BSPC Presentations and Speeches 28th

28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferencePresentations andspeeches at the28th Baltic SeaParliamentary ConferenceOslo 25-27 August 2019MONDAY 26 AUGUSTOPENINGFIRST SESSIONSECOND SESSIONTHIRD SESSIONTUESDAY 27 AUGUSTFOURTH SESSIONCLOSING OF THE 28th BSPC28 BSPCfamily photoYEARSOslo Monday 26 August 2019Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMONDAY 26 AUGUSTOPENINGMs Tone Wilhelmsen Trøen,President of the Storting, Opening speechMr Audun Halvorsen,State Secretary, Ministry of ForeignAffairs, Norway. «Framework conditions for cooperation in Northern Europe»Mr Jorodd Asphjell,MP, President of the BSPC«The Norwegian BSPC Presidency 2018-2019»Photos28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMONDAY 26 AUGUSTOPENINGMs Tone Wilhelmsen Trøen,President of the Storting,Opening speechPresident, Members of Parliament, Ladies and Gentlemen,Welcome to Oslo and to our parliament, the Storting! It’s a great pleasure for me to open the 28thBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, and for the Storting to be your host.It’s so encouraging to see such broad participation. We have 11 nations and 9 regional parlia-ments represented at this conference. This is a strong signal that we are all engaged in friendlydialogue and cooperation among neighbours in the Baltic Sea region.In a rapidly changing world, where multilateral cooperation is frequently being put to the test, weshould never take this for granted.If we are to solve common, international challenges, we will need more and closer internationalcooperation, not less. Climate change, migration and security issues know no borders. Regionalstability and friendly relations between our peoples are essential for the wellbeing of our citizens.I’m proud to say that this is the third time Norway has hosted the BSPC Conference. The firsttime was as long ago as 1992, against a backdrop of global unrest, when we arranged the secondever BSPC Conference. Despite some initial disagreements, it was here that we achieved the featof agreeing to make the Baltic Sea a conflict-free area. It was also here that the institutional foun-dations of our cooperation were finalised, and the first BSPC resolution was adopted by consen-sus. I’m convinced that it’s exactly this kind of cooperative spirit that has motivated you to cometogether again in Oslo.The second time Norway hosted the BSPC Conference was in 2004. The title then was “Sustain-28 BSPCMs Tone Wilhelmsen Trøen,YEARSPresident of the Storting, Opening speechBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conferenceable development – shared concerns and responsibilities in the Baltic Sea Region”. 15 years later,this topic is still a burning issue, with “clean oceans” being one of the main topics of this confer-ence.Norway remains strongly committed to the Paris Agreement and the UN sustainable goals. Greensolutions within shipping and the maritime industry will here be an important contribution.A key element of our Government’s ocean strategy is the acknowledgement of crossover technol-ogy and expertise between the ocean industries, and exploring new potential. Applying offshoretechnology in fish farming is one such example. Norway also has the ambition to cut CO2 emis-sions from domestic shipping and fishing by 50% by 2030. Sustainable use of marine resourcesis not only good for the environment, but can also contribute significantly to economic growthand our prosperity.Alongside expanded international cooperation and innovative technological development, weneed to address climate change through local action. This parliament is no exception. Becauseof this, we have adopted our own strategy on such issues as recycling and green procurements,digital solutions to save paper and removing plastic products from the cafeteria. I invite you toinspire each other and share experiences for more action in this field!Other themes on the agenda for this conference are working life in the future, and migration andintegration. This year the International Labour Organisation – ILO – is celebrating its centena-ry. Let us make sure that a good job and decent working conditions for all remain high on theagenda in the years to come. There’s little doubt that we all need to address the issues of modernslavery and human trafficking.We are also looking forward to hearing from the BSPC working group on migration andintegration – relevant topics we are all dealing with on a daily basis in our respective parliaments.Once more a warm welcome to the Storting, and to our Main Chamber. Seated as we are duringour regular sessions, by constituency ranged alphabetically, you are today filling this Chamberwith the voices of the whole Baltic Sea region. That is exciting and I hope these days together willgive you the chance to vitalize old friendships and to create new ones.I’d like to close by wishing you all a successful conference, good dialogues and enriching discus-sions.Thank you.28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMONDAY 26 AUGUSTOPENINGMr Audun Halvorsen,State Secretary, Ministry of ForeignAffairs, NorwayFramework conditions for cooperation in Northern EuropeMembers of Parliament, Ladies and Gentlemen,Let me first of all welcome you to Norway on behalf of the Norwegian Government and theMinister of Foreign Affairs. Your conference is an expression of the strong commitment to coop-eration that we see in the Baltic Sea Region and on the part of parliamentarians from all MemberStates of the CBSS and the European Parliament observers.This is in truth a region with a broad and varied web of cooperation structures. Some of themwith a long history, such as the Nordic cooperation going back 70 years. Others are more recent,representing important political initiatives for economic and social development and integrationacross former dividing lines: the Barents Euro-Arctic Council and the Council of the Baltic SeaStates have both played significant roles for cooperation in our region. The enlargement of theEuropean Union, as well as the creation of the European Economic Area, which encompassesa large part of our region remain of tremendous importance, politically and economically. TheNorthern Dimension brings together the EU, Iceland, Norway and Russia for concrete cooper-ation in a number of areas. The Arctic Council offers a unique platform to discuss Arctic issueswithin the group of eight member states but also with a number of observers from inside andoutside our region.So, given this plethora of formats, my first point when assessing the framework conditions forcooperation in our region is the following: This network of cooperation structures is a strength.But it also represents a challenge, when it comes to to coordination, the potential for overlapping28 BSPCMr Audun Halvorsen,State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conferenceefforts, and the need for strong prioritisation. We need to make sure that our work within thesedifferent fora is efficient, effective and that we create synergies and avoid duplication.Cooperation in our region covers a number of areas, ranging from culture, education and re-search, through labour and migration issues and economic and social development, to dealingwith the global challenges of the environment and climate change. In order to achieve improvedcoordination and better synergies, we should be ready to discuss priorities both within and be-tween the different cooperation structures which all have their own characteristics and that eachmay add value in their own way.Such coordination is obviously a responsibility for the governments. Improved synergies wereamong the elements discussed in the reform process within the CBSS that was concluded at thehigh level meeting in Latvia in June. We must now make sure that we follow up these intentions,in the CBSS and in the other bodies. Your parliamentary conference, with political participationfrom all the states in our region, may also contribute to this objective.So, when it comes to the substance, I will not venture into any oversight of all the import areas ofregional cooperation. But, in the spirit of clear priorities, let me briefly highlight one issue whichyour conference focused on at your session in Åland last year and which once again is high onyour agenda this year: safeguarding the oceans. Of course: Regional sustainability and the protec-tion of oceans and marine resources was one of the driving forces already 27 years ago, when theCouncil of the Baltic Sea States was established. The balance between harvesting from our oceansand protecting them is even more important today - both in our neighbourhood and globally.We need multilateral cooperation and international alliances to push the global community totake action to ensure that our oceans will remain healthy and rich. This is the reason Norway’sPrime Minister last year established the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy. Thepanel consists of 14 serving heads of state and government from ocean and coastal states repre-senting all continents. With input from experts, the private sector and civil society, the panel willpresent a roadmap for action to the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon in June 2020.In October this year, Norway will host the “Our Ocean Conference” here in Oslo. The conferencewill highlight the importance of knowledge as the basis of all our actions and policies to achievesustainable economic growth.I know that you will hear thorough presentations on these issues later today, so let me just under-line that this is a key priority area for Norway both in a regional and a global perspective, and anexample of the importance of regional and multilateral cooperation.And that cooperation, as we see it today in all its different formats, is part of a strong, well de-veloped network of multilateral structures that has been created over the last 70 years. Whendiscussing framework conditions for cooperation, we cannot ignore the fact that this multilateralcooperation, its institutions and norms, is currently under pressure. We see that certain influen-28 BSPCMr Audun Halvorsen,State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conferencetial countries have chosen to place less importance on multilateral cooperation than before. Inmany instances there seems to be a reduced willingness to meet challenges and solve problemsthrough negotiations and multilateral instruments that take into account the interests of all – in-cluding the smaller states. Other actors attemt to shape or coopt established structuresor normsand language to fit their own purpose. We believe these trends give reason for concern. It isimportant that we all – governments and parliamentarians alike – do our part to defend and fur-ther develop multilateral cooperation in general. For Norway, this is another key priority in ourforeign policy. The Norwegian Government just recently published a white paper on multilateralcooperation. I think your conference in itself is an expression of a similar appreciation.Finally, let me underline the importance we attach to the interaction – so characteristic of coop-eration in our region – between practical, project-oriented cooperation and political dialogue.Over the years, we have seen important results of our cooperative efforts, results that have ben-efitted the life of people and contributed to economic and social development and to meetingcommon challenges. Political dialogue has been and remains a core condition for agreeing oncommon objectives and priorities. At the same time, concrete cooperation projects facilitatespolitical dialogue and mutual understanding.In times of regional tensions and multiple international challenges the political dialogue is par-ticularly important. In such times it is equally important that we are able to uphold the mostimportant conditions for political dialogue as well as for practical cooperation: the respect forinternational law, for the rule of law, and for human rights and individual freedom. When con-sidering the question of framework conditions for our cooperation, this is my final and mostfundamental point.Thank you!28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMONDAY 26 AUGUSTOPENINGMr Jorodd Asphjell,MP, President of the BSPCHonourable Mme Speaker of the Storting,dear colleagues, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for kind words and inspiring re-marks to introduce the twenty eight BSPC.As we heard in the opening speeches the historical context in which the BSPC have taken placehas been changing.Today, we find ourselves in a situation of constructive collaboration in many policy fields inwhich we can all only benefit from cross-border cooperation. The statements of our governmentson the implementation of our resolutions underline that.However, at the highest political level, we see rising tensions worldwide. It is time to ask how wecan contribute to reducing tensions and how we can maintain and stabilise peace and prosperity.At the request of the Nordic Council, we will deal with the fundamental questions of politicaldevelopments and changes in Europe concerning peaceful and intensive cooperation.It is important to us that this cooperation is based on democratic values, the rule of law, humanrights and equal opportunities for all. I am very grateful that we have the former European Com-missioner for Human Rights to speak on this issue.Additionally, we invited a representative from the Institute for Peace Research and Security Poli-cy of the Hamburg University.I would be delighted if all delegations would actively contribute to the debate.In the second session, we will keep our promise from last year to use our joint forces for a back-to-back event with the CBSS at the high ministerial level.28 BSPCMr Jorodd Asphjell,MP, President of the BSPC YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceI am very grateful that we will do that on a central theme of this year’s conference. The ILO cel-ebrates 100 years this year and the future of working life concerns all of us. The ever more rapidchanges in our working world require us, as parliamentarians, together with the governments,not only to react to current challenges but also to look to the future. We must work with our gov-ernments to develop visions for the future.I would therefore like to thank the Ministers and the State Secretaries from the Labour Ministriesof the CBSS countries very much for being here with us today. I am very delighted that the Trans-port Minister of Latvia, who presides over the Northern Dimension for transport and logistics,is with us today, as is the State Secretary from the Finnish Ministry of the Environment, who thisyear holds both the Presidency of HELCOM and the chairmanship of the EU Council in envi-ronmental affairs. We have dealt intensively with this topic with a large number of experts in theStanding Committee of the BSPC in my hometown of Trondheim, but we also want to discuss thetechnical possibilities for sustainable, environmentally sound use of the seas with all members ofthe delegations here today.I warmly welcome you all here and we are looking forward to hearing more from you this after-noon. For our costal nations there is hardly anything more essential than saving and sustainablypreserving the oceans.Tomorrow morning we will discuss the topic of the working group on migration and integration.The topic is still right at the top of the agenda throughout Europe and will continue be so in thecoming years. That is why the involvement of young people is particularly important. Represen-tatives of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Youth Forum, who have discussed this with the membersof the working group, will present their proposals, recommendations and the results of this two-day event.Finally, we will vote on the resolution that we unanimously recommended for adoption yesterdayin the Drafting Committee.Ladies and Gentlemen,I will provide you with a detailed report on the progress we have made in our work over the pastyear on our website. At this point I would just like to make a few summary remarks:At last year’s Standing Committee meetings, we dealt intensively with the main topics of ourstrategy and work programme for 2018 and 2019. The topics were discussed in depth with a largenumber of experts. This was the basis for our conference here in Oslo and for the draft resolution.As part of the meeting in Trondheim, the BSPC Standing Committee was informed of the latestresearch results from Trondheim in the areas of Clean Ocean, Renewable Ocean Energy andSmart Maritime as well as the development of environmentally friendly ships.28 BSPCMr Jorodd Asphjell,MP, President of the BSPC YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceThis was also a topic during the meeting in Brussels in February. We discussed with the Vice-Pres-ident of the European Parliament and asked about the developments in the field of the Europeanregional and maritime policy. We also looked at current issues of the Baltic Sea Strategy as wellas transnational project funding within the framework of macro-regional strategies. In addition,the CBSS informed us of its current priorities during the Latvian Presidency.During our Standing Committee meeting in May in Hamburg, we discussed challenges in ourregion and how to improve trust between neighbours.The BSPC Working Group, the BSPC rapporteurs and I have taken part in many events to pro-mote and support our positions in the implementation of our recommendations for action.In the past year, the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference has visibly and in every respect fulfilledits programmatic and strategic objectives and achieved significant progress: On the basis of ourstrategy and work programme 2018-2019 and our resolution,- we have communicated our principles and core messages at many Baltic Sea-relevant eventsand beyond,- we have intensified the cooperation with our partners, and- our programmatic concerns and contents are perceived more strongly.We are becoming increasingly successful in influencing government action.Wherever possible, we have emphasised and strengthened the parliamentary dimension ofcooperation.We have grown even closer on the inside and more coordinated on the outside.We have reached new fundamental goals.We have deepened the cooperation with our main partners andare increasingly listened to in our calls for action.I hope that year after year, we will succeed better and better for the people who elected us.Ladies and gentlemen,Let’s get to work,Let’s get involved,Let us develop ideas and visionsthat help the people who elected usand help future generationsto live in a peaceful and sustainable world.28 BSPCphotosYEARSOslo Monday 26 August 2019Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMONDAY 26 AUGUSTFIRST SESSIONChair: Mr J.rgen Pettersson,MP, Vice-President of the BSPCCo-Chair: Ms Carola Veit,MP, Hamburg«Peaceful and close neighbourliness as well asintense cooperation based on democratic values,the rule of Law, human rights andequal opportunities for all»Mr Nils Muiznieks, former Council of Europe’s Commissionerfor Human RightsDr Alexander Graef, Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy, Uni-versity of Hamburg (IFSH)Mr Juris Bone, Outgoing CBSS Chair, Ambassador at Large of LatviaMs Ida Heimann Larsen, Chair of the CBSS Committee of Senior Offici-als of the Baltic Sea States, Head of Department / Nordic Cooperation andCouncil, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Denmark,Mr Alexandr Lutovinov, Speaker of the Council of Nenets AutonomousOkrug, Member of the Presidium of the Parliamentary Association of North-West Russia (PANWR)Mr Mikhail Emelianov, Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of theBlack Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) Legal and Political AffairsCommitteeMr Roger Ryberg, Chairman of the Baltic Sea States SubregionalCooperation (BSSSC)Mr Jens William Grav, President of the Baltic Sea NGO NetworkMs Silvija Geistarte, Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health andSocial Well-being (NDPHS)28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMONDAY 26 AUGUSTFIRST SESSIONMr Nils Muiznieks,former Council of Europe’sCommissioner for Human RightsMr Muiznieks thanked the organisers for inviting him to address the BSPC on this importanttopic but also extended his gratitude to the Latvian delegation for encouragement. He noted thathe had been given a huge, ambitious topic – challenges to human rights and the rule of law incontemporary Europe. He apologised that he had a train to catch which limited his ability to en-gage with the parliamentarians in a spirited debate. Nonetheless, he promised that he would keephis presentation compact, allowing time for questions.His perspective on the issue in question was based on his six years as Commissioner for HumanRights in the Council of Europe. That position was only one part of a larger structure, the Councilof Europe, encompassing 47 member states, including almost all the nations represented by theBSPC. The core of it was the European Court of Human Rights. He noted that the Council sawitself as the guardians of human rights, democracy and the rule of law in broader Europe. Asidefrom the court at the heart of the Council, the position of the Commissioner for Human Rightshad been created in 1999. Mr Muiznieks himself had been the third commissioner, serving untilthe end of March 2018. The position’s mandate was very broad, including education and aware-ness of as well as respect for human rights. The office was meant to be independent. As such, thespeaker had taken no instructions from any outside institution or government, instead settinghis priorities for himself. The office was given as a six-year non-renewable mandate, with its ownteam and budget. The goal for the commissioner was to be impartial and treat all member stateson an equal basis. The states had all signed up for the European Convention on Human Rights,providing a common standard binding all member states. Furthermore, Mr Muiznieks pointedout that the position was non-judicial. In that role, he had not been able to force anybody to doanything. Instead, it had been his task to persuade the states and create political will where none28 BSPCMr Nils Muiznieks,YEARS2|30 former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human RightsBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conferencehad existed before. The core of his work had been country visits, followed by reports. He hadvisited all 47 member states of the Council of Europe at least once, 40 of those at least twice, buthis most frequent travel destinations were Ukraine which he had visited seven times and Turkeywhere he had gone five times.The speaker submitted to the BSPC that they were facing a multi-dimensional crisis for the hu-man rights system in Europe. This crisis was playing out at different levels. First of all, there wasthe level of principles where national populists across Europe were challenging the underlyingprinciples of the system and putting various human rights at risk. The second was a Europeanhuman rights