Huovinen Welcome address 20th BSPC

The 20th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference Check against deliveryHelsinki, Finland, 28-30 August 2011Address by Ms Susanna Huovinen, Chair of the Finnish delegation to the BSPCDistinguished Chair of the BSPC, Dear Colleagues, Experts of Baltic Sea Cooperation, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends!Welcome to Finland and the Finnish Parliament. It is a pleasure to have you all here as guests, convening to discuss this very important topic that unites us all. Speaker Heinäluoma already mentioned how the first steps in Baltic Sea parliamentary cooperation were taken. We, Baltic Sea parliamentarians who have gathered here today, owe a great deal to the brave visionaries, who understood the need to develop that cooperation and to look further. They were truly ahead of their time.We parliamentarians are involved in a lot of activities. Our work is filled with deadlines and demanding tasks. It is often a difficult balancing act to manage all of this. Very often we are bound by domestic politics at the expense of our international commitments. It seems that there is never enough time to do as much in this field as we would like to. However, we cannot simply limit ourselves to dealing with domestic issues. Many of the challenges that we face - we have to face them together.In more than a few occasions, and during several electoral periods, I have been involved in Baltic Sea Parliamentary cooperation. This cooperation has brought me a lot of new information that I have been able to use in my work as a parliamentarian. On top of this I have found many new friends – contact networks that are of great value.The Baltic Sea is our shared treasure. Its condition is alarming and it is more than important that we think together, what we can do to leave a healthier Baltic Sea for the next generations to enjoy. In addition to improving the Baltic Sea environment, we should look for new ways of generating sustainable growth and strengthening the welfare of our societies. The challenges are plenty for this and future conferences to come.Even if the situation is challenging, it does not mean it could not be solved. I strongly believe that ownership is the key issue on the way forward towards a healthier Baltic Sea with more prosperous people around it. We have to take ownership of our common sea and work together. No-one else is going to do anything for us, and things are not going to work unless we are all committed. We, as parliamentarians, have an important role to play here in raising awareness, making new connections and good decisions. The citizens are waiting this from us.We, the members of the Finnish delegation, are very happy that you have come to Helsinki in such great numbers. We hope that you will enjoy your stay and come again. I wish you all a very productive conference. Again, you are most welcome!Thank you!