24 BSPC Resolution ENG

Conference ResolutionAdopted by the 24th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC)The participants, elected representatives from the Baltic Sea Region States*,assembling in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, 30 August – 1 September2015,welcome, against the background of the crisis in Ukraine, the agreementsconcluded in Minsk, which may lead to a peaceful solution of the conflict, andinsist on their thorough and unwavering implementation and appeal to the partiesto provide comprehensive support to the work of the OSCE;expect all Baltic Sea States to make every effort to ensure that the Baltic Searegion will continue to be a region of intensive co-operation and good, peacefulneighbourliness. To this end, they will use all the opportunities of parliamentary,governmental and social exchange and dialogue. For this reason, they also call fora resumption of the ministerial meetings of the Council of Baltic Sea States(CBSS). This will foster the dialogue and strengthen cooperation;discussing Cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region, Cross-Border Cooperation inHealth Care, Health and Economy – Paving the Way for Innovation in Social andHealth Care, and Sustainable and Accessible Social and Health Care – at theCrossroads of Health Care Provision, the Demographic Shift and ShrinkingBudgets;reiterating their support for the Council of Baltic Sea States (CBSS), welcomingthe new long-term priorities of the CBSS, as well as the efforts of the Polish CBSSPresidency to improve coherence in Baltic Sea regional cooperation, andacknowledging the progress and achievements of CBSS in fields such assustainable economic growth, clean shipping, labour market mobility, researchand development, transport and communications, cultural heritage, trafficking inhuman beings, and civil security, and support the CBSS practical approach to theimplementation of the new CBSS long term priorities;expressing against the background of the current situation their solidarity withthe refugees which are forced to flee their homelands, being aware of the bigchallenge to secure a safe residence;call on the governments in the Baltic Sea Region, the CBSS, the World HealthOrganisation (WHO) and the European Union (EU);to ensure the decent treatment of the refugees especially concerning housing andhealthcare;1Regarding Cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region, to1. strengthen the cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region including the NorthernDimension and the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region and other regionalactors for a stable foundation of relations and encourage further development ofthe structural dialogue and cooperation between each and every regionalorganization and format leading to creation of a common Baltic cooperationspace;2. support any cooperation that marks the Baltic Sea Region as a model regionwith equal access to health for all and with a special obligation to support thedissemination and development of health and well-being by playing a key role inthe realization of the new sustainable development goals of the United Nations;3. reaffirm the pursuit of the entire region to co-operation aimed at becoming arole model region with a sustainable economy, capable of boostingcompetitiveness and opening up new opportunities for business and employment;4. co-operate in order to strengthen the Baltic Sea Region as an importantcompetitive knowledge region with an excellent higher education and researchinfrastructure;5. encourage co-operation in the fields where mutual benefits and synergies e.g.between the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region and the Strategy for the socio-economic development of the North-West Federal district of Russia can only beachieved by identifying common priorities and by developing respective regionalstrategies and action plans;6. evaluate the effects and promote the extension of the new regulations on SECA(Sulphur Emission Control Area), in force since 1 January 2015, to other seabasins, including outside of the EU, and support efficient enforcement of theseregulations on ships, regardless of which flag they might fly, to ensure theimprovement of the environment, human health and to secure thecompetitiveness of the shipping sector in the region;7. promote close cooperation between cruise operators, ports and other coastaltourism stakeholders such as in the recently launched Pan-European CruiseDialogue and actively participate in transnational projects to unlock the fullpotential for sustainable blue growth in the maritime and coastal tourism sectors;8. continue work to upgrade reception facilities for sewage in passenger ports toensure a timely activation of the special area status of the Baltic Sea underMarpol Annex IV of the International Maritime Organization, with the aim tohinder the release of untreated sewage from passenger ships in the future and toreaffirm the commitment for the continued improvement and modernization ofthe waste water treatment capacity throughout the entire Baltic Sea Region, incompliance with the stricter threshold values agreed by HELCOM;9. enhance macro-regional capacity to respond to major emergencies based onall-hazards approach and joint, cross-border preparations to protect lives, healthand wellbeing of citizens;210. strengthen and further develop HELCOM as the main coordinating body