Pettersson Closing Speech at 27th BSPC

12.00. CLOSING OF THE 27th BSPCChair: Mr Jörgen Pettersson, MP, Åland, President of the BSPCCo-Chair: Mr Jorodd Asphjell, MP, Norway, Vice-President of the BSPCLadies and gentlemen,I hereby open the Closing Session of the 27th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference.Before handing over to the next BSPC President in this case – we are still invited to adopt the resolution of the 27th annual conference.As always, I would like to remind everyone that we can only take decision by unanimous consent.There is one administrative matter that we have to address first.The Conference is invited to adopt the Work Strategy and Workprogramme 2018-2019.Can everyone agree to the new Work Programme?...Are there any votes against?...I recognize that the 27th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference has agreed to the new BSPC Strategy and Work Programme.Ladies and gentlemen,Now we can turn to the resolution of the 27th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference. Thank you to all the delegations for their hard work, especially to the members of the Drafting Committee. As always, it wasn’t an easy feat to come to an agreement, but in the end, it was worth it.You have all been given a copy of the resolution of the 27th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference. It found the unanimous agreement by the members of the Drafting Committee and I would like to remind everyone that just like every year, the resolution needs to find the unanimous agreement by every BSPC member.Can everyone agree to the resolution of the 27th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference?...Any votes against?...Thank you everyone for your great work during this conference, as well as during this past year. The resolution of the 27th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference is adopted. I hope that the contents of this resolution will be acted on by our governments, ministries and other institutions around the Baltic Sea.Ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues,It has been a true honor to be BSPC President. And now I’m very much looking forward to follow a good BSPC tradition to pass the baton over to the incoming President, our colleague Jorodd Asphjell from the Parliament of Norway. Jorodd, would you please come forward to receive the baton of the BSPC President?...And now, ladies and gentlemen, it is time for our new President to take over and to address us.Jorodd , you have the floor.(The outgoing President takes seat at the Presidium Table)Address by the incoming President of the BSPC 2018-2019Presentation of Next Year’s Host CountryClosing Words:Jörgen Pettersson: At the very end of our conference let me thank everyone who has participated in the organisation of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference:first of all, thank you to all the parliamentarians, experts, government representatives, and guests for your active involvement;Thank you to the staff of the Ålands Lagting, Administration for your support and assistance in efficiently organising this conference;Thank you to our Secretary General for his valuable input;And finally, a special thank you to the interpreters for their amazing job that greatly simplified our work over the past couple of days!I hope that it was a very fruitful conference for all of you,I hope that you could deepen cooperation and friendships,I hope that our decisions contribute to make the world a bit better, andI hope that came true, what I pointed out last year in Hamburg:that you go home with good memories which will inspire you in your future work and which you will not forget for a lifetime,and that you leave the Åland Islands a bit more experienced and educated than before you arrived.I now declare the 27th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference closed. Thank you all!Lunch is served outside and the bus to the airport leaves at.......Have a safe journey home!Administrative mattersAdoption of the Conference ResolutionAddress by the incoming President of the BSPC 2018-2019Presentation of Next Year’s Host Country13:00 | Lunch outside the Plenary Hall,Bus transfer to the airport