crisis, issues affecting many countries at once. There were national human rightscrises, with backsliding occurring in some countries in recent years. The number of those coun-tries, the speaker stated, was increasing. Mr Muiznieks said that he wished to talk about the fivecountries that he had seen backsliding during his mandate. Furthermore, there was a crisis in thebasic organisations supposed to uphold this system.He went on to speak about the principles underlying the European human rights system. Thespeaker underlined their importance as they allowed understanding of how populists were un-dermining the very basics of this system. The system was based on individual rights – assignedto individual persons rather than peoples as in the African system nor to the environment. Hefurther pointed out that in the inter-American system, nature had far more rights than it didin Europe. In the European system, rights belonged to individuals. It was a universalistic andnon-discriminatory system; in other words, all within a certain jurisdiction, regardless of theirlegal status, were entitled to rights. Evolutionary change was built into the system. The Europe-an Convention on Human Rights was portrayed as a living instrument. It had to adapt as theunderstanding of rights was changing over time. Moreover, sovereignty was limited. Countrieswere submitting themselves to scrutiny by their colleagues and peers. Human rights were not aninternal affair of member states, Mr Muiznieks emphasised. They were a legitimate concern ofthe international community.Opposed to this was a very harsh populist critique of these underlying principles. The opposingside claimed that the wrong individuals had been given rights, that the so-called silent majorityhad no stake. They were saying that migrants, minorities, people with deviant lifestyles, criminalsand terrorists were given priority over people ‘like you and me’, over the average person. Thatequality had been exaggerated and that this exaggerated understanding of equality was harmingthe family, traditions, religion, culture. That the change that had taken place under this living-in-strument document had gone far beyond what the founding fathers had intended. As an aside,the speaker noted that there had been very few founding mothers. He returned to the claims bythe populists, such as that their country – and this applied to populists in many nations – wasruled from abroad, by overpaid civil servants and unelected judges. Mr Muiznieks said that the28 BSPCMr Nils Muiznieks,YEARS3|30 former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human RightsBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conferencepopulist critics always forgot that the judges to the European Court of Human Rights were actu-ally elected by the Parliamentary Assembly, so they were not “unelected judges”.Although this was a challenge at the level of ideas, it was playing out in reality and affecting anumber of different rights. First of those was the right to seek asylum: National populists hadtried to do anything to deny asylum – organising pushbacks at borders, vigilante groups, buildingfences, creating fast-track procedures, all of it to essentially undermine the right to seek asylumacross Europe. Nor were the populists great adherents to the rights of equality and non-discrim-ination. All Muslims were portrayed as terrorists, enemies of women’s rights, incapable of inte-gration.Media freedom was another common target of national populists, especially public servicebroadcasters which were often portrayed as unpatriotic, unrepresentative of the people and outof touch. Gender equality and women’s rights were also under fire by the national populists: Cer-tainly, the conservative groups among them wanted to roll back the women’s sexual reproductivehealth and rights. They had resisted action against domestic violence and wanted to remove gen-der from international documents. In their minds, gender was seen as having a hidden agenda toundermine traditional families and allowing ‘awful things’ to enter through the backdoor. LGBTIrights were under threat as national populists liked to pit children’s rights against LGBT rights,saying that they were protecting children – although there was no scientific information aboutsexual orientation being harmful to children. Moreover, pre-empting the possibility of marriageor partnerships and justifying hate crimes were also firm components of the populist agenda.Widening the scope, Mr Muiznieks stated that there also were a number of Europe-level cri-ses. These were feeding into the populist narrative. The first of these was the economic crisis.Although many countries had weathered it, its effects were still present in many areas and hadaffected human rights across the board. It affected social and economic rights and hit the mostvulnerable the hardest. Across the countries that the speaker had visited in six years, he had seenchildren, youths, older persons, persons with disabilities had been disproportionately struck bybudget cuts across Europe. And they still had not recovered over the past 10 years. Access tojustice was harmed by the economic crisis as well. In a number of countries, ombudsman’s of-fices or national human rights institutions had been weakened, regional offices had been closed,court fees had been raised, and legal aid funds had been cut. As such, it had become much moredifficult accessing justice, particularly at a time when people needed to do so because rights hadbeen under threat. Conditions of detention had also deteriorated because one method of savingmoney was to get rid of staff. The same applied to mental institutions, leading to a deteriorationin many countries in Europe where several such institutions had been closed in general.The second large-scale European-level crisis was Mr Muiznieks’s view the Ukraine situation,28 BSPCMr Nils Muiznieks,YEARS4|30 former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human RightsBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conferencenamely the annexation of Crimea as well as the conflict in the east. More than 13,000 people haddied, and more continued to be killed on the frontline. Many hundreds of thousands – more thana million – had been displaced. The speaker noted that he’d travelled to Donetsk twice and hadwitnessed the humanitarian disaster there. Civilians had been targeted. In many places, therewas no access to clean water. There were restrictions on free movement. In Crimea, the rights oftartars had been limited, their representative body – the mejlis – had been deemed an extrem-ist organisation, seriously hampering the tartars’ efforts to organise and represent themselves.Property rights as well had been affected. These developments had caused east-west tensions,sanctions with their own effects on human rights and an ongoing propaganda war.The third crisis was migration. There were still inadequate search and rescue operations in theMediterranean Sea. Mr Muiznieks underlined that it was a European sea that did not belong toItaly or Greece alone, although many European countries were often treating it that way. Thou-sands of people were dying every year on the doorstep of the richest continent in the world. Therewas very limited relocation from frontline countries, from those most under threat from migra-tion. In particular, he referred to Greece and Italy, noting that increasingly, Spain was equallyaffected. There was the externalisation of border controls, specifically the EU-Turkey statement,Italy’s efforts to work with Libyan warlords or Spain’s cooperation with Morocco. In other words,migrants did not have to be pushed back if others could be paid to pull them back when leavingthe shores. This was the new trend, as the speaker commented.Free movement in the EU was also under threat. One example was the transit from Denmark toSweden. Efforts to make one’s country less attractive had also been implemented across Europe.Mr Muiznieks called it ‘a race to the bottom’, of making oneself so unattractive that migrantswouldn’t come. Nonetheless, the speaker continued, they would come anyway. Increasingly, therewas the criminalisation of humanitarian assistance. NGOs providing assistance and saving peo-ple were being treated as traffickers themselves.The fourth European-level humanitarian crisis, in his opinion, began in 2015 with a spate ofterrorist attacks. This led to a very problematic response from many governments. There was therise of anti-Muslim sentiment, the revival of ethnic and religious profiling which was a form ofdiscrimination by police and border guards. Across Europe, ombudsman institutions and na-tional human rights organisations said that this was a huge trend. The adoption at very short no-tice of highly intrusive surveillance laws was another result, threatening the right to private life.New restrictions had been extended to the freedom of expression, penalising e.g. glorification orjustification of terrorism. These were extremely broad concepts.Aside from these European-level crises, Mr Muiznieks mentioned a number of national humanrights crises which had undermined the system. One example for him was Russia. At the time of28 BSPCMr Nils Muiznieks,YEARS5|30 former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human RightsBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conferencehis first official visit to Russia in 2013, the foreign agent law had just been adopted, and massiveraids on NGOs had been launched. The term ‘foreign agent’, the speaker clarified, basically meanta spy in Russia. In addition, there was a law against undesirable governmental organisations, andhe wondered by whose measure they were deemed undesirable. This was an arbitrary term, andaccordingly, the laws had been implemented arbitrarily. He had documented this in a series ofreports. Furthermore, he noted that the freedom of assembly and internet freedom had been in-creasingly curtailed. He noted that he had written a long memorandum on the restriction of thefreedom of assembly at the very end of his mandate. Russia also had laws against so-called pro-paganda of homosexuality, spurring homophobia in many parts of Russia. These laws had beenfound to be contrary to the European Convention of Human Rights by the Venice Commission,a constitutional advisory body of the Council of Europe. In 2014, the Russian parliament had ad-opted a law allowing its constitutional law to rule whether it was possible to avoid implementingEuropean Court of Human Rights judgments. Mr Muiznieks called on his audience to imaginewhat would happen if every European country did so, allowing themselves to selectively imple-ment laws and judgements and discard those they didn’t like.Another ongoing human rights crisis was occurring in the North Caucasus with huge pressuresagainst human rights defenders, journalists and others. He referred to the saga of the head of Me-morial in Chechnya, Oyub Titiev, who was unjustly put in prison while NGO representatives andjournalists had been harassed and attacked in the North Caucasus in general and in Chechnya inparticular.Then there was the crisis in Azerbaijan. At a certain point in 2014, all of the speaker’s partners inthe country, all the major human rights defenders, had been either in prison, in exile or forcedout of business. That was at a time while Azerbaijan had held the rotating chairmanship of theCouncil of Europe. Mr Muiznieks stated that all his friends there had been in jail, he had had tovisit them in prison. Many violations of Article 18 of the European Convention had happened.Article 18 prevented the abuse of rights, and therefore putting people in detention or prison – notbecause they had committed a crime but in order to silence them – was a breach of this article.Moreover, there had been the failure to implement numerous judgments.Turkey was a further country he addressed, noting the bombing in the south-east of the nation.Whole neighbourhoods had been flattened along with other very serious violations in that area.Turkey now had more journalists in prison than any other country, he added, even more thanChina. Many opposition politicians had been put into prison. The independent judiciary hadbeen seriously undermined by various measures.The judiciary’s independence had also been undermined in Hungary as Mr Muiznieks and theVenice Commission had documented, recording 10 – 12 opinions over the span of one and a half28 BSPCMr Nils Muiznieks,YEARS6|30 former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human RightsBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conferenceyears because the government had been moving so quickly. Government-sponsored propagandacampaigns had been run against migrants or against George Soros, restrictions had been placedon NGOs, and the public service broadcaster had been converted into a government propagandaoutlet.Mr Muiznieks saw the same thing happening in Poland. In a report, he had documented how theindependence of the judiciary had been undermined. The rule of law mechanism within the EUhad also provided documentation as well as the Venice Commission. The Polish public servicebroadcaster had also become a propaganda outlet. In this case, women had been on the front-line of this struggle. Women’s rights NGOs had been subject to inspections and various kinds ofharassment. Moreover, there had been backwards movement on women’s sexual reproductionhealth and rights.Then again, there were the organisations sustaining the system under pressure, such as the Coun-cil of Europe suffering open challenges, delays and selective implementation of judgments aswell as non-cooperation with the various mechanisms, such as the monitoring mechanisms ofthe Council of Europe and his office. A corruption scandal had occurred in the parliamentaryassembly of the Council of Europe where many had been found to have engaged in non-ethicalbehaviour to blunt criticism, particularly in the case of Azerbaijan. In addition, the speaker citedan ongoing budgetary crisis. This had been caused by many factors, but Mr Muiznieks consid-ered the first and foremost reason was that the budget did not take inflation into account. In realterms, the budget kept shrinking every year. Another aspect was that one state could block thebudget, that all the top posts were appointed as a package deal, that the human dimension imple-mentation meeting had become a favourite gathering place for non-government organisations.In some countries such as Azerbaijan, the OECD presence had been unceremoniously kickedout. In Turkey, it hadn’t even been allowed in, while in Ukraine, its monitors had been shot atand held hostage.In the EU, he emphasised that Schengen was under threat. He mentioned the Eurozone’s future.Enlargement had stalled. Brexit was adding further pressure. A fragmented Europe, the tendencystrengthened by euro-sceptical representatives in the European parliament. The speaker saw aninteresting question here which was not just academic concerned the Council of Europe. Theinstitution had survived and tolerated much constitutional diversity. Its members had been moreor less democratic, but the EU was predicated on being a club of truly consolidated democracies.The question therefore was if it could survive with an authoritarian member state. Mr Muizniekswas not sure if that was the case.He went on to mention one of the proposed solutions. That was that the organisations shouldreturn to their core mission, based on the idea that they had expanded too far. The focus should28 BSPCMr Nils Muiznieks,YEARS7|30 former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human RightsBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conferencerather be placed on social and economic rights because these were important to everybody. In-equality needed to be addressed if they wanted to take the rug out from under the populace. Itwas necessary to communicate better, reach out to new audiences. Instead, at this point, theywere more likely to be talking to themselves, to the same addressees. New forms of participationhad to be fostered. One thing, he noted, that the populist challenge concentrated on was the de-sire of people to participate. A way had to be developed to channel and promote this desire.The question, though, remained whether that would work. Mr Muiznieks was not convinced. Inhis view, there were a number of reasons for concern. The human rights system had been createdon the ashes of World War II to prevent war, genocide and dictatorship. But he wondered if peo-ple in Europe were afraid of war, genocide and dictatorship. The speaker submitted that in mostplaces, this was not the case. Instead, people were afraid of terrorism, migration and economicuncertainty.So the task was to retell the story of human rights in a way that made it compelling to peoplewho were not afraid of war, genocide or dictatorship. It was necessary to talk about the fact thathuman rights were a guarantee of a good life. They were essential to create space for everyone toexpress their identity. They were essential for resolving conflicts in a peaceful manner. Otherwise,it was a situation of the strong against the weak. As an aside, he mentioned that Latvia knew verywell how that kind of conflict ended.Mr Muiznieks conceded that populists were most likely there to stay. The inequality, the declineof the mainstream parties and the loyalty to those, the fragmentation of the political system, thestrain created by migration and globalisation – none of these aspects were likely to be resolved.Accordingly, the populist movements were no flash in the pan as some commentators were argu-ing. He warned that wishful thinking was not helpful.The long-term impact of the economic crisis in his view would be with Europeans for many,many years. If a child experienced poverty, experienced health problems because of the economiccrisis, this would affect that child – as well as the society as a whole – for many, many years. Youthunemployment continued to be one of the most common pathologies of the crisis. Mr Muiznieksnoted as an example a young person with a good education who had followed the rules but wasfaced with unemployment nonetheless. He wondered why such a person should believe in Eu-rope or human rights.Finally, he referenced the social media situation. It had developed to a point where it was provingan obstacle to this conversation among people. Instead, it was creating echo chambers, polari-sation and radicalisation. Specifically, the speaker underlined that this was not a by-product ofsocial media but rather the business model. Mr Muiznieks cited the book “Zucked” by RogerMcNamee about Facebook which explained that this tribalisation was precisely the model for28 BSPCMr Nils Muiznieks,YEARS8|30 former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human RightsBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conferencehow social media companies made money. Creating polarisation and negative emotions was atthe heart of their enterprise.A solution had to be found as to how to overcome this issue. There was a lot of work yet to do inorder to preserve the gains made over the last fifty years, to address this backsliding and thesecurrent crises. In the view of Mr Muiznieks, the key players to consider in this regard were themedia, human rights defenders and national human rights structures. With those three playersin place and doing their jobs well, the international community had a much easier time engagingand could keep an eye on how things were developing at the national level.Mr Muiznieks noted that he appreciated the BSPC’s interest in inviting him and allowing him toprovoke them. With that, he brought his presentation to a close.28 BSPC9|30 Mr Nils Muiznieks,former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceChallenges to Human Rightsand the Rule of Law inContemporary EuropeNils MuiznieksPresident, Association of Schools of Political Studiesaffiliated with the Council of EuropeFormer Council of Europe Comissioner for HumanRights, 2012-201828 BSPC10|30 Mr Nils Muiznieks,former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceCommissioner for Human RightsMandate: “promote education in,nawareness of and respect for humanrights”Independent, impartial, non-judicialnCore: country visits and reportsnrd3 Party interventions at ECtHR,nthematic work, communications28 BSPC11|30 Mr Nils Muiznieks,former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceHuman Rights in Europe:A multi-dimensional crisisPopulist challenges to underlyingnprinciples & human rights at riskEuropean-level human rights crisesnNational human rights crisesnCrisis in the organizationsn28 BSPC12|30 Mr Nils Muiznieks,former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferencePrinciples underlying theEuropean human rights system“Individualism”:nrights accrue to individuals, not peoples,nthe environment, etc.Universalism & non-discrimination:nall within a jurisdictionnEvolutionary change:n“Living instrument”nSovereignty is limitedn28 BSPC13|30 Mr Nils Muiznieks,former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferencePopulist critique of the principlesn “Wrong individuals” given rights, “silentmajority” has no stakemigrants, minorities, “deviants”, “criminals”n& “terrorists” given priorityn “Exaggerated equality” harms family, traditionn Change beyond “Founding Fathers” intentionsn Country “ruled from abroad” by “overpaidcivil servants” and “unelected judges”28 BSPC14|30 Mr Nils Muiznieks,former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceKey human rights at risk fromnational populistsn Right to seek asylum :Anything to deny asylum - push backs at borders,nvigilantes, fences, fast-track proceduresn Right to equality & non-discrimination:All Muslims portrayed as terrorists, enemies ofnwomen’s rights, incapable of integrationn Media freedom:Public service broadcasters portrayed asn“unpatriotic”, “unrepresentative”28 BSPC15|30 Mr Nils Muiznieks,former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceKey human rights at risk fromnational populistsnGender equality and women’s rights:Roll back women’s SRHR, resist action vs.ndomestic violence, remove “gender” from int’ldocumentsnLGBTI rights:Pitting children’s rights vs. LGBTI rights,npreempting possibility of marriage/partnerships,justifying hate crimes28 BSPC16|30 Mr Nils Muiznieks,former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceEuropean-level humanrights crisis I: Economic crisisThe Economic crisis affected:nSocial and economic rightsnEquality, esp. the situation of children,nyouth, older persons, persons withdisabilitiesaccess to justicenconditions of detentionn28 BSPC17|30 Mr Nils Muiznieks,former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceEuropean-level humanrights crisis II: Ukraine13,000+ deadn1,000,000+ displacednHumanitarian disaster at contact line:ncivilians targeted, no access to water,restrictions on free movementCrimea: rights of Tatars & Ukrainians,nproperty rightsEast-West tensions, sanctions, propagandanwar28 BSPC18|30 Mr Nils Muiznieks,former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceEuropean-level human rightscrisis III: migrationn Inadequate search & rescue in