BSPC Annual Report 2009

BSPC SecretariatFebruary 2010Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference in 2009Christina Gestrin, Chairman of the BSPC 2008-2009, was re-elected chairman for 2009-2010 at the conference in Nyborg 2009. Valentina Pivnenko, member of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, was re-elected Vice Chairman for the same period. Harry Jansson was appointed temporary member of the Standing Committee as representative of Åland, which will host the 19th BSPC in 2010. As in 2008, the Nordic Council was responsible for providing the BSPC secretariat function during the year. Since 2007, the running costs of the BSPC secretariat function have been funded via the BSPC joint financing mechanism.The 18th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (18th BSPC) was held in Nyborg, Denmark, 30 August-1 September 2009. The conference was attended by nearly 200 politicians, officials, experts and other guests. The three main themes discussed at the conference were Cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region, Maritime Safety, and New Threats to Security. In the spring of 2009, the BSPC Enlarged Standing Committee had discussed an outline version of the conference resolution. The Drafting Committee for the conference resolution (comprising the Enlarged Standing Committee) had three extensive discussions during the Conference, after which the Resolution could be adopted by consensus. The conference resolution contained a number of political recommendations within the main themes of the conference. The recommendations were directed towards the governments in the Baltic Sea region, the CBSS and the EU. For example, the BSPC emphasised the importance of a parliamentary dimension in Baltic Sea cooperation, and also that the various programmes and strategies that are developed for the Baltic Sea Region must be coordinated with the Northern Dimension. The resolution also emphasised that the economic crisis, which has had a major impact in the region, must not be used as an excuse for cutting back on environmental work in the Baltic Sea Region. It was agreed that the Enlarged Standing Committee and the Standing Committee would each meet twice a year, and that the Standing Committee meetings would also be open to participants from those parliaments not represented in the Standing Committee. The BSPC urged the Standing Committee to appoint two new working groups, one for Integrated Maritime Policy, particularly infrastructure and logistics, and for Civil Security, especially trafficking in human beings. Christina Gestrin, Member of the Finnish Parliament and Member of the Presidium of the Nordic Council, was re-elected Chairman of the BSPC Standing Committee for 2009-2010, and Valentina Pivnenko, member of the State Duma of Russia, was re-elected Vice Chairman 2009-2010.The BSPC Enlarged Standing Committee, which was set up in 2006, held its first meeting of the year in Brussels on 25 February. The meeting was attended by 19 parliamentarians, 26 officials, and a number of guests from the European Parliament and the CBSS. The Chairman of the CBSS Committee of Senior Officials, Karsten Petersen, Denmark, began the meeting by describing the work of the CBSS, reporting results and future orientations and priorities. He emphasised the importance of close contacts between the CBSS and the BSPC, and mentioned that a joint meeting of the CBSS CSO and the BSPC could be considered. A representative from the EU Commission then presented a report on the work relating to the EU Baltic Sea Strategy. The subsequent debate in the Committee considered subjects such as the BSPC working programme for 2009, the structure and programme for the 18th BSPC in Nyborg, a first draft of the conference resolution for Nyborg, and BSPC budget and financing issues. The financial report for 2008 was approved, as was the budget proposal for 2009. After the meeting, the BSPC was invited to a joint working lunch with the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region (SCPAR), hosted by Bilyana Raeva, then Chairman of the European Parliament’s SINEEA delegation.The second meeting of the Enlarged Standing Committee was held in Warsaw on 29 May. The meeting was attended by 12 parliamentarians, 17 officials and a number of guests. Two representatives from the Polish Ministry for Foreign Affairs spoke on subjects such as the EU Eastern Partnership and developments in, and relationships with, Belarus. The meeting approved an idea to invite representatives of the Belarus Parliament to the 18th BSPC. The status of preparations for the 18th BSPC was considered, and a revised outline for the core of the conference resolution was discussed. The Secretariat was commissioned to prepare a first official draft baseline version of the resolution and to distribute it in mid-June. The meeting decided to change the word “Expanded” in the English title of the Committee to “Enlarged”. It was also decided that the Standing Committee meetings would be open to observers from all national and regional parliaments represented in the BSPC. Budget issues were discussed and the current renovation of the BSPC home pages was presented.The Enlarged Standing Committee served as the Draftingh Committee on three occasions in conjunction with the 18th BSPC.The BSPC Standing Committee held its first meeting on 30 August in Nyborg before the 18th BSPC. The meeting was mainly devoted to final preparations for the conference. At the meeting it was noted with satisfaction that all national and most of the regional parliaments in BSPC had paid their contributions to the Joint Financing Mechanism for 2009. The meeting also agreed to recommend the setting up of two new working groups, one for Civil Security and one for Integrated Maritime Policy. The meeting voted to extend Christina Gestrin’s mandate as Chairman of the BSPC up to and including the 19th BSPC, to extend Valentina Pivnenko’s mandate as Vice Chairman of the BSPC for the same period, and to extend Sylvia Bretschneider’s mandate as the BSPC observer in HELCOM by one year.The Standing Committee’s autumn meeting was held in Helsinki on 13 November. Anne-Christine Brusendorff, Executive Secretary of HELCOM, reported on the status of the work in HELCOM and implementation of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan. The