human rights and liberties in correspondence with principles contained in the charters and conventions of the UN, the Council of Europe and of the OSCE;- undertaking measures promoting multilateral co-operation in order to prevent and combat catastrophes and organise international disaster control, operations of rescuing as well as joint operations aimed at liquidating the results of catastrophes especially by improving the safety of ships and the safety of sea routes.The participants of the 9th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference stress that the above-mentioned goals could best be attained by stimulating and enhancing the inter-active civic participation in political decision-making on all levels in the Baltic Sea area and decide to make that aspect of co-operation the main theme for the 10th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, which the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has generously offered to host on 3 - 4 September 2001 in Greifswald.*Members of the parliaments of Åland, Bremen, Denmark, Estonia, the Federal Republic of Germany, Finland, Hamburg, Iceland, Karelia, Latvia, Lithuania, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Norway, Poland, the Russian Federation, Schleswig-Holstein, St. Petersburg, Sweden as well as of the Baltic Assembly, the Nordic Council and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, constituting the 9th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, convened in Malmö and Copenhagen on September 3-5, 2000, at the invitation of the Speaker of the Swedish Parliament and under the aegis of the Regional Parliament of Skåne.