theMediterraneann Limited relocation from front-line countries–n Externalization of border controls payingothers to pull back migrantsn Free movement within the EU under threatn Efforts to make one’s country less attractiven Criminalization of humanitarian assistance28 BSPC19|30 Mr Nils Muiznieks,former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceEuropean-level human rightscrisis IV: terrorismRise of anti-Muslim sentimentnRevival of profiling by police, bordernguardsAdoption of intrusive surveillance lawsn–New restrictions on expressionn“glotification,” “justification”28 BSPC20|30 Mr Nils Muiznieks,former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceNational human rights crisis I:RussiaNGOs = “foreign agents”, “undesirable”nAssembly & internet freedom restrictednàAnti-propaganda laws HomophobianConst’l Court rules whether “possible”nto implement ECtHR judgmentsN. Caucasus = serious violations vs.nHRDs, journalists28 BSPC21|30 Mr Nils Muiznieks,former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceNational human rights crisis II:AzerbaijanAssociation, assembly, expressionnincreasingly restrictedHRDs in prison, exile, or out of businessnMany violations of Art. 18, ECHRnFailure to implement ECtHR judgmentsn28 BSPC22|30 Mr Nils Muiznieks,former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceNational human rights crisis III:TurkeyVery serious, widespread violations vs.nKurds in S.E.Most journalists in prison in worldnMany opposition politicians in prisonnIndependence of judiciary underminedn28 BSPC23|30 Mr Nils Muiznieks,former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceNational human rights crisis IV:HungaryIndependence of judiciary underminednGovt. propaganda campaigns vs.nmigrants, SorosRestrictions on NGOsnPublic service broadcaster = govt.npropaganda outlet28 BSPC24|30 Mr Nils Muiznieks,former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceNational human rights crisis V:PolandIndependence of judiciary underminednPublic service broadcaster =ngovernment propaganda outletRetrogression on women’s SRHR,npressures on women’s NGOs28 BSPC25|30 Mr Nils Muiznieks,former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceCrisis in the organizations I:Council of EuropeOpen challenges, delays, selectivenimplementation of judgmentsNon-cooperation with mechanismsnCorruption scandal in PACEnBudgetary crisisn28 BSPC26|30 Mr Nils Muiznieks,former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceCrisis in the organizations II:OSCEDysfunctional internal procedures renbudget & top postsHDIM as forum for GONGOsnOSCE presence, monitoring notnwelcome in manyUkraine: monitors targetedn28 BSPC27|30 Mr Nils Muiznieks,former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceCrisis in the organizations III:EUSchengen under threatnEuro zone under threatnEnlargement stallednBrexitnFragmented, Euroskeptic EPnCan the EU survive backsliding?n28 BSPC28|30 Mr Nils Muiznieks,former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceProposed solutionsn Organizations: return to “core business”n More focus on social & economic rights,addressing inequalityn Better communicationn Reaching out to new audiencesn Fostering new forms of participation, e.g.,local referenda, citizen’s assemblies28 BSPC29|30 Mr Nils Muiznieks,former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceWill it work?Reasons for concern:nSystem created to prevent war, genocide,n...dictatorship, butPopulists probably here to staynLong-term impact of economic crisis onnchildren & youthàSocial media echo chambers,npolarization, radicalization28 BSPC30|30 Mr Nils Muiznieks,former Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceThanks for your attention!Questions?Comments?The 28th Baltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceOSLO, NORWAY 25–27 AUGUST, 2019Speech delivered by Ms. Silja Dögg Gunnarsdóttir,Member of the Presidium of the Nordic Council, MP IcelandHead of the Nordic Council Delegation to the BSPCMONDAY 26 AUGUST 2019Thank you Mr. Muiznieks for this extremely important presentation.The Nordic Council’s International strategy states that The Nordic Council will striveto ensure that democracy, the rule of law, equality and human rights are always highon the international agenda.It also states that we want to pay particular attention to areas where the NordicRegion leads the way and can make a difference, for example on rights for children,women, sexual minorities, people of disability and indigenous peoples.We believe that freedom of expression, a low degree of corruption, a fair andtrustworthy judicial system as well as equal opportunities for all, no matter who youlove or in which family you are born, are preconditions for strong economies, well-functioning societies and happy populations.Yesterday we agreed on a draft resolution “underlining the need for peaceful andclose cooperation and neighbourliness based on democratic values, the rule of law,human rights as well as equal opportunities for all”. I strongly encourage all of us tomake sure that these are not just empty words.28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMONDAY 26 AUGUSTFIRST SESSIONDr Alexander Graef,Institute for Peace Researchand Security Policy,University of Hamburg (IFSH)Beyond DeterrenceRegional Stability through Confidence Building and ArmsControlAlexander Graef Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, 25-27 August 201928 BSPC2|12 Dr Alexander Graef,Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy, University of Hamburg (IFSH) YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceDeterrenceReassurance(cid:31) Opponent wants to change the (cid:31) Opponent seeks security withinstatus-quo, seeking expansion, the anarchy of internationalregime change or subversion relations(cid:31) Military capabilities are evidence (cid:31) Military capabilities are anof aggressive behavior expression of feeling ‘insecure’Policy Recommendation Policy RecommendationIncrease military Signal benign intentions,strength and resolve change threat perceptionsAlexander Graef Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, 25-27 August 201928 BSPC3|12 Dr Alexander Graef,Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy, University of Hamburg (IFSH) YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceBSR Security Environment since 2014Changing military expenditures between 2014 and 2018 (in current USD)Source: owncompilationbasedon SIPRI, World Bank, 2019Alexander Graef Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, 25-27 August 201928 BSPC4|12 Dr Alexander Graef,Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy, University of Hamburg (IFSH) YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceBSR Security Environment since 2014Increasing Quality of Deployment: NATOWales 2014 Warsaw 2016 Brussels 2018(cid:31) Readiness action plan (cid:31) Enhanced forward (cid:31) Readiness initiative:(cid:31) Very-high readiness presence in Latvia, 4x 30s by 2020joint task force (VJTF) Lithuania, Estonia and (cid:31) Counter-Hybridand Integration Units Poland: 4 multinational Support Teams(cid:31) Expanded NATO rotating battalions (cid:31) NATO Commandresponse force (NRF): (cid:31) Tailored forward Structure Reform:13,000 to 40,000 presence (multinational more personnel, twotroops brigade) in Romania new commands(cid:31) European Reassurance Initiative; (cid:31) European Deterrence Initiative;2015 budget: 985 US$ million 2019 budget: 6,531 US$ millionAlexander Graef Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, 25-27 August 201928 BSPC5|12 Dr Alexander Graef,Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy, University of Hamburg (IFSH) YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceBSR Security Environment since 2014Increasing Quality of Deployment: Russia(cid:31) Replacement of S-200and S-300 with S-400(2016-2017, 2019)(cid:31) Formation of a tankbattalion with anS-400increased number ofXtanks (2018)S-400X X S-400 S-300Ckhalovsk X X (cid:31) PermanentS-400XX S-300X airbase X Deployment152nd Missile Brigade,S-400XChernyakhovsk 11tharmy (“rearmament”) ofcorps, GusevIskander-M short-rangeballistic missiles (2019)(cid:31) A2/AD CapabilitiesAlexander Graef Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, 25-27 August 201928 BSPC6|12 Dr Alexander Graef,Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy, University of Hamburg (IFSH) YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceBSR Security Environment since 2014ConcernsRussia(cid:31) Free access to the Baltic Sea(cid:31) Security of Kaliningrad and St.Petersburg(cid:31) Aegis Ashore US MissileDefense Base (Redzikowo)(cid:31) NATO eFP(cid:31) US Patriot missiles and JASSMcruise missiles in Poland(cid:31)eFP(cid:31) NATO global superiorityNATO and partnerseFP(cid:31) (cid:31) Russian A2/AD capabilities(cid:31) “Suwalki Gap”: ProblematicReinforcement in case of conflicteFP(cid:31)(cid:31) Air space violations(cid:31) (cid:31)(cid:31)BMD, Suwalki (cid:31) Russian regional superiority(cid:31)Redzikowo GapeFP(cid:31) Crimea scenario: fait accompliAlexander Graef Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, 25-27 August 201928 BSPC7|12 Dr Alexander Graef,Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy, University of Hamburg (IFSH) YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceBSR Security Environment since 2014Mirror ImagingRussia and NATO perceive themselves as status-quo powers in needof deterrenceRisks of Deterrence Strategies(cid:31) Problem of misperceptions: motives, intentions and overall goals;(cid:31) Dangerous incidents in the Baltic air space: deterrence andmiscommunication;(cid:31) Self-fulfilling prophecy: over time deterrent measures that areperceived as threats to one’s own security create a securitydilemma;(cid:31) Assurance masked as deterrence: intra-alliance assurance andsolidaryAlexander Graef Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, 25-27 August 201928 BSPC8|12 Dr Alexander Graef,Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy, University of Hamburg (IFSH) YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceAlternative: Reassurance StrategiesGeneral Aims1. Mitigating negative consequences of deterrence2. Reducing the level of uncertainty about deployment missions3. Enhancing quality of information about force posture and intentions4. Relaxing strategic need for deterrence and brinkmanship5. Providing the foundation for a return to wider security cooperation inthe future by establishing trustConfidence ArmsBuilding ControlAlexander Graef Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, 25-27 August 201928 BSPC9|12 Dr Alexander Graef,Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy, University of Hamburg (IFSH) YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceReassurance Stratgies: Confidence BuidlingVienna document on confidence and security building measures, 2011(cid:31) Exchange of information on military forces, structures, deployment, peacetimestrength, major weapons and equipment systems, annual military budgets (I and II)(cid:31) Notification (V) and observation (VI) of certain military activities (exercises)(cid:31) Inspection and evaluation visits (IX)(cid:31) One airbase visit every five years (IV)Problems(cid:31) Important capabilities remain unregulated: e.g. naval forces and drones;(cid:31) High thresholds for notification (9000 or more troops) and observations (13,000 ormore troops) of military exercises;(cid:31) Omission of snap-exercises for regulation (without prior announcement);(cid:31) Small passive quotes for inspections (3);(cid:31) Unclarified definition of “Sensitive points, facilities and equipment”;(cid:31) Russia: reform only if the overall security situation changes (NATO deterrence);Alexander Graef Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, 25-27 August 201928 BSPC10|12 Dr Alexander Graef,Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy, University of Hamburg (IFSH) YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceOutlook I: Reassurance - Confidence BuidlingPolitical-Diplomatic(cid:31) NATO-Russia Founding Act 1997: “the Alliance will carry out its collective defenceand other missions by ensuring the necessary interoperability, integration, andcapability for reinforcement rather than by additional permanent stationing ofsubstantial combat forces [...](cid:31) CFE Final Act 1999: “Russian Federation will show due restraint with regard toground TLE levels and deployments in the region which includes the Kaliningradoblast and the Pskov oblast.Legal-Political(cid:31) Extend existing Prevention of Incidents on and over the High Seas agreements(INCSEAs) and Agreements on the Prevention of Dangerous Military Activities(DMSs);(cid:31) Re-activate bilateral CSBMs under Chapter X of the Vienna Document: i.e. evaluationvisits between Russia and Lithuania etc.;(cid:31) Baltic Sea Project Team (International Civil Aviation Organization)Alexander Graef Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, 25-27 August 201928 BSPC11|12 Dr Alexander Graef,Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy, University of Hamburg (IFSH) YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceReassurance Stratgies: Arms ControlTreaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE)ProblemsBT ACV Artillery Combat AttackAircraft Helicopters (cid:31) Still based on two geopoliticalblocs40,000 60,000 40,000 13,600 4,000(cid:31) Failed Adaptation(cid:31) Non-members: Baltic States,Finland and Sweden(cid:31) Russia suspendedimplementation in December2007; full suspension in March2015(cid:31) Since 2012: NATO suspendedimplementation in relation toRussia(cid:31) High ceilings for militaryequipment(cid:31) Non-regulation of naval forcesor air defence systemsAlexander Graef Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, 25-27 August 201928 BSPC12|12 Dr Alexander Graef,Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy, University of Hamburg (IFSH) YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceOutlook II: Reassurance - Arms ControlBaltic Sea Sub-regional Security Regime?(cid:31) Minimizing the (technical)ability for rapid mobilizationand surprise attack(cid:31) Avoiding isolation of singlestates or the establishment ofdifferent zone of security(NATO) by a morecomprehensive area ofapplication (including forexample Eastern Germany)(cid:31) Acceptance of presentdeployment levels(cid:31) Political agreement on mutualdeployment restraints(cid:31) Implementation according toChapter X “RegionalMeasures” of the ViennaDocumentAlexander Graef Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, 25-27 August 201928 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMONDAY 26 AUGUSTFIRST SESSIONMr Alexandr Lutovinov,Speaker of the Council of NenetsAutonomous Okrug, Member ofthe Presidium of the ParliamentaryAssociation of North-West Russia(PANWR)Courtesy translation; check against delivery. Only the speech as given has any validity. Submit-ted Russian text version afterwardsThe Theses of the performanceGood afternoon, dear colleagues!Let me thank you for the invitation to take part in the 28th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conferenceand for your hospitality!At this event I represent the Parliamentary Association of North-West Russia, which this yearmarks its 25th anniversary. The Association unites the parliaments of 11 regions of Russia. Itborders with such countries as Finland, Norway, Estonia and Latvia.These are the Republics of Karelia and Komi, the city of St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, Vologda,Kaliningrad, Leningrad, Murmansk, Novgorod and Pskov Regions, and the Nenets AutonomousArea.The Association is the first association of regional legislative bodies in the recent history of Russia.Parliamentarians from the North-West have come together to work together on issues related tothe formation of the regulatory framework for the regions.Central issues of our Association are such as education, healthcare, social sphere, small and me-dium business support, economic development, infrastructure, ecology and energy.Mr Alexandr Lutovinov, 28 BSPCSpeaker of the Council of Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Member of the Presidium ofYEARS2|5the Parliamentary Association of North-West Russia (PANWR) Baltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceDevelopment of joint solutions and mutual support of 11 parliaments on the platform of the As-sociation allows us to successfully solve the above problems of the residents of our regions at thefederal level.The Association’s working bodies include 10 committees - on legal issues, local self-government,economic and social policy, education, natural resources and environment, the North and theminorities, cultural policy and tourism, and inter-parliamentary cooperation.The Assembly of Deputies of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug is the coordinator of the Committeeon Northern Affairs and Indigenous Peoples. I think you are all familiar with the specifics of thistopic, its relevance, especially in recent years, when the topic of the Arctic has become widelydiscussed by the international community.Representatives of the parliaments of North-West Russia take an active part in the inter-parlia-mentary cooperation organizations - in the meetings of the Northern Council, the ParliamentaryForum of the Northern Dimension, the Conference of the Arctic Region Parliamentarians, theParliamentary Conference of the Baltic Sea and the Conference of the Barents Region Parliamen-tarians.The Association has observer status at meetings of the Barents Regional Council.The Nenets Autonomous Okrug, which I represent here, is also an active participant in inter-par-liamentary cooperation. We have long established close economic, cultural and educational tieswith the Barents region, including international cooperation between representatives of indige-nous peoples.Since 1991, fruitful cooperation and interaction has been established with the Baltic Sea Parlia-mentary Conference. Recently, parliamentarians have been paying attention to economic devel-opment, environment, energy, shipping in the Baltic Sea, the Northern Sea Route, social prob-lems, and the promotion of synergies in all international work formats.I would like to recall that the idea of establishing the Baltic Sea Conference is based on the prin-ciples of mutual trust, equality and good-neighbourliness of all subjects of international cooper-ation. There is no doubt that our partnership can serve as an example of true good-neighbour-liness. We hope that the level of interaction with our fellow parliamentarians will increase anddevelop steadily.A number of major international events are planned for the second half of 2019 - the Barents Con-ference of Parliamentarians and the Barents Regional Council meeting in Sweden, the NorthernDimension Parliamentary Forum in Norway. One of the topical issues on the agenda of theseforums is the development of the Arctic territories.I take this opportunity to invite the participants of our meeting to the jubilee Conference of theParliamentary Association of North-West Russia dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the estab-Mr Alexandr Lutovinov, 28 BSPCSpeaker of the Council of Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Member of the Presidium ofYEARS3|5the Parliamentary Association of North-West Russia (PANWR) Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conferencelishment of the Association. Solemn events will take place in November 2019 in the Old Russiancity of Vologda.We understand that there is no alternative to dialogue. We need to meet, exchange opinions, dis-cuss, learn to hear each other and look for joint solutions to common problems, for which thereare no national borders.I believe that this is where we have the opportunity to combine the mechanism of inter-parlia-mentary cooperation and the intellectual potential of the scientific and expert community sothat we can use the best practices at the national level. We hope for fruitful work to strengthencooperation and achieve a better life in our regions.Thank you for your attention.Тезисы выступленияДобрый день, уважаемые коллеги!Разрешите поблагодарить Вас за приглашение принять участие в работе 28-й Парламент-ской конференции Балтийского моря и за гостеприимство!На этом мероприятии я представляю Парламентскую Ассоциацию Северо-Запада России,которой в этом году исполняется 25 лет. Ассоциация объединяет парламенты 11 регио-нов России. Граничит с такими странами как Финляндия, Норвегия, Эстония и Латвия.Это - Республики Карелия и Коми, город Санкт-Петербург, Архангельская, Вологодская,Калининградская, Ленинградская, Мурманская, Новгородская, Псковская области, Не-нецкий автономный округ.Ассоциация является первым объединением региональных законодательных органов вновейшей истории России.Парламентарии Северо-Запада объединились, чтобы вместе решать вопросы формиро-вания нормативной правовой базы регионов.Центральными вопросами нашей Ассоциацией являются такие как образование, здра-воохранение, социальная сфера, поддержка малого и среднего бизнеса, вопросы эконо-мического развития, инфраструктуры, экологии, энергетики.Mr Alexandr Lutovinov, 28 BSPCSpeaker of the Council of Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Member of the Presidium ofYEARS4|5the Parliamentary Association of North-West Russia (PANWR) Baltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceВыработка на площадке Ассоциации совместных решений и взаимная поддержка 11 пар-ламентов позволяют успешно решать вышеперечисленных проблем жителей наших ре-гионов на федеральном уровне.Рабочими органами Ассоциации являются 10 комитетов - по правовым вопросам, мест-ного самоуправления, экономической и социальной политике, образованию, по при-родным ресурсам и экологии, по делам Севера и малочисленных народов, по культурнойполитике и туризму и по межпарламентскому сотрудничеству.Собрание депутатов Ненецкого автономного округа является координатором комитетапо делам Севера и малочисленных народов. Полагаю, всем вам знакома специфика этойтемы, её актуальность, особенно в последние годы, когда тема Арктики стала широкообсуждаться международным сообществом.Представители парламентов Северо-Запада России принимают активное участие в орга-низациях межпарламентского сотрудничества , - в заседаниях Северного Совета, Парла-ментского Форума Северного Измерения, Конференции Парламентариев Арктическогорегиона, Парламентской Конференции Балтийского моря и Конференции Парламентари-ев Баренцева региона.Ассоциации имеет статус наблюдателя на заседаниях Баренцева Регионального Совета.Ненецкий автономный округ, который я здесь представляю, также является активнымучастником межпарламентского сотрудничества. У нас давно установились тесные эконо-мические, культурные и образовательные связи со странами Баренцева региона, включаямеждународное сотрудничество представителей коренных малочисленных народов.С Парламентской конференцией Балтийского моря с 1991 года установлены плодотвор-ное сотрудничество и взаимодействие. В последнее время парламентарии уделяют внима-ние вопросам экономического развития, экологии, энергетики, судоходства на Балтике,Северный морской путь, социальным проблемам, содействию синергии всех междуна-родных форматов работы.