meeting was also briefed by Harro Pitkänen, Nordic Investment Bank (NiB), about the bank’s work and its various projects and resources for the Baltic Sea Region. The meeting also considered the follow-up of the 18th BSPC and its resolution. Another subject of discussion was a preliminary version of BSPC’s financial report for 2009, and the Secretary was commissioned to formulate a proposal for guidelines for admission of external observers to BSPC. The meeting approved the following appointments: Kent Olsson as BSPC observer in HELCOM 2009-2010 (together with Sylvia Bretschneider), Christina Gestrin as BSPC observer in HELCOM BSAP Implementation Group, Franz Thönnes as BSPC Rapporteur on labour market issues, and Mart Jüssi as BSPC Rapporteur on climate and energy issues. In addition, the meeting appointed chairmen for the working groups: Line Barfod for the BSPC Working Group on Civil Security and Trafficking in Human Beings and Jochen Schulte for the BSPC Working Group on Integrated Maritime Policy. A trial version of the BSPC’s new home page was demonstrated.The BSPC Secretary Level met three times in 2009. The joint secretariat function – the BSPC Secretariat – was again funded in 2009 by the Nordic Council Secretariat in Copenhagen. The running costs of the BSPC secretariat function have been funded via the BSPC joint financing mechanism. The secretariat’s responsibility includes preparing and formulating documents for meetings of the Standing Committee and the Enlarged Standing Committee and for administration, coordination and development of BSPC’s activities. One of the permanent items on the agenda of the Secretary Level meetings is management and follow-up of the joint budget for the secretariat’s running costs. Procedures for planning, management and reporting of the joint resources have become more systematised in 2009. A more detailed reporting method now allows accurate monitoring of how costs are distributed over various expenditure items. All BSPC’s national member parliaments and the majority of the regional parliaments paid their contributions to the BSPC joint financing mechanism for 2009, and in a couple of cases contributions were also paid retroactively for 2007 and 2008. A representative of the CBSS secretariat participates regularly in BSPC Secretary Level meetings.The BSPC Working Group on Energy and Climate Change, under the leadership of Mart Jüssi, Estonia, held its fourth meeting in Helsinki on 2 March, and its fifth meeting in Berlin on 6 May. The primary task of the working group has been to develop common political standpoints and recommendations within its area of responsibility. These can be used for advocacy and to exert political pressure on governments and agencies. They also provide input for the BSPC’s conference resolutions. The Chairman of the Working Group gave the final report to the 18th BSPC in Nyborg about the group’s work and political recommendations.The BSPC Working Group on Labour Market and Social Affairs, under the leadership of Franz Thönnes, Germany, held meetings in January, March and May. The primary task of the working group has been to develop joint political standpoints and recommendations within its area of responsibility, which can be used for advocacy and to exert political pressure on governments and agencies. They also provide input for the BSPC’s conference resolutions. The Chairman of the Working Group gave the final report to the 18th BSPC in Nyborg about the group’s work and political recommendations.Contacts between BSPC and CBSS continued to grow in 2009. The Chairman of the CBSS Committee of Senior Officials (CSO), Karsten Petersen, participated in a meeting of the BSPC Enlarged Standing Committee in Brussels on 25 February, and then presented a status report on the work of the CBSS and its strategic prospects. The Chairman of the BSPC, Christina Gestrin, was invited to the 15th Ministerial Session of the Council of the Baltic Sea States in Helsingør on 4 June and spoke about the cooperation between the CBSS and BSPC. The Norwegian Minister for Foreign Affairs was one of the delegates expressing satisfaction over cooperation between governments and parliaments in the Baltic Sea Region, and emphasised that the CBSS needs and appreciates the active support of the BSPC. Vice Minister Asta Skaisgirytė-Liauškienė, who represented the Lithuanian chairmanship of CBSS 2009-2010, participated with an introductory speech at the 18th BSPC in Nyborg. Cooperation with the CBSS was mentioned in very positive terms in many of the paragraphs in the resolution from the 18th BSPC. The CBSS Secretariat participates regularly in meetings in the various BSPC bodies.The BSPC has also been represented in a number of other activities and meetings. The BSPC observers in HELCOM and the HELCOM BSAP Implementation Group participated in a total of six different types of HELCOM meeting in 2008. The BSPC also participated in the EU Baltic Sea Strategy Stakeholder Conference in Rostock on 6 February, the 1st Northern Dimension Parliamentary Forum in Brussels on 25-26 February, the 10th Baltic Sea Days in St Petersburg on 18-19 March, the Baltic Development Forum in Stockholm on 5-6 October, the BSSSC 17th Conference in Ringsted on 14 October, the Nordic Council’s 61st session in Stockholm on 27-29 October, PABSEC’s 34rd Session in Moscow on 23-24 November, the Baltic Assembly’s 28th session in Vilnius on 26-28 November, and the CIS IPA 33rd Session in St Petersburg on 3 December. The BSPC participated in a meeting of “The Joint Energy and Climate Platform”, which is a forum for exchange of information and coordination between the leading organisations in the Baltic Sea region. BSPC participates as an Associate Partner in the Baltic Sea Labour Network project, which is a Flagship Project in the EU Baltic Sea Strategy, with the aim of strengthening cooperation between the labour market partners in the Baltic Sea Region. Franz Thönnes participates as BSPC representative in the BSLN Steering Committee, while the BSPC Secretary participates in the BSLN Facilitator Team. In 2009 BSPC participated in four meetings of the Facilitator Team and in the Steering Committee meeting on 9 October.The BSPC Website was renovated in autumn 2009. The new website opened in stages during December and was officially released in January 2010.