in theeffort to protect the Baltic marine environment, and to strongly support theimplementation of the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP), and to stress the importanceof BSAP as the environmental pillar of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region;11. deepen the political exchange among young people in the Baltic Sea Regionand to support the permanent establishment of a Baltic Sea Youth Forum;12. support the Nordic Bioeconomy Initiative by the Nordic Council of Ministers;Regarding Cross-border Co-operation in Health Care, to13. expand, strengthen and deepen cross-border cooperation in social and healthcare and the strategic planning of health services and continue with strong effortthe development of a “Baltic Sea Health Region”, to decrease inequality and liftthe general welfare as a common challenge all Baltic Sea Region Countries face;14. support the Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and SocialWellbeing (NDPHS) as a highly valued and innovative regional network,significantly contributing to the improvement of peoples’ health and socialwellbeing in the Northern Dimension area, the new NDPHS Strategy 2020 and itsAction Plan, as well as the Policy Area “Health” of the EU Strategy for the BalticSea Region;15. support the EU ́s cross-border co-operation programmes and other relevantprogrammes as tools contributing to strengthening cross-border and regional co-operation in health care in the Baltic Sea Region;16. launch and develop concrete transnational health care and social wellbeinginitiatives, such as ScanBalt or the WHO’s Healthy Cities project and to foster thedevelopment of the Baltic Sea Health Region by further strategies andtransnational projects, e.g. by a joint antibiotics strategy, by connecting the fieldsof health, tourism, information and communications technology (ICT) and naturalresources;17. spread innovative and best practices throughout the Baltic Sea Region so tobecome a model region in health care;18. co-operate on research and sustainable strategies for promotion of cultivationand production of healthy and organic food;19. make workplaces safer and healthier and thus more productive and recognizethe important work of trade unions to promote a culture of risk prevention toimprove working conditions throughout the region;20. improve transnational cooperation and medical specialization in the treatmentof rare diseases, bearing in mind the cost-effective usage of medical equipment;321. regulate transnational emergency care in a way that the fastest possiblehealthcare provision can be guaranteed regardless of the healthcare providers ́country of origin;22. intensify exchanges of experience and co-operation with the aim of fightingantimicrobial resistance as one of the main global challenges in health care, toimplement research in this area, and support and intensify all efforts to developand implement a global action plan on antimicrobial resistance by WHO;23. reduce the usage of antibiotics – general – and for agriculture (livestockfarming) to an absolute minimum in order to prevent further increase ofantimicrobial resistance;24. strive to introduce the same standards on a high level in the treatment ofcontagious infectious diseases throughout the Baltic Sea Region;25. broaden the scope of the Könberg report to the entire Baltic Sea Region, inorder to gain a comparable overview of the status of health and care in the BalticSea Region;26. commission a regular report on the status of health including disaggregateddata and analysis for different population groups such as children, youth andsenior citizens and particularly marginalized groups in the countries of the BalticSea Region, in order to coordinate issues, definitions and emphases as a stepforward in terms of comparability of different systems within the region and mapcommonly shared challenges ahead;Regarding Health and Economy, to27. appreciate that, whereas economic prosperity is good for health, good healthoutcomes also favour economic growth and development. To that end, recognizethe importance of health and social wellbeing for the economy and other policyareas and vice versa and consider health aspects in all policies;28. improve support for the development of innovations in health care in order toprevent a brain drain;29. support the ScanBalt Strategy 2015-2018 and use synergies with existingstrategies;30. develop measures to improve the situation of the medical and careprofessions through – for example - eHealth;31. improve conditions to support the development of innovations in health care,including in the fields of eHealth and telemedicine, whilst ensuring thatinvestments in eHealth support the adoption of standards and driveinteroperability across the health sector to leverage the “eHealth EuropeanInteroperability Framework” (eEIF) and observe the joint European initiatives,such as the “Guidelines under eHealth Network” of the responsible member stateauthorities;432. further strengthen measures for collaborative implementation of a jointeHealth Innovation ecosystem based on a Baltic Sea Region cooperation platformfor eHealth initiatives built on smart specialization and mobilize regional resourcesbased on already existing structures and internationally recognized standards;33. improve the conditions to include eHealth and telemedicine in the standardcare;34. improve early intervention to strengthen good public health through