Хотел бы напомнить, что в основе идеи создания Конференции Балтийского моря лежатпринципы взаимного доверия, равноправия и добрососедства всех субъектов международ-ного сотрудничества. Нет никаких сомнений в том, что наши партнерские отношения могутслужить примером настоящего добрососедства. Мы надеемся, что уровень взаимодействияс нашими коллегами-парламентариями будет наращиваться и стабильно развиваться.Во втором полугодии 2019 года запланирован ряд крупных международных мероприятий- Конференция Парламентариев Баренцева региона и заседание Баренцева РегиональногоСовета в Швеции, Парламентский форум Северного измерения в Норвегии. Один из ак-туальных вопросов в повестке этих форумов – вопрос развития арктических территорий.Mr Alexandr Lutovinov, 28 BSPCSpeaker of the Council of Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Member of the Presidium ofYEARS5|5the Parliamentary Association of North-West Russia (PANWR) Baltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceПользуюсь случаем, с большим удовольствием хочу пригласить участников нашей встре-чи на юбилейную Конференцию Парламентской Ассоциации Северо-Запада России, по-священной 25-летию образования ассоциации. Торжественные мероприятия состоятся вноябре 2019 года в древнерусском городе Вологда.Мы понимаем, что альтернативы диалогу нет. Нам нужно встречаться, обмениватьсямнениями, дискутировать, учиться слышать друг друга и искать совместные решения об-щих проблем, для которых не существует национальных границ.Полагаю, что именно на этой площадке нам предоставлена возможность объединить ме-ханизм межпарламентского взаимодействия и интеллектуальный потенциал научно-экс-пертного сообщества с тем, чтобы мы смогли использовать лучшие практики на своемнациональном уровне. Мы надеемся на плодотворную работу для усиления сотрудниче-ства и достижения лучшей жизни в наших регионах.Спасибо за внимание.28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMONDAY 26 AUGUSTFIRST SESSIONMr Mikhail Emelianov,Chairman of the ParliamentaryAssembly of the Black Sea EconomicCooperation (PABSEC) Legal andPolitical Affairs CommitteeУважаемый г-н Председатель!Уважаемые коллеги!Дамы и господа!Мне выпала честь и удовольствие выступать перед участниками этого важногомероприятия - Двадцать восьмого заседания Парламентской Конференции БалтийскогоМоря - от имени Парламентской Ассамблеи Черноморского ЭкономическогоСотрудничества. Хочу выразить искреннюю благодарность хозяевам, и передать в ихлице всем законодателям стран балтийского региона наилучшие пожелания и успехов вих ответственной работе.За последнее десятилетие значительно возросла роль парламентской дипломатии вразвитии международных отношений. Региональные межпарламентские организации поправу заняли существенное место среди институтов мировой политики. В современноммире парламентский компонент межгосударственных связей становится все болееважным фактором при разрешении актуальных проблем укрепления стабильности,демократии и поступательного социально-экономического развития стран.Mr Mikhail Emelianov, 28 BSPCChairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic CooperationYEARS2|3(PABSEC) Legal and Political Affairs Committee Baltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceПАЧЭС будучи форумом для диалога между парламентариями играет важную роль вукреплении взаимодействия между государствами-членами ЧЭС, выступая с важнымиинициативами, направленными на расширение регионального сотрудничества. Общимиусилиями законодателей государств-членов создана значительная правовая база странЧЭС, выработаны приоритетные направления регионального взаимодействия, цельюкоторого является развитие дружественных взаимовыгодных отношений междунашими народами в контексте европейских и мировых интеграционных процессов.ПАЧЭС был создан прочный фундамент для многосторонних отношений междугосударствами региона, между межправительственными и межпарламентскимиобъединениями, международными неправительственными организациями,предпринимательскими и научными сообществами. Ассамблея играет важную рольв мобилизации усилий национальных парламентов направленных на обеспечениевзаимопонимания и коллективной ответственности по широкому кругу вопросов.Вопросы, рассматриваемые в настоящее время Ассамблей, в рамках комитетов,посвящены проблемам устранения двойного налогообложения между государствами-членами ЧЭС, развития транспортных маршрутов в регионе ЧЭС, решения проблемыбезработицы и создания новых рабочих мест. В качестве основной темы общейдискуссии 54-го пленарного заседания Генеральной Ассамблеи ПАЧЭС, котороесостоится в Софии в ноябре 2019 г. будет обсуждаться вопрос «Европейское измерениеЧерноморского Экономического Сотрудничества – текущее состояние и перспективывзаимодействия между ЕС и ЧЭС».Хочу с удовлетворением отметить укрепление сотрудничества между нашимиассамблеями. В апреле, в Стамбуле состоялось совместное заседание Постоянныхкомитетов Парламентской Ассамблеи Черноморского экономического сотрудничестваи Парламентской конференции Балтийского моря на тему «Защита океанов и морей».В заседании приняли участие парламентарии из Албании, Азербайджана, Финляндии,Грузии, Германии, Греции, Латвии, Норвегии, Польши, Румынии, России, Сербии,Швеции, Турции и Украины, а также эксперты по указанной проблематики изразличных международных организаций. В заключение была подчеркнута важностьпроведения совместных мероприятий между двумя Ассамблеями, и приняторешение продолжить практику организации таких совместных заседаний в будущем.Следующее совместное мероприятие намечено в рамках шведского Председательства вПарламентской конференции Балтийского моря.Mr Mikhail Emelianov, 28 BSPCChairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic CooperationYEARS3|3(PABSEC) Legal and Political Affairs Committee Baltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceВыражаю уверенность, что нынешняя встреча станет еще одним шагом в деле развитиямежпарламентского сотрудничества. ПКБМ и ПАЧЭС, созданы с целью содействиярегиональному сотрудничеству и создания необходимых условий для осуществлениявзаимовыгодных проектов.Завершая свое выступление, я хотел бы пожелать всем вам от имени ПарламентскойАссамблеи Организации Черноморского Экономического Сотрудничестваплодотворной работы и успешного проведения этого важного заседания.Благодарю за внимание.28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMONDAY 26 AUGUSTSECOND SESSIONChair: Chair: Prof Jānis Vucāns,MP, President of theBaltic AssemblyCo-Chair: Ms DorotaArciszewska-Mielewczyk,MP, Poland«The Future of Working Life»Ms Ramona Petravica,Minister for Welfare of LatviaMr Eitvydas Bingelis,Viceminister of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of LithuaniaMs Anette Kramme,Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Labour andSocial Affairs, GermanyMs Pilvi Torsti,State Secretary from the Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairsand EmploymentMr Vegard Einan,State Secretary, Norwegian Ministry of Labour and Social AffairsMr Kazimierz Kuberski,Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Family, Labour andSocial Policy, PolandMr Mikhail Ivankov,Director General of the Federal Service for Labour and Employment,the Russian Federation28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMONDAY 26 AUGUSTSECOND SESSIONMs Ramona Petravica,Minister for Welfare of LatviaColleagues!It is my great pleasure and honour to participate in the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conferenceand in this session focussing on the future of working life.The discussion about the future of work has featured highly on the international agenda this year.We celebrated 100 years of the International Labour Organisation and adopted the Cente-nary Declaration for the future of work. Ensuring decent work for all in the future is a widelyshared challenge, and addressing it requires a clear and comprehensive response.For example, we see diversification in working time arrangements, with shifts from the stan-dard working week towards different forms of flexible working time. New information andcommunications technologies enable constant connectivity. We need balanced working time ar-rangements that can benefit both – workers and employers – in terms of work-life balance andproductivity.In Latvia, we are working towards adapting our regulatory framework to this changing real-ity of the world of work:- Amendments to the Labour Protection Law are currently being discussed in the Parlia-ment to address the occupational safety and health issues in atypical forms of work.28 BSPCMs Ramona Petravica,YEARS2|3 Minister for Welfare of LatviaBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conference- Further, the Ministry of Welfare is considering amendments to the Labour Law to clarifymatters related to flexible working conditions.Of course, broadening the understanding of employment relations and clarification of the rightsand the obligations of employers and workers is only one area of work. Globalisation, digitaltransformation, climate change, migration and ageing societies raise a wide range of policyconcerns.Longer working lives together with the rapidly changing world of work highlight the impor-tance of skills and labour market policies.We need investments in education and training systems to provide people with the skills thatwill be required in the labour market. Moreover, lifelong learning opportunities and incentivesare vital throughout working life to ensure inclusive labour markets and to safeguard the qualityof life in the future.A recent OECD review assessed the effectiveness of Latvia’s training measures for the unem-ployed. It ascertained the positive impact of training programmes on the labour market out-comes for all groups of programme participants and in terms of the likelihood of both – tobe employed and to increase earnings.The quality of working life is an essential indicator of public well-being, but it should not belimited to pay. It encompasses a broad set of measures, including fair income, occupationalsafety and health, transparent working conditions, lifelong learning opportunities, adequatesocial protection, equal opportunities.These issues remain at the core of our work to ensure that people can feel secure about theirfuture in the world of work. This human-centred approach is the essence of the InternationalLabour Organisation’s Centenary Declaration that I referred to at the beginning of my inter-vention. It allows addressing the challenges and transformations that the world of work faces andto ensure that nobody is left behind.In this aspect, the modernisation of social protection systems also plays a significant role.Firstly, social protection coverage may need to be adapted or extended – because of the newdevelopments in the world of work. Adequacy is another critical issue, and it affects public trustand support to the social protection systems.In Latvia, we have paid attention to both these issues. Coverage has been improved to ensuresocial security for those involved in atypical employment. Currently, social insurance contri-butions for old-age pensions are made regardless of the form of work and tax regime. The cover-28 BSPCMs Ramona Petravica,YEARS3|3 Minister for Welfare of LatviaBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conferenceage has been extended to self-employed persons, seasonal agricultural workers and professionalathletes.Ensuring adequacy has been more challenging. Our pension system includes incentives to pro-long working life, but there are people who are not able to do so, for example, due to health rea-sons.My political priority – and one of the priorities of the Latvian Government – is to improve thewell-being of retired people, in particular, by increasing the minimum pension. To achieve it,I look for the Parliament’s support in the discussion on the next year’s budget.Thank you!28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMONDAY 26 AUGUSTSECOND SESSIONMr Eitvydas Bingelis,Viceminister of Social Security andLabour of the Republic of LithuaniaDear Participants of the Conference,Members of the Parliaments,Distinguished Delegates,It’s my honor to participate today in the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference and to share ourcommon concerns in the field of labour and employment. We face considerable challenges relat-ed to the demographic changes, digitalisation, increased labour moblity and other major trendsthat affect our societies.I believe that is forum enables us to work together sharing our best practices and lessons learnedhelping us to achieve our common goals. As it is enshrined in the Berlin Declaration, we haveto pursue the most efficient mechanisms and measures in the field of labour and employment.I would like to address my speech on two topics and share some thoughts and examples from ournational perspective.[Ageing population]The population in the Baltic Sea Region is increasingly getting older in the region one third of the28 BSPCMr Eitvydas Bingelis,YEARS2|3Viceminister of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conferencepopulation will be over 65 years of age in 2050. One out of tree. We have to face with all consid-erable challenges: participation in labor market will be longer, more social service will be needed,new skills in labor market, tension on pension system, etc. And Lithuania is not an exception.In Lithuania we adopted Demographic, Migration, and Integration Policy. Our Strategy is aimedat systemically addressing demographic challenges, increasing the birth rate, reducing emigra-tion, promoting return migration, and improving the quality of life of the senior population. Themain objective Strategy is to ensure a positive population change and a balanced age structure.Maybe it would be idea to have more regional approach for common challenges especially on i.e.circular migration in our region.With the decline of the working age population in Lithuania, the employment opportunities ofolder people are increasing and they are becoming more desirable workers. Only 1⁄4 from 60 to70 years old participate in labor market, at the same time majority of them are with higher edu-cation or professional qualifications. Sedimentation, immobility, lack of technological and digitalskills often make it difficult for older people to integrate into the labor market, however there is apositive tendency for older workers to become more courageous, confident, keen to learn or takeup new activities.It is crucial to have policies that increase opportunities for older people to stay longer in thelabour market and younger generation to benefit from experienced workers, i.e. mentorship pro-grammes could be one of a good example, which we have recently introduced in our publicservice system in Lithunia. Also we, as politicians and policy makers, should work hand in handwith our social partners and civil society sharing responsibility for the Future of Working Life.This year we started with pilot model of employment promotion and motivation services for theunemployed and social support recipients. The aim of this pilot Project is to facilitate the tran-sition of the long-term unemployed from unemployment to employment and to harmonize theemployment promotion and motivation services with the social assistance services in coopera-tion with employers. We hope that this pilot project will deliver convenient results and will beapplied national wide.[Digitalization, future of work]During the past decades our labour market has been constantly changing, but not as significantlyas now, when the digitalisation and development of new technologies, such as robotics, algo-rithms and Artificial Intelligence are creating extensive disruption in our labour markets, affect-ing our jobs, skills and social welfare.28 BSPCMr Eitvydas Bingelis,YEARS3|3Viceminister of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania Baltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceAlthough these changes raises many challenges, at the same time technological progress providesopportunities to transform regular jobs and business models, including more flexible and inde-pendent work arrangements, improvement in skills and productivity. Harnessing the fullest po-tential of technological progress might help to improve welfare and development of our society,with access to technological development benefits made available for everybody. By fostering thedevelopment of sustainable labour markets in the region we can ensure our region competitive-ness and social welfare.Seeking to adapt to the changing labour market Lithuania has introduced working-time flexi-bility through regulation of workplace-sharing contracts. Employees sharing a workplace willneed to agree on the distribution of working time among them so as not to affect workflow. Thistype of employment contract can help to reconcile work and family obligations more easily, andcould be used by older employees to begin working part time while sharing their experience withyounger colleagues and via versus.It’s all about skills, skills, skillsOur task as policy makers is to turn challenges into opportunities ensuring that no one is leftbehind. [who knows, maybe in 60 years in Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference speeches will be ad-dressed by AI robots and we will need to reskill, retrain]. People facing job loss or transitions needcomprehensive support, based on up-skilling and re-skilling, access to employment services, in-come support, and social services throughout their life cycle.Enabling the future that works for all is our common responsibility. We have to strengthen ourcooperation not only nationally with relevant institutions, social partners and civil society, butalso to cooperate within the region in political as well as expertise level.Dear colleagues,Comparisons among the countries and the exchange of best practices, mutual learning will helpus to identify the fields and gaps where policy interventions are needed and make the best use ofits implementation.Thank you.28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMONDAY 26 AUGUSTSECOND SESSIONMs Anette Kramme,Parliamentary State Secretary at theFederal Ministry of Labour andSocial Affairs, GermanyCheck against delivery. Only the speech as given has any validity.I. Introduction• I would like to thank you, including on behalf of Federal Labour Minister Hubertus Heil,for giving me the opportunity to participate in this conference, where we are discussingimportant issues such as “clean oceans” and the “future of work”, I am looking forward tobeing part of the debate.II. Drivers of the changes in the world of work• The world of work is in the midst of sweeping changes - in Germany, in Europe andaround the world.• There is no doubt that digitalisation is one of the most important drivers influencingtomorrow’s world of work. Digitalisation is creating a new technological framework andopportunities in the fields of interaction with others, production, business organisationand flexible working structures. It is also profoundly affecting interaction with others aswell as leadership.• But digitalisation is not the only driver of these changes. Other drivers include globali-sation: Globalisation is fundamentally changing companies’ scope for action and that oftheir employees. It allows us to trade and communicate across borders, and it is apparentthat is has led to more migration; yet other drivers are demographic change and ongoingchanges within our societies.28 BSPCMs Anette Kramme,YEARS2|4Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Germany Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference• Today, I would especially like to focus on two trends shaping our digitalised world ofwork. As we speak, they are causing uncertainties about the future of the world of workand thus require political answers.III. Automation• Let us first have a look at the trend towards the automation of professional activ-ities.• Often fears about the digitalisation of the world of work are linked to the fearthat in future we will need fewer workers than today and that therefore morepeople will be out of work.• In light of the rapid technological changes, there is a growing focus on the debateabout the automation of professional activities and the presumed substitutionpotential of human work.• That is probably partially due to the fact that so far we have associated automa-tion with the replacement of physical human work. But the deployment of artifi-cial intelligence also has the potential of increasingly letting machines carry outroutine cognitive tasks usually performed by humans.• What is true is that automation is deeply transforming our world of work. In thefuture, the job profiles of many occupations will look completely different. How-ever, that does not mean that digital change will lead to mass lay-offs. But workwill change.• Forecasts by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs estimate that by2025 1.3 million jobs will have disappeared, but that 2.1 million new jobs willhave been added. We expect an increase of 3.3 million and a loss of 4 million jobsby the year 2035.• So on the one hand, we are losing jobs. But at the same time, many new jobs areemerging.• Fear of mass unemployment caused by digitalisation is not a good adviser for ourpolicies for the future of work.28 BSPCMs Anette Kramme,YEARS3|4Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Germany Baltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceIV. Skilled labour shortages• Instead, we must ask ourselves which jobs will disappear, which ones will becreated and whether the people losing their jobs will be able to perform the newtasks with their qualifications.• Although the exact form these major transformation processes will take cannotyet be predicted in detail, there is one constant factor in the midst of all thesechanges: the role played by well-trained skilled workers for labour markets, com-panies’ ability to innovate and Germany’s and Europe’s overall economic devel-opment.• Organisations and businesses are already finding it hard to recruit skilled work-ers with certain qualifications or in certain sectors and regions.• While demographic change is exacerbating skilled labour shortages in some oc-cupations and regions (in Germany, this is the case for long-term care work)....• ... the demand for skilled labour is going down in other occupations and regionsdue to the potential for substitution offered by technological progress (e.g. inaccounting and financial control).• In order to avoid the paradox of skilled labour shortages co-existing with a sur-plus of workers, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has developeda new Skilled Labour Strategy on behalf of the German Government in a dialogueprocess involving the social partners.• The core element of this strategy is the notion that further training and skillsdevelopment are increasingly becoming key tasks for the future of Germany andEurope. We have to tackle them together if we want to shape the digital transfor-mation successfully in the interest of our workers and our companies.