Speech by Christina Gestrin at the Baltic Sea Days 2009

18 March 2009/FinalPARLIAMENTARY PRIORITIES FOR THE BALTIC SEA REGIONIntervention by Ms Christina Gestrin, MP,Chairman of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC),at the X. International Environmental Forum, Baltic Sea DaySt Petersburg 17-19 March 2009Chairman,On behalf of the BSPC, I would like to thank our hosts for inviting me to the tenth International Environmental Forum. It is indeed a pleasure and a privilege to address an audience that is so committed, so engaged, and so experienced in dealing with the Baltic Sea Region issues.The Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC) was established in 1991 as a forum for political dialogue between parliamentarians from the Baltic Sea Region. BSPC gathers parliamentarians from 27 national parliaments, regional parliaments and parliamentary organizations around the Baltic Sea. The BSPC thus constitutes a unique parliamentary bridge between all the EU- and non-EU countries of the Baltic Sea Region.Right in the very beginning of the latest BSPC resolution, from the Visby conference in 2008, we emphasize our strong conviction that the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) is a central tool for restoring good ecological status of the Baltic Sea by 2021. The innovative way in which the Plan is crafted, with attainable goals, measurable commitments and agreed timetables, enables an objective follow-up of its implementation. We have urged Governments and Parliaments of the Baltic Sea Region to fully commit themselves to the implementation of the HELCOM BSAP. This can be done for instance by developing national programmes of action by 2010 at the latest. It is particularly urgent that active measures are taken against eutrophication.Chairman,BSPC has appointed me as its Rapporteur on Eutrophication, including the implementation of the HELCOM BSAP. I have attended all the BSAP meetings so far, and my general impression is that the work has taken several positive and promising steps forward.One of the key issues of the BSAP Implementation Group was to elaborate a comprehensive list of municipal wastewater treatment plants and agricultural hot spots that do not fulfill HELCOM requirements. Such a list is of crucial importance for the successful implementation of the BSAP.A number of regional stakeholder conferences have been arranged. These conferences are important tools for the development of the national action plans under BSAP. They have also contributed to the generation of funding for various projects.Cooperation with the EU is essential. It is important to avoid overlapping of competencies, but above all to join forces and to explore the possibilities of accessing EU funds for the implementation of the BSAP.A very encouraging piece of news last summer was Russia’s decision to allocate hundreds of millions of Euros for various water treatment projects. We do hope that this undertaking is well on track.It is positive that HELCOM agreed to submit a proposal to the IMO on lowering ship emissions of nitrogen and sulphur. It is of literally vital importance to press on with the work of enhancing safety at sea. Maritime transport in the Baltic Sea keeps on growing. The 170 million tons of oil transported last year is expected to rise to 250 million tons by 2015. This underlines the necessity of reinforcing the capabilities for oil accident prevention, preparedness and management.However, we have also seen some setbacks in the implementation work. The Stakeholder meeting in Helsinki two weeks ago failed to reach agreement on a proposal to the IMO on imposing a total ban on sewage discharge from all vessels sailing in the Baltic Sea. Such a ban would effectively prevent the discharge of sewage from the thousands of ships plying the Baltic waters. In Finland it is even prohibited to empty sewage from small pleasure boats, and there is little understanding why huge passenger ships should be allowed to dump their sewage right into the water.Chairman,In December 2008, the BSPC submitted a consolidated input to the consultation process for the EU Baltic Sea Strategy. We chose to highlight a number of overarching political positions that should, in our opinion, be taken into account in the subsequent development of the EU Baltic Sea Strategy. Allow me just to mention some of our positions.• Firstly, the Baltic Sea Strategy must be closely coordinated with the new Northern Dimension. A situation in which the EU Baltic Sea Strategy and the Northern Dimension evolves along diverging tracks would be detrimental to development and cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region;• Secondly, we stressed that the EU Baltic Sea Strategy should recognize and support the implementation of the HELCOM Baltic Sea action Plan (BSAP). Governments and Parliaments of the member countries should fulfil their pledges to the implementation of the HELCOM BSAP;• Thirdly, coordination should be promoted and duplication avoided. Everyone must not do everything. There is need for coherent and targeted leadership in order to drive the issues of the Baltic Sea Region. The Baltic Sea Strategy should aim at bolstering the vertical and horizontal dialogue between stakeholders and actors of the Region;• Fourthly, the Baltic Sea Strategy should support the progress of the Baltic Sea Region into Europe’s model maritime region. All ships that sail through the Baltic Sea must comply with the same high level of safety and environmental standards, irrespective of flag. Concrete and effective steps within the framework of IMO should be taken to ensure binding regulations for maritime safety, safety of navigation and security, considering among other things the rapidly increasing number of oil transports in the Baltic Sea and the severe winter conditions especially in the northern parts of the Baltic Sea;• Fiftly, involve citizens. NGO ́s play an invaluable role both as opinion-makers and independent experts. Their views, warnings and advice should be taken very seriously and form an input in the development of the Baltic Sea Strategy.Chairman,The implementation of the HELCOM BSAP has a prominent position on the BSPC agenda. We parliamentarians insist that the present economic downturn is not taken as an excuse for lowering environmental goals, reducing environmental resources or delaying timetables for environmental plans and projects. We expect that the countries of the Baltic Sea Region honor their obligations to produce national action plans by 2010.At the HELCOM Stakeholder Conference in Helsinki two weeks ago, we heard from the financial institutions that there really is no shortage of funds for projects compliant with BSAP objectives. So what we do have is a concrete and politically anchored plan on the one side, and money from the financial institutions on the other. Now the two must be fused. For the sake of facilitating the implementation of the BSAP, we have recommended the governments of the Baltic Sea Region to support the project development fund managed by NiB and NEFCO.Now we hope to see a lot of action to transform the objectives of the plan into practical realities.Thank you for your attention.