socialinvestment such as vaccine programs, and take strong measures to reduceconsumption of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs, and work towards strongerprevention of diabetes II and other lifestyle illnesses;35. support the usage of cost-reducing methods for better quality of life, includingcultural and physical health-related activities in treatment;36. improve the national labelling relevant for a healthy lifestyle includinglabelling accessible to different population groups such as child-sensitive andchild-specific labelling;37. foster development of health-related services within the tourism strategies ofthe Baltic Sea Region countries;38. ensure global comparability of health economy and measure the performanceand the impact of the health care systems via economic growth and employmentby establishing a first reliable transnational method like “economic footprint ofhealth economy”;39. check the possibility to establish a “Baltic Health Forum”, to ensure andimprove a sustainable exchange and networking in this policy field around theBaltic Sea;Regarding Sustainable and Accessible Social and Health Care, to40. ensure affordable health care for everyone and emphasize the focus on theneeds of patients with due regard to age and gender and to warrant equal andaffordable access to high-quality health services throughout the whole Baltic SeaRegion;41. ensure that a positive economic development in the region promotes highstandards in health care and social wellbeing;42. take strong measures to ensure equitable availability, access and use ofsocial welfare and health care services, e.g. between urban and rural areas,between socio-economic groups and with due regard to age and gender;43. develop and strengthen strategies addressing demographic change, such asthe European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing and especiallyconsidering public services with regard to rural peripheral areas;544. install geriatric health care centres and modify social rehabilitation centres toensure health care in rural areas as well as improving age-appropriate medicine;45. ensure integrated services for children consolidating health care and socialcare services in a child-sensitive way;46. ensure support services for families, pregnant women and prospectiveparents in support of families and parenthood, provide an integrated package ofservices to families with children in order to encourage childbirth, childcare andchild rearing with a view to counteracting the current demographic trends andinvesting in families and fostering child-friendly communities and societies;47. encourage patient responsibility for people living in the Baltic Sea Region;48. raise awareness especially amongst the youth in a healthier lifestyle and towork on making education in healthy lifestyle mandatory in all schools and allschool levels, a database on best practice examples on how to improve educationand awareness should be created;49. carry out studies with the aim of developing prevention strategies in healthcare, such as the North-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT);50. establish a first aid system for mental health problems as the recognition,awareness and diagnostic of mental problems are still underdeveloped;51. support activities on Non-Governmental Organizations focussing on non-formal education for example in culture, sports, volunteering and music in orderto fight against stigmatization of disadvantaged groups;52. create incentives to improve the conditions of the nursing and careprofessions and to work towards intensified professional and vocational trainingfor people employed in the health sector to significantly facilitate a cost-effectivehealth system in the region and foster understanding of the health sector as across-cutting issue;53. fully recognize the social partners in the social and health care professions,protect their activities and ensure that social partners and trade unions will beinvolved in the regulatory and implementation process on health issues as earlyas possible;54. carefully consider both physical and psycho-social risks at work place, againstthe background of a rising retirement age, strive for good working conditions,wellbeing and a sustainable work-life balance within the labour force of the BalticSea Region;55. strive to establish laws for patients’ rights in all the countries of the Baltic SeaRegion and mechanisms to ensure that those rights are fulfilled;56. establish a Working Group on Sustainable Tourism – with focus on cultural,economic and labour market, maritime and coastal tourism as well as ecologicalaspects and as a central pillar of maritime spatial planning and with a view todeveloping synergies with the policy area “Tourism” under the EU Strategy for theBaltic Sea Region - to submit a first report at the 25th BSPC;57. welcome with gratitude the kind offer of the Parliament of Latvia to host the25th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference in Riga on 28 - 30 August 2016.6*Parliaments ofDenmark,Estonia,Europe,Finland,Federal Republic of Germany,Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,Free Hanseatic City of Bremen,Iceland,Latvia,Leningrad Region,Lithuania,Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,Norway,Poland,Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation,City of St. Petersburg,Schleswig-Holstein,Sweden,Åland Islands,Baltic Assembly,Nordic Council7