• In Germany, the Federal Labour Ministry is working on a National Skills Strate-gy. But it is also important that we as partners exchange experiences across bor-ders in order to respond to the challenges brought about by the digitalisation ofour world of work - which is precisely what we are doing today.• If we in Europe want to make use of the potential offered by the digital revo-lution, we must invest more in skills development and further training. This isessential if we want to preserve workers’ employability and avoid unemploymentbefore it is caused by the changes I described, and if we simultaneously want toensure a sufficient pool of skilled labour.28 BSPCMs Anette Kramme,YEARS4|4Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Germany Baltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceV. Artificial intelligence as a driver of the changes in the world of work• Alongside the trends I described, for which we need political answers, there arealso a number of drivers defining these trends as well as the speed of change inthe world of work. I would like to use artificial intelligence as an example forhow profoundly individual technological changes can affect the world of workand how the German Government is responding.• Progress in AI research will most likely lead to new applications in manufactur-ing, such as smart assistance systems and co-bots, as well as in the service sec-tor such as marketing tools and knowledge work, changing job profiles, areas ofresponsibility and the skill sets of our workers.• The results of a 2018 study by Stifterverband and McKinsey on future skills andthe skills missing in Germany clearly point in this direction. In the period lead-ing up to 2023, we will already need up to 700,000 technology experts.• More than 2.4 million workers will have to enrol in further training in order toexpand their skills in digital learning, networked teamwork or entrepreneurialcompetences.• That is why in its AI Strategy, the German Government has committed itself tothe promotion of human-centred AI. What does this mean? Well, essentially thatartificial intelligence should not be developed with the goal of replacing humans,but rather primarily with the goal of enhancing human capabilities.• This example illustrates that policy-makers must promote human-centred tech-nological innovation and invest in further training and skills development. Thisis the only way in which we can overcome the challenges posed by the digitalchanges in the world of work.• Thank you for your attention and I am looking forward to the other statements.28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMONDAY 26 AUGUSTSECOND SESSIONMr Vegard Einan,State Secretary, Norwegian Ministryof Labour and Social AffairsThe Future of Working LifeThank you for the opportunity to address the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference!The future of work has been high-lighted this year.Not least because of the ILO-centenary.The ILO-report presented by the Global Commission, led by the Swedish Prime Minister Ste-fan Løfven, represent a significant contribution to the political agenda.Norway supports the human-centred approach outlined in the report.We must invest in people and develop their skills.We must invest in the institutions of work and secure decent and sustainable jobs.28 BSPCMr Vegard Einan,YEARS2|5 State Secretary, Norwegian Ministry of Labour and Social AffairsBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceWe are all, to some extent, experiencing that the labour market is changing.Globalization and digitalization create opportunities and growth, but can also be a challenge tothe established arrangements and regulations that we have in our countries.Effective and comprehensive regulations and well-organized social partners on both sides arehallmarks of “the Nordic model”.History tells us that our Nordic work life model has served us well.Dialogue between government and the social partners has made social reforms possible andbrought forward valuable agreements, for instance on pension reform.It is very important that we study closely how new ways of organizing work can affect ourlabour market.This is the object of a research project launched by The Nordic Council of Labour Ministers,where researchers from the Nordic countries studies the transformations of labour marketsresulting from digitalization, demographic change and new forms of employment and work.Permanent and direct employment must continue to be the main rule.Recently, we have tightened up the regulations.Our new regulation states that a prerequisite that must be attained if an employment is to bedeemed permanent, is a guarantee for the amount of work.An employment contract must in addition provide information about when the work is to beperformed.We are also considering whether the Labour Inspection Authority should get a more active rolein enforcing the “hiring of workers”-regulations.Last week the Norwegian Government appointed a new commission where representativesfrom the social partners and independent experts will assess the consequences for working life28 BSPCMr Vegard Einan,YEARS3|5 State Secretary, Norwegian Ministry of Labour and Social AffairsBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conferenceand consider the need for updating labour law.Together with the social partners, we have also established a committee reporting on whichcompetence and skills we need for the future.Education and vocational training plays a vital role in increasing access to the labour market.And in enhancing national development and growth.The skills we learn when we are young will not last for the whole of our working lives.Education and work have to be better coordinated to ensure a process of lifelong learning.Norway appreciate the initiatives that come from the EU especially through the European Pil-lar of Social Rights. The new directive on transparency and predictability for workers, and theestablishment of the European Labour Authority (ELA) represent important steps forward.Workers’ rights must be protected, and the internal market must be fair.This is a common challenge for all countries in the Nordic and Baltic region.However, the measures to tackle unfair competition and unfair working conditions could varyaccording to different labour market models of the countries.**We benefit greatly from the migration of skilled workers and the free movement of people inEurope.As do most European countries.It has advanced our economies.At the same time, we have seen that labour migration can put pressure on our labour market,wages and social benefits.28 BSPCMr Vegard Einan,YEARS4|5 State Secretary, Norwegian Ministry of Labour and Social AffairsBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceWe have also seen an increase in work-related crime.Typically, this is activities that violate legislation concerning wages and working conditions,social benefits and taxes.The element of multi-crime is a characteristic feature of what is defined as work-related crime.We cannot accept this.Immigrant workers have a higher risk of being exploited, since they are often willing to acceptvery poor pay and working conditions.This is a challenge for all European countries.We must take these concerns seriously.We need to work more closely together to combat labour exploitation and other forms ofwork-related crime.In 2015 the Norwegian Government introduced a Strategy to combat criminal activities relatedto working life.This Strategy was revised earlier this year.Focus on prevention has been heightened.We believe that a better basis of knowledge among the players in labour market and more tar-geted information will contribute to shrinking the market for criminal actors.However, combating crime and irresponsible working conditions is dependent on a broad andsustained cooperation in working life.Thus, it is important to collaborate with social partners and business actors to take the neces-sary actions.28 BSPCMr Vegard Einan,YEARS5|5 State Secretary, Norwegian Ministry of Labour and Social AffairsBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceAt national level cooperation has been strengthened between the Labour Inspection Authority,the Labour and Welfare Service, the police and the Tax Administration.The Norwegian Government is committed to combating crime in the European labour market,in close cooperation with the EU and the EU Member States.Already, a closer partnership between labour inspection authorities in our country and severalcentral-European countries have been established.The labour inspectors are working together on concrete cases.They share information.They learn from each other.And together they are fighting the unfair and sometimes criminal practices that can be found inthe European labour market.**To conclude, cooperation at all levels is urgent to combat work-related crime and exploitationof workers.An updated regulation is important, but not sufficient.It is urgent to maintain mutual trust and confidence in working life.We must seek cooperation between employers and employees, authorities and social partnersand between authorities across borders to secure a sound working life for the future.28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMONDAY 26 AUGUSTSECOND SESSIONMr Kazimierz Kuberski,Undersecretary of State in theMinistry of Family, Labour andSocial Policy, Poland“Wizja i strategia na rzecz przyszłości życia zawodowego na szczeblu krajowym i regionuMorza Bałtyckiego”(sesja druga 13:15-15:00)Przyszłość życia zawodowego w dzisiejszym świecie wyznaczana jest przez czynniki, które wsposób szczególny dotyczą regionu Morza Bałtyckiego. Są to m.in. dbałość o ekologię zmianytechnologiczne i cyfrowe, starzenie się społeczeństw oraz zrównoważony rozwój, realizowany woparciu o różne tradycje i odmienną rzeczywistość społeczną i gospodarczą.Naszą rzeczywistością staje się czwarta rewolucja przemysłowa, zwana rewolucją cyfrową.Wiąże się ona z automatyzacją procesów gospodarczych, robotyzacją i rozwojem gospodarki.Wykorzystuje komunikację na odległośćza pomocą coraz nowocześniejszych technologii informatycznych, w tym sztucznej inteligencji.Efektem ograniczenia znaczenia pracy ludzkiejw gospodarce jest zmiana zapotrzebowania na kwalifikacje zawodowe. Niedaleką przyszłośćbędą tworzyły nowe zawody i specjalności, a zadania realizowane na istniejących stanowiskachzmienią swój charakter. Zawody rutynowe - zarówno fizyczne, jak i wymagające pracy intelek-tualnej - stopniowo będą automatyzowane i zastępowane przez roboty. Powtarzalne zadaniaMr Kazimierz Kuberski,28 BSPCUndersecretary of State in the Ministry of Family, LabourYEARS2|4 and Social Policy, PolandBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conferencebędą wykonywane szybciej, precyzyjniej i taniej. Świadczą o tym rozwiązania z zakresu nowychtechnologii oraz coraz powszechniej wykorzystywane strategie zarządzania np. business reen-gineering. Dają one możliwość znaczącego wzrostu wydajności przedsiębiorstw przy jedno-czesnym ograniczeniu roli pracy człowieka. Przewiduje się, że automatyzacja dotknie przedewszystkim osoby z niskimi kwalifikacjami.Natomiast głównymi beneficjentami zmian będzie grupa wysokokwalifikowanych pracownikówz zakresu innowacyjnych technologii. W związku z powyższym w okresie przejściowym mogązachodzić niekorzystne zjawiska na rynku pracy.Pytanie w jakim zakresie możemy te zmiany przewidzieć? Co umożliwi nam wyjście naprzeciwtym zmianom?Nowe technologie, w tym technologie cyfrowe wymuszają zmianę kwalifikacji. Istotne jest nietylko dopasowanie kształcenia do potrzeb rynku pracy na poziomie szkolnym i uniwersytec-kim. Postęp technologiczny wymaga zaawansowanych i nowoczesnych form kształcenia zawo-dowego, a także ustawicznego (life-long learning). Ciągłe podnoszenie kwalifikacji jest kluczo-wym elementem zapobiegającym negatywnym zjawiskom związanymz rewolucją cyfrową.Udział obywateli państw członkowskich Rady Państw Morza Bałtyckiego,w kształceniu ustawicznym jest bardzo zróżnicowany. Wymiana pozytywnych doświadczeńi dyskusja na temat przeszkód w promowaniu i realizacji wyzwań związanych z kształceniemustawicznym powinna być zarówno potencjalnym obszarem współpracy jak i strategii Rady.W Europejskim Filarze Praw Socjalnych wskazano na prawo do „uczenia się przez całe życie wcelu utrzymania i nabywania umiejętności, które pozwolą w pełni uczestniczyć w życiu społeczeń-stwa i skutecznie radzić sobie ze zmianami na rynku pracy”.W Polsce tworzona jest Zintegrowana Strategia Umiejętności, która wskazywać ma możliwo-ści i warunki do rozwoju i doskonalenia umiejętności niezbędnych do wzmocnienia kapitałuspołecznego, włączenia społecznego, wzrostu gospodarczego i osiągnięcia wysokiej jakościżycia.Dodatkowym potencjalnym obszarem współpracy między państwami Rady może być moni-torowanie zagrożonych miejsc pracy. Umożliwiłoby to służbom zatrudnienia podejmowaniedziałań, które zapobiegną powstaniu bezrobocia technologicznego, a co za tym idzie wyklu-czeniu zawodowemu i społecznemu. Dlatego też w Polsce aktualnie trwają prace nad Strategiątworzeniai wykorzystania sztucznej inteligencji.Mr Kazimierz Kuberski,28 BSPCUndersecretary of State in the Ministry of Family, LabourYEARS3|4 and Social Policy, PolandBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceKwestia starzenia się społeczeństw jest kolejnym zagadnieniem, któremu polityka zatrudnienia– silver economy - musi wyjść naprzeciw.Czynniki demograficzne, powodują, że wiek pracujących podwyższa się,a zatem jeszcze większego znaczenia nabiera praktyka dostosowywania kwalifikacji i umiejęt-ności do procesów pracy. Zrozumienie tego faktu przez pracowników, ale również przez praco-dawców, jest kluczowe dla efektywności gospodarczej. Należy zauważyć, że starzenie się społe-czeństw tworzy także nowe perspektywy dla zatrudnienia w usługach nakierowanych na starszepokolenia – zwłaszcza w zakresie usług medycznych i opiekuńczych.Świat rozwija się w szybkim tempie, aby nadążyć za tymi zmianami musimy skupić uwagę napotencjale jaki zawarty jest w gospodarce obiegu zamkniętego (GOZ ang. circular economy).Gospodarka niskoemisyjna i efektywna surowcowo, oparta o alternatywne źródła energii, zjednej strony jest elementem zrównoważonego gospodarowania zasobami naturalnymi i polity-ki ekologicznej, z drugiej zaś strony jest istotnym elementem ograniczenia surowcochłonnościgospodarki. Ma to wpływ na poprawę jej efektywności i konkurencyjności. Co należy podkre-ślić - coraz szersza świadomość powiązanych ze sobą procesów produkcyjnych i zmian klima-tycznych daje szerokie spektrum możliwości nowego wykorzystywania technologii, tworzeniamiejsc pracy jak i dla samej ekologii.Na przyszłość pracy mocno oddziałuje też długotrwałe bezrobocie. Choć odsetek osób długo-trwale pozostających bez zatrudnienia w Polsce,jak i w przekroju europejskim, zmniejszył się w ostatnim czasie, to wciąż są to znaczące liczby.1Zjawisko to skutkuje trwałą marginalizacją społeczną i jest przyczyną ubóstwa. Oznacza teżdegradację nabytych umiejętności i w związku z tym powoduje dalsze zmniejszanie szans nazatrudnienie. Aktywizacja zawodowa osób długotrwale bezrobotnych to część misji przy-wracaniana rynek pracy osób biernych zawodowo i wspierania tym samym efektywności gospodarki. Wrealizacji tego celu istotną rolę może odgrywać ekonomia społeczna, której wspieranie powinnozyskiwać na znaczeniuw polityce państw.Działalność podmiotów ekonomii społecznej - w zakresie dbałości o zasoby przyrodnicze, zbie-rania i wstępnej segregacji odpadów - może być skuteczna w zakresie aktywizacji zawodowej ispołecznej, a zarazem zwiększać świadomość ekologiczną.1 W Polsce na poziomie 26 procent.Mr Kazimierz Kuberski,28 BSPCUndersecretary of State in the Ministry of Family, LabourYEARS4|4 and Social Policy, PolandBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceReasumując potencjałem dla polityki rynku pracy są zachodzące zmiany, które mamy obowią-zek wykorzystać dając naszym obywatelom szansęna dostatniejsze, dobrej jakości i dłuższe życie w czystym środowisku. Współpraca w ramachRady Państw Morza Bałtyckiego, poprzez wymianę doświadczeń i dobrych praktyk może wes-przeć nas w realizacji tych dążeń.Dziękuję za uwagę28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMONDAY 26 AUGUSTSECOND SESSIONMr Mikhail Ivankov,Director General of the FederalService for Labour and Employment,the Russian FederationDear Colleagues!We may live in a fast-paced world, but the activities of human beings in the world of workremains the basis of this world, its very essence. And thus, the topic we are discussing today, “TheFuture of Working Life”, is a crucial one. In the context of the rapidly changing realities of themodern labour market, we need to be able to predict the future of work in a timely manner andat the same time to create the conditions necessary for people to do their jobs while factoring inmodern challenges and the requirements of social development.This year’s report of the Global Commission on the Future of Work, which marks the100th anniversary of the International Labor Organization, critically examines the major chang-es to the world of work and to the megatrends in a global format. The sweeping changes takingplace both in the economic and in the social sphere have a direct impact on the world of labor.In fact, a number of ongoing and seemingly insignificant changes are driving us towards newmodels of labor activity involving all of its aspects.It is these new developments that I would like to focus on in my speech. These new ele-ments are seamlessly linked to existing models of labour relations, and, at the same time, con-stitute radical and qualitative changes in the nature of the working life of people in the modernworld.We are witnessing the emergence of new forms of working lives that will impact on thefuture. Routine operations are increasingly being algorithm-driven and are often replaced byautomatic machines or robots, with the role of human labour in these processes is changing dra-matically.Mr Mikhail Ivankov,28 BSPCDirector General of the Federal Service for Labour and Employment,YEARS2|5 the Russian FederationBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceDistance work and platform employment, as well as freelancing are on the rise. This, inturn, requires new forms of organising and maintaining labor relations, including devising mea-sures to protect workers’ rights.This new model of labor relations is increasingly shifting the focus from learning a professionto developing a skill-set. Today, it is much more important for a modern employer to understandwhat a potential employee knows and can do and which skills he or she possesses. In turn, an em-ployee has to response quickly and in a timely manner to the changing needs of the labor market.New requirements arising from the modern organization of production activities, in turn,have an impact on the entire system of employees’ training and qualification assessment. Life-long learning is a must for employees who need to constantly add to and maintain their profes-sional skills.All of the above changes in people’s working lives is leading to changes in the management oflabor organization processes. The main tool in labor and employment management is the digitaliza-tion of all components of an individual working life including training, recognition and validationof skills, promotion of employment, and the regular practice and perfection of these skills.The challenges of the digital economy dictate new ways of interacting between employees,employers and labor authorities. These include, among other things, the use of electronic filemanagement, the introduction of the electronic employment contract, the formation of a singledigital environment based on trust, providing the participants of the digital economy with themeans of trusted digital remote communication, as well as enabling control and supervision ac-tivities at all stages in electronic form.The basic platform for creating digital labour market development tools for the manage-ment of labor-related processes is the “Job in Russia” portal, operated by the Federal Service forLabour and Employment. Today on the “Job in Russia” portal, there are about 1 million employeeresumees and 1.5 million vacant positions.This information resource already makes it possible to carry out a detailed search for workand for potential personnel candidates, as well as a multifactor assessment of the living and work-ing conditions in a specific region of Russia based on a wide range of indicators reflecting the levelof socio-economic development of the region. Thus, the prerequisites for the active migration ofthe labor force within the country have been created and implemented.Next year there are plans to create a new “Online Labor Relations” service, which willenable employment contracts to be drawn up and entered into, as well as offering an option forstoring documents related to work in electronic form, which will ensure the prevention of viola-tions of labor laws.Mr Mikhail Ivankov,28 BSPCDirector General of the Federal Service for Labour and Employment,YEARS3|5 the Russian FederationBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceWe and our social partners, already organize and conduct the monitoring of sought-afterprofessions and emerging careers on the labor market in terms of skill-sets and we are alreadydeveloping, updating and implementing professional standards and forming a system of inde-pendent assessment of qualifications. In this area, developing a system for predicting future skillrequirements to ensure that the life-long learning system and the ongoing development of theentire system of professional qualifications is promising.Last week in the Russian Federation, in Kazan, the 45-th World Championship of profes-sional skills WorldSkills Kazan 2019 was held. Within this framework, the largest InternationalMinisters Summit on vocational education, employment development and staff training at theWorldSkills meeting was held, with the participation of more than 40 countries. WorldSkillsChampionship is a platform where the experts share their experiences in standardizing skills,which is of interest to employers and students and workers as well as to educational institutionsand government authorities. We already build on this experience in processing skill qualifica-tions, and in developing new professional standards as well as updating existing ones.One innovation in the Russian Federation is the national championship we hold on profes-sions for citizens of pre-retirement age “Skills of the Wise” accordingly to WorldSkills standards.Another important area of information platform development is analysing data from the“Job in Russia” system, including typical applicant and typical employer behaviour patterns. Thedevelopment of analytical tools that automatically compare these patterns will help create ser-vices for the proactive recruitment of personnel and selection of vacancies, as well as trackingtrends in the labor market based on “big data” technology. A digital platform like this will helppeople understand what their labour skills are and which are becoming obsolete (which skills areno longer needed), and which, on the contrary, are increasingly in demand (which new skills arearising). This will help people to retrain proactively in time, including remotely or independently.Certification of qualifications obtained will also be possible using digital solutions.The challenges of the digital economy have shifted the focus to new technologies also inthe area of protecting worker’s rights. With new forms of labor interaction, we need to establishnew forms of supervisory and monitoring activities. On the one hand, these are services that al-low workers and employers to gain easy access to comprehensive information about the require-ments of labor legislation, to increase their legal knowledge and undergo a self-assessment on awide range of issues of labor legislation. At present, Onlineinspektsiya.rf (Онлайнинспекция.рф) system has been implemented in the Russian Federation, including a whole range of services.On the other hand, a full-fledged remote surveillance instrument has been created, which wasfirst tested last year as a pilot project, and which is actively gaining ground.Mr Mikhail Ivankov,28 BSPCDirector General of the Federal Service for Labour and Employment,YEARS4|5 the Russian FederationBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceDear colleagues!The well-being of any citizen of any country in the world must be the aim of any socialand labor changes. Therefore, the basic principle of designing the future sphere of labor is itshumanization, that is creating opportunities for people’s self-fulfillment regardless of gender, age,social status, place of residence, health status or other aspects. In other words, it is a people-ori-ented agenda where economic and social policy, as well as business practices, are focused on theindividual and his or her work.In modern Russia, efforts in the field of labor are being actively implemented, as set out inthe Declaration of the First Meeting of Ministers of Labor of the CBSS in 2017 including thoserelated to vulnerable groups of popualtion.Employing people with disabilities is fostered through the mechanism of job quotas at en-terprises and the implementation of the “Accessible Environment” comprehensive state program.Priority is being given to ensuring decent employment for young people, including throughthe promotion of youth entrepreneurship. On the whole, the youth labor market in Russia ischaracterized by relatively good indicators, although the unemployment rate for this category ofworkers is higher than the labor market average.The implementation of national projects, including the national “Demography” project, iscreating conditions for women raising children to achieve the maximum balance between workand child care, including through vocational training during maternity leave. This enables wom-en to acquire additional professional skills, including the ability to combine work with familyresponsibilities.In addition, vocational training and additional vocational education and training are be-ing organized for people of pre-retirement age to enable the continuation of their employment,both in their previous positions and in new jobs.One of the priorities of the modern strategy of the labor sphere for us is the enhancementof social protection of employees. In Russia, 100% of employees are covered by the social insur-ance system. It is important that the national system of social protection adapts to the changestaking place in the labor sphere, in particular, to the emergence of new forms of employment. Forexample, in 2019, a pilot project was launched under which self-employed people were given theopportunity to register with the tax authorities and, after minor contributions to the tax system,to obtain compulsory medical insurance and pension benefits. At the same time, the scope of thechanges taking place in the forms of employment and types of labor activity will require furthermodernization of legislation to provide social protection to those who choose to work freely,outside the traditional employer-employee relations.Mr Mikhail Ivankov,28 BSPCDirector General of the Federal Service for Labour and Employment,YEARS5|5 the Russian FederationBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceWe are well aware that the future lies in the globalisation of the labour market. At thesame time, the labor market needs to be regulated and effective tools are being developed forthis purpose. Currently, measures are being taken within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)to create - on the basis of the “Job in Russia” portal - a unified “Work without Borders” system,aimed at expanding the opportunities to search for vacancies and resumees for citizens of EAEUmember states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.One of the key areas of the Concept of the State Migration Policy of the Russian Federationfor 2019-2025 is the development of mechanisms for the organized recruitment of foreign work-ers to work in Russia. Within a regulated recruitment process, employers can hire sought-afteremployees, and these potential employees can gain a better understanding in advance of wherethey are going, to which employer, and what conditions of work and stay will be provided to thembefore they leave for Russia.In order to implement the regulated recruitment process, intergovernmental agreementshave already been signed with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, agreements with Kyrgyzstan and Viet-nam have been prepared and will be signed soon, and a few more agreements are at approvalstage, and a digital platform for managing the regulated recruitment process is also being devel-oped on the basis of the “Job in Russia” portal.Dear colleagues,This is a summary of certain areas of labor and future working life, as we see them in theRussian Federation, and in respect of which efforts are already being actively taken.We are working under the assumption that understanding future labor is a task that cannotonly be solved at the national level with the involvement of all parties in the social partnership,but also at the international level, bearing in mind the enormous mutual impact of the economiesof different countries, demographic, social, technological changes, all over the world.Thank you for your attention!28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMONDAY 26 AUGUSTTHIRD SESSIONChair: Ms Valentina Pivnenko,MP, Russian FederationCo-Chair: Mr Jörgen Pettersson,MP, Åland«Safeguarding the oceans – Achievingthe 2030 UN Sustainable DevelopmentGoals«Mr Tālis Linkaits,Minister of Transport of the Republic ofLatvia, Northern Dimension Partnership on Traffic and LogisticsMs Terhi Lehtonen,State Secretary Ministry of the Environment of FinlandMr Vidar Helgesen,Norway’s Special Envoy to the Highlevel Panel on Building aSustainable Ocean EconomyMr BjØrn Einar Brath,Siemens Trondheim CEO Offshore Solutions & Marine, SiemensMr Jörgen Pettersson, MPBSPC Rapporteurs on Integrated Maritime PolicyMs Saara-Sofia Sirén, MP,BSPC Rapporteur on Eutrophication28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMONDAY 26 AUGUSTTHIRD SESSIONMs Terhi Lehtonen,State Secretary Ministry of theEnvironment of FinlandThe Priorities of the FinnishHELCOM Chairmanship andthe future of the Baltic SeaAction PlanState SecretaryTerhi Lehtonen, FinnishMinistryof theEnvironment28th Baltic SeaParliamentaryConference26 August 2019, Oslo, Norway28 BSPC2|6 Ms Terhi Lehtonen,State Secretary Ministry of the Environment of Finland YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceBlooms ofcyanobacteriain the BalticSea on20 July 2019ESA Copernicus Sentinel Data& NASA Landsat ProgramData, SYKE28 BSPC3|6 Ms Terhi Lehtonen,State Secretary Ministry of the Environment of Finland YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceCooperation between allcoastal states and the EUfor protection of themarine environment ofthe Baltic Sea28 BSPC4|6 Ms Terhi Lehtonen,State Secretary Ministry of the Environment of Finland YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conference428 BSPC5|6 Ms Terhi Lehtonen,State Secretary Ministry of the Environment of Finland YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceGoal:to achieve a Baltic Sea in good environmental status by 2021Baltic Sea Baltic Sea undisturbed Environmentally Favourablestatus ofunaffected by hazardous friendly maritime Baltic Seaby eutrophication substances activities biodiversity28 BSPC6|6 Ms Terhi Lehtonen,State Secretary Ministry of the Environment of Finland YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conference28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMONDAY 26 AUGUSTTHIRD SESSIONMr Vidar Helgesen,Norway’s Special Envoy to theHighlevel Panel on Building aSustainable Ocean Economy28 BSPC2|9 Mr Vidar Helgesen,Norway’s Special Envoy to the Highlevel Panel on Building a Sustainable Ocean Economy YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceWhy is the HLP needed now?In order to achieve the SDGs, weneed to produce more from theocean.That’s why we need to take bettercare of it.oceanpanel.org28 BSPC3|9 Mr Vidar Helgesen,Norway’s Special Envoy to the Highlevel Panel on Building a Sustainable Ocean Economy YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceScott Morrison Justin Trudeau Sebastián Piñera Frank Bainimarama Nana Addo DankwaPrime Minister of Australia Prime Minister of Canada President of Chile Prime Minister of Fiji Akufo-AddoPresident of GhanaJoko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo Andrew Michael Holness ShinzōAbe Uhuru Kenyatta Andrés Manuel LópezPresident of Indonesia Prime Minister of Jamaica Prime Minister of Japan President of Kenya ObradorPresident of MexicoDr.HageGottfried Geingob Erna Solberg Tommy Remengesau, Jr António Costa Supporting member:President of Namibia Prime Minister of Norway President of Palau Prime Minister of Portugal Peter ThomsonUN Secretary General’sSpecial Envoy for theOceanoceanpanel.org28 BSPC4|9 Mr Vidar Helgesen,Norway’s Special Envoy to the Highlevel Panel on Building a Sustainable Ocean Economy YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceWho is supporting the High Level Panel?A High Level Panel of 14 Heads of State/Government and aGroup of Sherpas driving the process.An Expert Group of marine, political and social scientists, andeconomists to provide the most up-to-date scientific input andpropose evidence-based ocean solutions.An Advisory Network of stakeholders from the businesscommunity, NGOs, civil society and IGOs to share theirperspectives and inform HLP recommendations.A Secretariat led by the World Resources Institute —to support the High Level Panel and its Sherpas, and overseethe research, communications and outreach of the HLP.oceanpanel.org28 BSPC5|9 Mr Vidar Helgesen,Norway’s Special Envoy to the Highlevel Panel on Building a Sustainable Ocean Economy YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceBlue Papersoceanpanel.org28 BSPC6|9 Mr Vidar Helgesen,Norway’s Special Envoy to the Highlevel Panel on Building a Sustainable Ocean Economy YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceAspired results – 2020 and beyond– A new narrative: Produce - Protect - Prosper– A Scientific Synthesis report on the state of the ocean– A To Do List of recommendations– A commitment by nations and companies to develop, share andapply innovations in governance, finance and technology– Action Coalitions – not merely a reportoceanpanel.org28 BSPC7|9 Mr Vidar Helgesen,Norway’s Special Envoy to the Highlevel Panel on Building a Sustainable Ocean Economy YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceCase in Point: Ocean and ClimateUN Climate Action Summit:- Analysis: How ocean industries can contribute towards 2 / 1.5- Call to Action: Call for governments to scale up and speed up- Coalitions for Actionoceanpanel.org28 BSPC8|9 Mr Vidar Helgesen,Norway’s Special Envoy to the Highlevel Panel on Building a Sustainable Ocean Economy YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conference2. b) Proposed Headline Chart04.12.18oceanpanel.orgSherpa Meeting, Lisbon, May 201928 BSPC9|9 Mr Vidar Helgesen,Norway’s Special Envoy to the Highlevel Panel on Building a Sustainable Ocean Economy YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceThank you!oceanpanel.org28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMONDAY 26 AUGUSTTHIRD SESSIONMr BjØrn Einar Brath,Siemens Trondheim CEO OffshoreSolutions & Marine, SiemensA Norwegian ”ferry-tale”Bjørn Einar Brath – CEO Offshore Solutions & Marine28 BSPC2|6 Mr BjØrn Einar Brath,YEARSSiemens Trondheim CEO Offshore Solutions & Marine, SiemensBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conference28 BSPC3|6 Mr BjØrn Einar Brath,YEARSSiemens Trondheim CEO Offshore Solutions & Marine, SiemensBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceHow to go from 1- to 100?28 BSPC4|6 Mr BjØrn Einar Brath,YEARSSiemens Trondheim CEO Offshore Solutions & Marine, SiemensBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceStore ferger28 BSPC5|6 Mr BjØrn Einar Brath,YEARSSiemens Trondheim CEO Offshore Solutions & Marine, SiemensBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conference28 BSPC6|6 Mr BjØrn Einar Brath,YEARSSiemens Trondheim CEO Offshore Solutions & Marine, SiemensBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conference28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMONDAY 26 AUGUSTTHIRD SESSIONMr Jörgen Pettersson,MP BSPC Rapporteurs on IntegratedMaritime PolicyCheck against delivery. Only the speech as given has any validity.Shipping make the world go around. Thanks to dedicated shipowners and brave and professionalseafarers we are able to buy cars that has been manufactured in Japan and cellphones produced inChina. We can eat fresh bananas every day, if we so choose, and healthy vegetables wherever wemight be in the world. Thanks to the people and the vessels in the offshore-industry Norway is awealthy country and with the help of sophisticated maritime infrastructure you can travel wher-ever you want at a reasonable cost. Shipping is life and our oceans are something that connectsus all and make our world smaller and in fact better. Trade is life and without ships there wouldbe no trade.The purpose of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference is to make the Baltic Sea Region a rolemodel for the rest of the world when it comes to ecological and economical standards and quite afew other areas. That is brave and inspiring and something we all should aim at: to become a littlebit better every day. As parliamentarians we are able to change policies, BSPC is the thinktankthat can make governments act. In shipping we have succeeded. Not only BSPC but together withother policymakers such as International Maritime Organization and other international bodiesthe Baltic Sea today can be described as a small sea with great ambitions.28 BSPC2|3 Mr Jörgen Pettersson,YEARSMP BSPC Rapporteurs on Integrated Maritime PolicyBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceIn this report on developments in Integrated Maritime Policy you will for example learn moreabout blue biotechnology, how the vision amongst the scientists are aiming to become realityamongst sailors. It has not been printed but you will find it on the website and it will change theway you look at maritime businesses. Europe make difference. Roughly 90 % of world trade iscarried by ships. 76 % of the EU’s external trade is shipped by sea, and European shipownerscontrol 40 % of the world’s fleet.In our work we have taken part in numerous conferences and meetings where the shipping in-dustry identifies challenges in order to change to the better. The shipping companies have histor-ically lived a life far from transparency, what happened at sea stayed at sea. That is not the casenowadays. Stronger regulations have improved the transparency and also pushed the develop-ment into a greener and more sustainable future. In the report thera are more to read about thebold initiative from IMO which will reduce the emissions from shipping dramatically, despite thefact that the goods transported will increase worldwide. The decision from IMO means that theGreen House Gases from shipping should peak as soon as possible and to reduce the total annualGHG emissions by at least 50 % by 2050 compared to 2008, while, at the same time, pursuingefforts towards phasing them out entirely.Highlighted areas which we have highlighted in our report are also gender equality, safety, sus-tainability, automation, digitalization, sulphur cap, blue growth and marine litter. All of that willchange the reality in shipping to the better. We see for real what we have dreamt of in many years.The IT-generation meets the old school shipping industry and miracle will take place. We arethere today and the use of dirty fuel is soon to be old and the future brighter. There are still a longway to go but in shipping the first and most important steps have been taken.The Baltic Sea Region (BSR) is a vital part of the global maritime industry. Since 2015, the Balticbecame a part of the Sulphur Emission Control Area (SECA), where only low-sulphur fuel orscrubbers are allowed. In 2020, the rest of the world will follow, which puts the operators in theBaltic Sea in a good position in terms of technical knowledge. The cluster is vital for the economicand social development in the BSR and the rest of the world. The Baltic Sea Region have togetherwith the North Sea been the role model we so dearly would like it to be. We are not perfect, veryfew are, but as long we are a little bit better than the rest of the world it is good enough!28 BSPC3|3 Mr Jörgen Pettersson,YEARSMP BSPC Rapporteurs on Integrated Maritime PolicyBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceFinally let me express my sincere thanks to my collegue as Maritime Rapporteur Jochen Schulteand our Secretary Ms. Carmen Holhlfeld from the Landtag Mecklenburg-Vorpommern who in aprofessional manner have structured loads of information into a comprehensive and instructivereport. I started with stating that shipping makes the world go around. By reading this report Iassure you that your understanding of the maritime world will be deeper and that you will look atships at sea with greater respect in the future. They might be carrying you next mobile, computeror your fresh bananas.28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMONDAY 26 AUGUSTTHIRD SESSIONMs Saara-Sofia Sirén,MP, BSPC Rapporteur onEutrophicationEutrophication • BSPC 2019• Saara-Sofia Sirénof the Baltic• Member of Parliament, Parliament of FinlandSeaBSPC2|15 Ms Saara-Sofia Sirén,MP, BSPC Rapporteur on EutrophicationBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceBSPC3|15 Ms Saara-Sofia Sirén,MP, BSPC Rapporteur on EutrophicationBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conference“How couldinternational• Focus on the possibilities that circular economypolicy linked tohas in decreasing nutrient flows.Circular Economy • Viewpoint is on international co-operationbetween countries and areas that share the seaaffector are located around the drainage basin.eutrophication of• Report introduces four scenarios based onthe Baltic Sea in Futures Studies methods.the future?“BSPC4|15 Ms Saara-Sofia Sirén,MP, BSPC Rapporteur on EutrophicationBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conference• Research material consists of official documentsand international policy related toeutrophication of the Baltic Sea and circulareconomy as a means to decrease nutrient flow.• Variables viewed:• Political factorsAnalysis• Economic factors• Social factors• Technological factors• Environmental factors• Legal FactorsBSPC5|15 Ms Saara-Sofia Sirén,MP, BSPC Rapporteur on EutrophicationBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conference• Four scenarios present different future pathsformed from the various factors effecting thepossibilities of circular economy in saving theFutureBaltic Sea.• Admission to possibilitiesScenarios• Future dominated by other things• Continuum of status quo• Random coincidences and private saviorsBSPC6|15 Ms Saara-Sofia Sirén,MP, BSPC Rapporteur on EutrophicationBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conference• Eutrophication is still affecting the Baltic SeaConclusions• Even though amount of phosphorus andnitrogen have fallen1/4• Global climate change will amplify theeffects of nutrient loadBSPC7|15 Ms Saara-Sofia Sirén,MP, BSPC Rapporteur on EutrophicationBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conference• Repairing the damage is a complex and time-consuming task• Results may become visible only after a longperiod of time• Circular economy is not about repairingConclusionsdamage that has already been done2/4 • Programs and strategies would still beneeded in order to reduce theeutrophication of the sea• Circular economy could lead to adoption ofa processes that would cause less harmBSPC8|15 Ms Saara-Sofia Sirén,MP, BSPC Rapporteur on EutrophicationBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conference• Eutrophication could be tackled• Holistic understanding of circular economywould be needed for adopting circulareconomy in legislative structures,international policy and therefore officialConclusionsacts and business practices.3/4 • Utilization of the circular economy requiresa new way of thinking. Change should besupported by legislative structures andpolicy.• For example agricultural subsidymechanismsBSPC9|15 Ms Saara-Sofia Sirén,MP, BSPC Rapporteur on EutrophicationBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conference• Focus should be put on national implementationof international agreements and strategies.• international relations, ways of cooperationand the overall economic situation greatlyConclusionsimpact the possibilities for effectiveimplementation of shared targets.4/4• It is critical that agriculture is viewed as thesolution rather than the problem.• Decisions based on up-to-date research dataBSPC10|15 Ms Saara-Sofia Sirén,MP, BSPC Rapporteur on EutrophicationBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceReport on the Exercise of the Observer Status of the Baltic SeaParliamentary Conference (BSPC) at theBaltic Marine Environment Protection Commission(Helsinki Commission - HELCOM)2019Sylvia Bretschneider & Saara-sofia sirénBSPC11|15 Ms Saara-Sofia Sirén,MP, BSPC Rapporteur on EutrophicationBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceIN MEMORIAMSylvia Bretschneider• Sylvia Bretschneider, President of the State Parliament ofMecklenburg-Vorpommern has passed away on 28. 04.2019 after a longand courageous battle against serious illness.• President of the BSPC in 2014-15• Chair of the BSPC Working Group on Sustainable Tourism 2015-2017• Member of the BSPC Standing Committee• Since 2002 observer of HELCOM• Her engagement and passion for the BSPC and HELCOM will be upheldand serve as an ambitious goal and inspiration for the states’ to continuethe great work on cooperation between the Baltic Sea States andachieving a healthy environment.BSPC12|15 Ms Saara-Sofia Sirén,MP, BSPC Rapporteur on EutrophicationBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conference• HELCOM celebrated its 40th Commission Meeting,that was held in Helsinki, Finland 6-9 March 2019. Itwas centered around the results from the SecondHolistic Assessment of the ecosystem health of theBaltic Sea ( HOLAS II) which was conducted andfinalized in mid 2018. Unfortunately, the reportrevealed, that most of the objectives of the BalticSea Action Plan (BSAP) will likely not be reached byOverviewits target year 2021. As a result, the MinisterialMeeting 2018 decided on a mandate to update theBSAP by 2021.• On 21st and 22nd march the Internationalenvironmental forum “Baltic Sea Days” celebratedthe 20 years of joint collaboration and progress inthe Baltic Sea area in St. Petersburg.BSPC13|15 Ms Saara-Sofia Sirén,MP, BSPC Rapporteur on EutrophicationBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conference• Update of the Baltic Sea Action Plan• provides a concrete plan for the HELCOM States and hasbeen adopted by all of them• Actions to evaluate and identify effective measures toreach GES in the Baltic Sea Marine region (ACTION)Main • Sufficiency of Measures (HELCOM SOM Platform)• Developments in achieving a GESDecisions in• New recommendation on threatened habitats andbiotopes2018-2019• New AIS data management• HELCOM BALEX DELTA Exercise in Karlskrona, Sweden• Alternative fuels for shipping in the Baltic Sea Region• Cooperation between OSPAR and HELCOM• BALTFISH cooperationBSPC14|15 Ms Saara-Sofia Sirén,MP, BSPC Rapporteur on EutrophicationBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conference• Strengthening Cooperation between the BSPCand HELCOMProspects for• Change of HELCOM’s executive Secretary2019 and• Mr. Rüdiger Stempel from Germanybeyond• Finlands Chairmanship and following GermanHELCOM Chairmanship 2020-2022BSPC15|15 Ms Saara-Sofia Sirén,MP, BSPC Rapporteur on EutrophicationBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceThank you!Saara-sofia.siren@parliament.fiTwitter: @saarasofia28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceTUESDAY 27 AUGUSTFOURTH SESSIONChair: Mr Pyry Niemi,MP, SwedenCo-Chair: Ms Carola Veit,MP, Hamburg«Migration & Integration andreports of Rapporteurs«Mr Hans Wallmark,MP, Chairman of the BSPC Working Group on Migration and Integration –Second Midway Report of the WGMs Rama Akid and Ms Sāra Zdanovska,Representatives of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Youth ForumMr Tuomas Martikainen,Director, Migration Institute of FinlandMs Annika Annerby Jansson,President Scania Regional Council and Ms Katarina Carlzen, Head CoordinatorPartnership Skåne, «Skåne Multilevel Best Practice on Integration»Mr J.rgen Pettersson,MP, Åland, Vice-President of the BSPC and Dr Tobias Etzold«Implementation of the 27th BSPC Resolution»Ms Sara Kemetter,MP on Sustainable Tourism28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceTUESDAY 27 AUGUSTFOURTH SESSIONMr Hans Wallmark,MP, Chairman of the BSPC WorkingGroup on Migration and Integration– Second Midway Report of the WGDear President of the BSPCDear Mme Speaker:Dear Colleagues,Ladies and Gentlemen,As a Swede, it is always a pleasure to come to Oslo and Stortinget. Not only do we have closehistorical ties to our Western neighbour. The relationship between our countries seems to growstronger by the day in almost every field. Migration is one of them. Today some 100 000 Swedeslive in Norway and to many young Swedes, Norway seems to be the new country of opportunity.No one knows what the migration flows between our countries will look like in the future, butone thing is for sure: migration in one direction or another is here to stay.The same can be said about migration in the rest of Europe and indeed throughout most parts ofthe world. Migration flows may go in different directions, but it is close to impossible to stop themovement of people.Mr Hans Wallmark,28 BSPCMP, Chairman of the BSPC Working Group on MigrationYEARS2|3 and Integration – Second Midway Report of the WGBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceAccording to a recent survey from the Standard Eurobarometer, the question about migration isthe number one topic for EU citizens. More than every third EU citizen, 34 percent to be exact,points out migration as the most important political question, far more important than for exam-ple climate change, the economic situation, terrorism or the environment.Since we are living in a globalized world, it is likely that migration will remain high up on theEuropean agenda for a considerable time. For this reason, it is also satisfying to see that there is ayoung generation who is ready and committed to face these challenges.In our last meeting in Schwerin in the end of May, the Working Group on Migration and Inte-gration was joined by the Parliamentary Baltic Sea Youth Forum. I think I can speak for us allthat it was very rewarding to get the youth’s perspective on migration and I feel confident that anew generation will continue to discuss these crucial matters even after the Working Group hascompleted its mission.In exactly one year the Working Group will present its final report in Vilnius. It is of course fartoo early to draw any final conclusions already now, but one thing is certain: we will all try tolearn from each other. Applying best practices when it comes to integration has been one of thethemes in the Working Group’s efforts.One problem with these topics is that they spread over so many different fields. Migration is of-ten a question revolving around international policy and various international agreements. Onlythrough far-sighted agreements to solve the causes of involuntary migration and by avoidingwars, natural disasters and famines can migration be controlled.Integration, on the other hand, is often dealt with locally. It takes place within the communities,at working places, in schools or in the daily interaction among different people. Combining theinternational perspective with a local perspective is one of the challenges.Mr Hans Wallmark,28 BSPCMP, Chairman of the BSPC Working Group on MigrationYEARS3|3 and Integration – Second Midway Report of the WGBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceAnother challenge is of course that every member country has its own set of historical experienc-es, traditions and political culture. It is no secret that the member states of the BSPC have differ-ent approaches to migration. What may work well in one country, may not work at all in another.Sometimes we might have to modify a policy to make it successful in our own environment.The most important is that we are open-minded and try to learn from each other’s successes andmistakes. That is what Baltic cooperation should be all about.To conclude, even though we have not reached our goal yet and still have a year of work aheadof us, I would like to thank all the members of the Working Group for their high-quality con-tributions. The intensive discussions and the harmonious atmosphere we have enjoyed so far isbecause of you. A warm thank you also to all those who support the work of the Group with thehighest level of commitment. Only through this highly committed cooperation is it possible toachieve results in such a difficult policy area.I wish you a very successful meeting here in Stortinget and I am convinced that the constructiveenvironment we have enjoyed so far within our Working Group will continue!28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceTUESDAY 27 AUGUSTFOURTH SESSIONMs Rama Akid andMs Sāra Zdanovska,Representatives of the Baltic SeaParliamentary Youth ForumSāra: Good morning ladies and gentlemen! Today we all have gathered here to cogitate and dis-cuss a very challenging topic as it requires using not only our logical thinking and prior knowl-edge but also empathy towards each other. For introductory purposes my name is Sāra Zdanovs-ka, I come from the Latvian branch of Youth Parliament of Latvia and today holds a specialplace in my heart as I am exceptionally honoured to stand in front of you all with the wonderfulRama Akid, a refugee from Syria that now lives in Germany and is a youth representative fromparliament of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. With that being said we will continue to introduce toyou the outcome of our previous discussion about migration and integration from the BSYF inSchwerin this May, where we were able to work in our own working groups and come to a con-clusion about our vision of the future for a modern Baltic Sea region.Sāra: Firstly, during our session, we understood that in some way or form we all are migrantsourselves. The process of migration is inevitable and has been happening throughout history,therefor we should realise that being accepting is the only humane path that any one of us cantake. At the same time, we should take in to consideration that we can’t act on this issue without aplan nor if we don’t have recourses for these actions, as in the 21st century land is not just some-thing you can stand on, it has historical, political and economic value.28 BSPCMs Rama Akid and Ms Sāra Zdanovska,YEARS2|11 Representatives of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Youth ForumBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceRama: When any discussion is formed, we have to start with the reason behind it. In the case ofour event, the reason is quite obviously migration.Why do people leave their own country and choose to start living in another?The answers to this question can be extraordinarily varied. It can be love, education, work. Infact, truly the reason for migrating could be anything. Furthermore, as separate cases are unique,there are different laws in action for each occurrence. Therefore, we can dissect Migration intomany parts depending on the circumstances, time or on the Legal status.But as always, of course there is a time limit to our presentation, hence during this small speechI will talk about Migration in EU from my personal point of view and describe positive as well asnegative aspects of it.As there are multiple types of migration, this variability gives immigrants more opportunities forstaying in EU. For example, if a person is entering the EU with a student Visa and after finishingtheir studies they are able to find a job and change their residence permit to a work visa the mi-grant can indefinitely extend his stay in the country he wishes to live in. And even more import-ant is that after a fixed duration and under certain conditions he can then apply for nationality.As a negative aspect I have to mention that local denizens await that the immigrants would bejust like them, which I think is unfair and not as simple as these nationally minded people think.In addition, the immigration recognition system is very complicated, which obstructs the profes-sional life for most of the immigrants.Sāra: After comprehending everything that we thought about previously and discussed in theworld café, we are ready to express our wishes and recommendations from both of our sides, thatwe as young people hope will be taken in consideration by the real politicians while building ourfuture. Here are some of the clauses we have come up with:• Firstly, we concluded that there is no better way of stimulating integration than making an ef-fort to have both sides work together, just like me and Rama are doing today. We believe thatnewcomers should be able to politically participate, namely, making their own councils in someof the regions that could work as advisors for the country’s politicians in the matters that con-cern migration as a whole.• Secondly, education is crucial in order to make logical decisions, therefore, we believe that par-liaments of countries could use, for example, media, to inform the society about the newcom-ers, spreading information about where they come from, reasons they come, etc. At the same28 BSPCMs Rama Akid and Ms Sāra Zdanovska,YEARS3|11 Representatives of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Youth ForumBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conferencetime, we believe that asylum seekers should know about the place they are going to call theirhome, at least for some time. Brochures, events or other introductory means made possible byvolunteers would most definitely help.• Thirdly, desegregation — an action that I personally believe is very effective if understood andused correctly. I have seen it in real life. The idea is that we don’t accommodate all immigrants/migrants in the same place. That way they are forced to talk with locals and integrate in to thesociety• Our Fourth recommendation regards Involvement of youth councils like student councils inschools, that could help young newcomers integrate by having local “ambassadors” or mentorsthat voluntarily and personally could guide the immigrants through the rough stages of inte-grating into a completely foreign culture.• Finally, I have to trace back to the beginning and once again highlight the importance of educa-tion, however, this time in the context of an education recognition system. We have high hopesto see this system working more efficiently in the future, namely, without obstructing anyone’sprofessional life by excluding them from working in their professional field, and in the longterm reducing a person’s motivation to work, study and integrate into the society.Thank You for your attention!BSPC4|11 Ms Rama Akid and Ms Sāra Zdanovska,Representatives of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Youth ForumBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMigration and IntegrationReport from the BSYFSāra ZdanovskaRama AkidBSPC5|11 Ms Rama Akid and Ms Sāra Zdanovska,Representatives of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Youth ForumBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceBSPC6|11 Ms Rama Akid and Ms Sāra Zdanovska,Representatives of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Youth ForumBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceWar LoveProsecution MIGRATION Religious reasonsSexual orientation EducationBSPC7|11 Ms Rama Akid and Ms Sāra Zdanovska,Representatives of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Youth ForumBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceKinds of migrationLegalTemporaryTime Law ZeitplänePermanentIllegalBSPC8|11 Ms Rama Akid and Ms Sāra Zdanovska,Representatives of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Youth ForumBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMigration law in EUPOSITIVE NEGATIVEThere are many kinds of residence permitsThey expect the Immigrants to be just like thethat give the immigrants many chanceslocal peopleto stayThe education recognition system is veryThe right to apply for nationality complicated and that obstructs the professionallife for most of the immigrantsBSPC9|11 Ms Rama Akid and Ms Sāra Zdanovska,Representatives of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Youth ForumBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceImmigration ProblemsEducational differencesDifference of cultures and The Weather plays a bigbetween the countries areReligionsare the most psychological role in thebreaking many dreams of thecommon problems for both mental health of migrantsimmigrantssidesApplying for a job is difficult as theThe language is the mainjob market is so different.impediment to integrationBSPC10|11 Ms Rama Akid and Ms Sāra Zdanovska,Representatives of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Youth ForumBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceWishes and RecommendationsCountries being educated about newcomersand vice versaDesegregationPolitical participationInvolvement of youth councilsEducationBSPC11|11 Ms Rama Akid and Ms Sāra Zdanovska,Representatives of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Youth ForumBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceThank you for you attention!28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceTUESDAY 27 AUGUSTFOURTH SESSIONMr Tuomas Martikainen,Director, MigrationInstitute of FinlandTuomas MartikainenMr Martikainen, Director of the Migration Institute of Finland, took the floor. He noted that hiscolleague, Mr (I did not understand that at all), had drafted the report but was unable to jointhe conference that day. The speaker went on to say that the Migration Institute of Finland wasa publicly funded, non-partisan research institute, active in both academic and applied research.Regarding his preparation, he had thought of a man who looked a little bit like Santa Claus or amember of ZZ Top. This was a Dutch academic of the name Rinus Penninx, a very well-knownfigure in European migration and integration circles who had retired by this time. Once, MrPenninx had spoken about the meetings regarding migrant integration that had been held for thefirst time in the 1980s with colleagues from France, Germany, the UK. The academic had notedthat the attendees had not understood each other. Everyone had thought that the system theyhad in their own respective country was the best and didn’t comprehend why other countries didcertain things differently. The key was that the attendees had been looking through their nationallenses.Mr Martikainen argued that the situation was, to some extent, still the same. Obviously, politi-cians and societies had grown up to some degree and were viewing the world from that perspec-tive. There were very different histories in terms of immigration – was it post-World War, was itafter the end of the Cold War, or was it even more recent. More differences lay in which countriesimmigration had been coming from.28 BSPCMr Tuomas Martikainen,YEARS2|17 Director, Migration Institute of FinlandBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceHe posed the question who a migrant was. This, Mr Martikainen went on, should be an obviousthing because most of the countries in question were following the United Nations definition ofmigrants. In practice, though, such concerns were raised as to whether ethnic returnees weremigrants. These might have lived elsewhere for several generations. Conversely, he noted peoplewhose families had moved to another country generations ago and if those should still be consid-ered migrants. These issues came up whenever one looked at statistics, trying to figure out theirbackground.Another question was what integration was. Societies in the concerned nations were different,and the differences within the countries could be vast. The speaker pointed out that views on theissue were completely different in e.g. northern Finland and Lapland from that in Helsinki.For those countries that were members of the European Union, the EU harmonisation processeshad provided far more common ground to discuss this issue. But Mr Martikainen saw one aspectthat was perfectly clear, namely that it was still necessary to talk.Regarding the report itself, the speaker stated that two reports had been conducted. One hadfocused primarily on asylum reception, with several other factors on a secondary level. The otherreport had concentrated on migration-related issues. Mr Martikainen pointed out that the issuesof 2015 were casting a long shadow on the present day, still affecting the current debate. He be-lieved that 2015 created a false impression of what migration was about. The television images ofmasses of people moving – or ‘invading’, as some people would say – belied that migration hadoccurred throughout humankind’s history. The reality of migration and integration was muchmore mundane, dull and everyday.He insisted that should not be forgotten, even though there were many views on these issues.From the list of recommendations, he had taken three things that he wanted to share with hisaudience. They were quite simple, Mr Martikainen said, because these were good to remember.Regarding best practices, many good efforts had been implemented across the Baltic Sea areaover the past years. Nonetheless, it should not be forgotten that over the last two or three de-cades, thousands and thousands of development projects had been conducted across Europe.The speaker mentioned that he had done a survey on Finland ten years earlier. At the time, heestimated that there had been more than 500 migrant-related projects in operation.He asked why these should be looked at. The answer was that there was a common thread tothem, that the wheel had been reinvented again and again. An incredible amount of energy hadgone into this reinvention. Mr Martikainen encouraged the BSPC to make a thorough effort towork with organisations like the OECD which was doing a great job regarding migrant integra-tion issues. The BSPC could look for example at the work of the Nordic Welfare Centre that had28 BSPCMr Tuomas Martikainen,YEARS3|17 Director, Migration Institute of FinlandBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conferencebeen gathering best practices after 2015. Lessons could also be learned from the work of the MI-PEX index groups. Many things, he stated, had already been done.One thing about best practices, he underlined, was that they should remember that there was nomagic formula. There was no one-size-fits-all solution. Equally certain was that the grassrootspeople knew the reality well. Mr Martikainen referred to a dear colleague, Mr Pasi Saukkonen,who worked for the city of Helsinki and had accomplished much in a long career on migrationresearch. Mr Saukkonen had said that, in the academic’s opinion, Finland might have the bestintegration policy, but – in light of his comparative research across Europe – the question waswhere the money was.Mr Martikainen underlined that it was not only about having the right idea but also about prior-itizing and providing the resources once they were needed.Another issue lurking in the background were questions about the labour market. The speakeroffered his belief that future labour markets were a large question mark. At the moment, therewas demand for labour in many places for a number of reasons, but it was unknown how longthat would last. Demographic change was occurring not only in northern and eastern Europe.This raised the question how nations should deal with this problem. In the speaker’s mind, help-ing the most vulnerable was the approach that usually cost the most at the beginning but yieldedthe best long-term outcomes. The reason for that was that this provided a better guarantee thatthose less well-off in society did not transmit their poverty to the next generation. Mr Martikain-en pointed out that this was for example what EU-funded projects had targeted.The speaker went on about the importance of creating better cooperation between sending anddestination countries. Mr Martikainen noted that he was involved in several initiatives, e.g. howto improve the general economic wellbeing in Finland and whether work-related immigrationcould assist in that. It seemed like a zero-sum game. The idea was that one side should strive todo as well as they could before others could arrive. He conceded that Finland was lagging behindin this regard. Nonetheless, this might be an area of interest for international cooperation as well.Mr Martikainen came to his final point. Integration was complex. He did say that was not becausehe was a scientifically schooled person where everything was complex for his peers. Instead, thecomplexity arose from there being so many migrants. They were truly a representation of theworld rather than a bizarre selection that happened in different countries. Migrants were arrivingfor a variety of reasons. In light of that, the speaker reiterated that there could be no one-size-fits-all solution. Yet there was a good side to this complexity, he underlined. Once a realistic point ofview could be developed on how to go forward, that would enable better decision-making.He concluded by returning to Rinus Penninx, the Dutch migration academic, and specifically to28 BSPCMr Tuomas Martikainen,YEARS4|17 Director, Migration Institute of FinlandBaltic Sea Parliamentary Conferencethe 1980s when researchers who had dedicated their lives to the issue could not understand eachother. Mr Martikainen said that now, they understood. They had made an effort to comprehendover the past decades, through meeting and learning from each other. The world had benefitedfrom this endeavour. With that in mind, Mr Martikainen wished the BSPC good luck in its work.The speaker made himself available for questions right after his speech.A Finnish representative, Ms Mari Rantanen, wondered how integration was measured. She not-ed that some countries gauged the money that was spent, and as such she liked to know what themeasuring stick for integration was.Mr Martikainen said that there was no absolute measure. A simple approach had been takenby economists, but that was facing severe technical problems. In this approach, economists haddeveloped a variety of calculations based on, among others, monetary values. The speaker notedthat he would like to expand the issue, fully aware how sensitive the issue was. One aspect ofmigration was public acceptability. In his view, it was fair to say that immigration had broughtabout sufficiently significant demographic and other changes to their society and probably wouldcontinue to do so. If there was no public support for this, he saw adverse results. Regarding thetechnicalities, he said that other aspects might be considered, such as the MIPEX index on mi-grant integration policy which looked into a number of policy fields. But it had to be noted thatthis was a policy analysis. Another approach would be that by economists. Mr Martikainen em-phasised that there was not one single measure.Mr Atis Lejinš, Baltic Assembly noted that his country had accepted 550 refugees. The nation hadset this limit because their capabilities could not handle more. Representatives had interviewedthe refugees in Greece, Italy and Turkey before allowing them into the country. Yet all of theserefugees had disappeared as soon as they had received residence permits, heading for Germany.They were receiving money both from Latvia and Germany. He wondered what a possible solu-tion to that was. As an addendum, the delegate noted that the law had been changed since, so thatrefugees leaving the country no longer received benefits from Latvia.Mr Martikainen saw a similarity in this issue to that of state schools training doctors for publicservice. After graduation, these doctors went into the private sector rather than support publichospitals. The basic diagnosis for the speaker was the same. Latvia could not change itself thatquickly. In that sense, some of the migrant groups – not just asylum-seekers or people grantedprotection – were looking at alternative opportunities elsewhere. He did not see any easy solutionto the question.BSPC5|17 Mr Tuomas Martikainen,Director, Migration Institute of FinlandBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceBaltic Sea Region Governments’Immigration and Integration Policy:Policy Assessment and RecommendationsAuthor: Matti Välimäki, Migration Institute of Finland, mtaval@utu.fiBSPC6|17 Mr Tuomas Martikainen,Director, Migration Institute of FinlandBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceBackground• BSPC Working Group on Migration and Integration (WGMI)conducted two surveys (2018 and 2019)• to map the immigration and immigrant integration policies in the region, learnfrom the best practices and develop proposals to improve cooperation in planningmigration and immigrant integration policies• Spring 2019: BSPC general secretariat commissioned the MigrationInstitute of Finland and researcher Matti Välimäki to assess andanalyse the responses submitted by the respective governmentalbodies of BSPC to the 2018 survey.• Later in the spring, the responses to the 2019 survey were sent to the author. àThese were considered secondary material since analysis was already ongoing.• Instructions from behalf of WGMI to the Migration Institute ofFinland were rather loose:• Assessment of policies with possibly some policy recommendationsBSPC7|17 Mr Tuomas Martikainen,Director, Migration Institute of FinlandBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceData: WGMI 2018 and 2019surveys• 2018 survey (primary material):• 2019 survey (secondary material):- 15 questions- 9 questions- 10 member countries- 10 member countries- 4 member regions- 3 member regions- 186 pages- 81 pages- Themes: asylum, dual citizenship, work- Themes: Numbers of asylum applicants,permits, advisory services forvoluntary returns, evictions, and forcedimmigrants, courses provided by thereturns, monthly cost per month ofgovernments, benefits provided fordifferent categories of migrants, themigrants, family reunification, evictions,practices of the governments of combatingunaccompanied minor asylum applicants,occurrences of social control in the migrantmonthly costs per different categories ofpopulation, measures to prevent formationmigrants, accommodation, andof segregated migrant communities, bestinvolvement of volunteers.practices that have proved beneficial forsuccessful integration, and best practices ofprograms on language and culture educationBSPC8|17 Mr Tuomas Martikainen,Director, Migration Institute of FinlandBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceOn findingsBSPC9|17 Mr Tuomas Martikainen,Director, Migration Institute of FinlandBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceThemesMain focus Great many issues were touchedupon in the surveys.1. Asylum seekers• Not possible to cover all issues2. Immigrant integrationthoroughly (e.g. costs of migration orbest practices) in the assessment• Not possible to give thorough assessment• Assessment focuses on common of individual member governments’practices and possibilities for regulations and policies.enhanced discussion on finding à It would require more time and resources.more common ground onmigration and integration policyà More discussion and possiblyamong BSPC governmentsin-depth surveys on specificimmigration and/or immigrantpolicy fields needed in the WGMI• Policy analysis separatesthemes to (1) immigration and(2) immigrant policiesBSPC10|17 Mr Tuomas Martikainen,Director, Migration Institute of FinlandBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceConvergence ordifferentiation?• Needs to be discussed among the WGMI members:Would the overall aim be?(1) More convergence between BSPC states and regions in therealm of migration and integration policies? OR(2) Differentiation based on national / regional viewpoints? OR(3) Selective adaptation of the best practices or ’commonsolutions’ among BSPC members?BSPC11|17 Mr Tuomas Martikainen,Director, Migration Institute of FinlandBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceOn suggestionsBSPC12|17 Mr Tuomas Martikainen,Director, Migration Institute of FinlandBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceAims of suggestions• Enhance and stimulate conversation among BSPCmembers• Often impossible to give ready-made solutions• National, regional and local differences and traditions• Different policy goals of regions and states• Best practices• From whose point of view? (public authority, state, region, migrant?)• How to measure and decide which are ’best’? (This is context-specific.)• Combining WGMI surveys’ findings with other organizations’ findingscould be beneficial.BSPC13|17 Mr Tuomas Martikainen,Director, Migration Institute of FinlandBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceI. Suggestions / questions forfurther discussion• On asylum policy:1. Harmonization of practices concerning reception and processbetween EU states and non-EU-states?2. A common origin country data collection services or database orenhanced collaboration in this field?3. Could there be possibility to come up with minimum standards ofreception facilities, services and deportation practices for minorasylum seekers that secure the basic and human rights of thechildren?4. It would be worthwhile to discuss whether the current familyreunification regulations provide sufficient circumstances for theright to family life to be fulfilled for migrants living in BSPCmembers’ jurisdictions.BSPC14|17 Mr Tuomas Martikainen,Director, Migration Institute of FinlandBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceII. Suggestions / questions forfurther discussion• On migration and labour markets:1. Multinational cooperation and coordination to balanceundesirable developments such as labour shortages and labouroversupply?2. Supporting the employment of certain groups of immigrants(e.g. international students, housewives or younger and olderimmigrants)?BSPC15|17 Mr Tuomas Martikainen,Director, Migration Institute of FinlandBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceIII. Suggestions / questions forfurther discussion• On immigrant integration:1. Multifaceted character of immigrant integration needs to beacknowledged, and this understanding should be put into practice on thelevel of legislation and policies.2. How the public policies can facilitate the desirable working conditionsof the NGOs and informal networks to strengthen immigrant integration?3. How and if the three-way integration (i.e. (a) the integration ofimmigrants to the practices of the host society, (b) the adaptation of thehost society to the diversification of the citizens’ backgrounds andpractices of the members of a society and (c) the role the countries oforigin play in integration) is acknowledged in the BSPC states and regions?4. How and if good relations within the population and diverse society’sability to function are promoted by public action?BSPC16|17 Mr Tuomas Martikainen,Director, Migration Institute of FinlandBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceIV. Suggestions / questions forfurther discussion• On data collection1. (a) The questions should be as precise as possible regarding thenecessary information and the level of accuracy required. (b) Responsesshould be reviewed, and incomplete answers should result in queries formore information.2. More comprehensive understanding and data on local level trends in theBSPC region are needed.3. BSPC surveys should be considered to be repeated every 3 to 5 years toenhance understanding on the developments of policy convergence anddifferentiation.4. Information and lessons learned gathered by other organizations (e.g.OECD, Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX), the Nordic Welfare Centreand the International Organization for Migration (IOM)) could be combinedin the future with the data collected by the BSPC members.BSPC17|17 Mr Tuomas Martikainen,Director, Migration Institute of FinlandBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceThank you!www.migrationinstitute.fiMatti Välimäki, mtaval@utu.fi28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceTUESDAY 27 AUGUSTFOURTH SESSIONMs Annika Annerby Jansson,President Scania Regional Council andMs Katarina Carlzen,Head Coordinator Partnership Skåne,«Skåne Multilevel Best Practice onIntegration»Thank you very much,for giving us the opportunity to contribute from Skåne to the BSPC Working Group on Migra-tion –Integration. ... a challenge with great growth potential for our society not least in Skånewith more than 170 nationalities ...Forced migration is a great risks to both physical and mental health.Our general integration system does not take this into account sufficiently, which is highlightedby the Swedish Association of Regional andLocal Authorities and the Swedish Public Health Authority.It’s crucial for us all to deal with this at all levels, for the European Union,for Sweden, the regions and municipalities and we need to do it together in a complimentaryway ... as migration is not going to decline, quite the opposite. In addition to war and conflicts... - poverty and climate change are becoming increasingly significant causes of migration.Our multilevel platform, Partnership Skåne, has proven to be successful giving migrant’s oppor-tunities for empowerment, health and social participation.The project started already in 2008 and was adopted as a model for cross sectorial collaborationand holistic development, in order to support the integration process. The aim is to facilitateand speed up the process for the newly arrived to become an active part of the community life,development and growth.Ms Annika Annerby Jansson, President Scania Regional Council28 BSPCand Ms Katarina Carlzen, Head Coordinator Partnership Skåne,YEARS2|3 «Skåne Multilevel Best Practice on Integration»Baltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceSome of you know about the development of migration to Sweden in recent years. Up till theearly spring of 2015 Sweden had received a rather steady number of asylum seekers 30 000- 40000 per year. Higher numbers of course than most of our neighbours but something we felt thatwe could handle.During late spring and fall of 2015 Sweden - because of a number of circumstances - becameone of the main goals for refugees particularly coming through the Balkan Route. We thinkthat the total amount of refugees for 2015 was round 160 000 - I say “We think”, because of thechaotic situation many were not registered at all.During a couple of months Sweden received more than 10 000 refugees per week and most ofthem came through the region of Skåne.We were then, together with Germany, the country that received the largest number per capita.In this chaotic situation in Skåne - probably resembling situations in the Mediterranean coun-tries - there was an enormous effort to solve the acute emergency situation and not least toassess the situation as a whole. It could not have been done without all levels of society andNGOs, but also a large number of ordinary people not being part of groups or NGOs that sim-ply cared, worked and made an enormous difference.This is just the background picture because when the reception faze is over and the immigrantshave been allotted a place to stay during the asylum process, that’s when our project can start towork ...Partnership Skåne was really put into test in the extreme situation 2015/16.The whole point of PS is the multi-level way of working!Together we have designed a joint strategy – Region Skåne, the County Administrative Boardand the Skåne Association of Local Authorities. We share responsibility, national, regionaland local authorities together with civil society and academia. A common strategy is of coursemandatory but even more important is that it also translates into concrete practice with ourdifferent and complementary roles ...Parts of the method have been transferred to large parts of Sweden and we are now conductinga process to support national capacity development in migration, health and participation inthe MILSA education platform.Ms Annika Annerby Jansson, President Scania Regional Council28 BSPCand Ms Katarina Carlzen, Head Coordinator Partnership Skåne,YEARS3|3 «Skåne Multilevel Best Practice on Integration»Baltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceAll of Sweden’s counties are involved, together with more than150 municipalities, five universities and a large number of NGOs.WHO maintains that there is basically very few other places in the world ... where models andmethods to improve migrants’ opportunities for health, well-being and social inclusion work aswell as in Skåne and that it therefore ought to work as inspiration for others to create their ownmodels.Still ... it is sometimes easier said than done and of course we continuously need to develop andfine-tune methods and communication regarding for instance options within EU and interna-tionalization.Our membership in the CPMR – Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions, is thereforeindeed helpful, both in a BSR- and EU-context. Through the CPMR we are influencing policyand programming in Migration-Integration and we just recently received the positive news thatour proposal to the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) has been accepted. Thismeans that Sweden and Skåne will now also be able to share best practice on European level.I am looking forward to continuing the discussion with BSPC, finding synergies this autumnas we will also be present at the European Forum on Integration of Migrants and Refugees inHamburg 24-25 October, where we plan to arrange a work-shop on transnational Best Practicedevelopment.Even if the number of asylum seekers arriving in Sweden has diminished and is back to previ-ous numbers - we are still the country that receive the largest number per capita in Europe. Sothere is a lot of work to be done for many many years ...Katarina, what is it all about?28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceTUESDAY 27 AUGUSTFOURTH SESSIONMr Jörgen Pettersson,MP, Åland, Vice-Presidentof the BSPC«Implementation of the27th BSPC Resolution»Check against delivery. Only the speech as given has any validity.Shipping make the world go around. Thanks to dedicated shipowners and brave and professionalseafarers we are able to buy cars that has been manufactured in Japan and cellphones produced inChina. We can eat fresh bananas every day, if we so choose, and healthy vegetables wherever wemight be in the world. Thanks to the people and the vessels in the offshore-industry Norway is awealthy country and with the help of sophisticated maritime infrastructure you can travel wher-ever you want at a reasonable cost. Shipping is life and our oceans are something that connectsus all and make our world smaller and in fact better. Trade is life and without ships there wouldbe no trade.The purpose of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference is to make the Baltic Sea Region a rolemodel for the rest of the world when it comes to ecological and economical standards and quite afew other areas. That is brave and inspiring and something we all should aim at: to become a littlebit better every day. As parliamentarians we are able to change policies, BSPC is the thinktankthat can make governments act. In shipping we have succeeded. Not only BSPC but together withother policymakers such as International Maritime Organization and other international bodiesthe Baltic Sea today can be described as a small sea with great ambitions.In this report on developments in Integrated Maritime Policy you will for example learn moreabout blue biotechnology, how the vision amongst the scientists are aiming to become realityamongst sailors. It has not been printed but you will find it on the website and it will change theway you look at maritime businesses. Europe make difference. Roughly 90 % of world trade isMr Jörgen Pettersson,28 BSPC2|3 MP, Åland, Vice-President of the BSPCYEARS«Implementation of the 27th BSPC Resolution»Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conferencecarried by ships. 76 % of the EU’s external trade is shipped by sea, and European shipownerscontrol 40 % of the world’s fleet.In our work we have taken part in numerous conferences and meetings where the shipping in-dustry identifies challenges in order to change to the better. The shipping companies have histor-ically lived a life far from transparency, what happened at sea stayed at sea. That is not the casenowadays. Stronger regulations have improved the transparency and also pushed the develop-ment into a greener and more sustainable future. In the report thera are more to read about thebold initiative from IMO which will reduce the emissions from shipping dramatically, despite thefact that the goods transported will increase worldwide. The decision from IMO means that theGreen House Gases from shipping should peak as soon as possible and to reduce the total annualGHG emissions by at least 50 % by 2050 compared to 2008, while, at the same time, pursuingefforts towards phasing them out entirely.Highlighted areas which we have highlighted in our report are also gender equality, safety, sus-tainability, automation, digitalization, sulphur cap, blue growth and marine litter. All of that willchange the reality in shipping to the better. We see for real what we have dreamt of in many years.The IT-generation meets the old school shipping industry and miracle will take place. We arethere today and the use of dirty fuel is soon to be old and the future brighter. There are still a longway to go but in shipping the first and most important steps have been taken.The Baltic Sea Region (BSR) is a vital part of the global maritime industry. Since 2015, the Balticbecame a part of the Sulphur Emission Control Area (SECA), where only low-sulphur fuel orscrubbers are allowed. In 2020, the rest of the world will follow, which puts the operators in theBaltic Sea in a good position in terms of technical knowledge. The cluster is vital for the economicand social development in the BSR and the rest of the world. The Baltic Sea Region have togetherwith the North Sea been the role model we so dearly would like it to be. We are not perfect, veryfew are, but as long we are a little bit better than the rest of the world it is good enough!Finally let me express my sincere thanks to my collegue as Maritime Rapporteur Jochen Schulteand our Secretary Ms. Carmen Holhlfeld from the Landtag Mecklenburg-Vorpommern who in aprofessional manner have structured loads of information into a comprehensive and instructivereport. I started with stating that shipping makes the world go around. By reading this report Iassure you that your understanding of the maritime world will be deeper and that you will look atships at sea with greater respect in the future. They might be carrying you next mobile, computeror your fresh bananas.28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceTUESDAY 27 AUGUSTFOURTH SESSIONDr Tobias Etzold«Implementation of the27th BSPC Resolution»Policy Analysis – Baltic Sea RegionGovernments’ statements regarding theimplementation of the27th Baltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceResolutionPresentation at 28th BSPC, Oslo, 27 August 2019Dr. Tobias Etzold, Berlin28 BSPC2|8 Dr Tobias Etzold«Implementation of the 27th BSPC Resolution» YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceBasicsà•12 governmental responses two fewerthan in 2018.•The twelve submitted statements varyconsiderably in thematic depth, length andstructure.•As the Resolution, gov. statements onaverage shorter than in previous years.28 BSPC3|8 Dr Tobias Etzold«Implementation of the 27th BSPC Resolution» YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceStructure of Resolution, correspondingstatements and Analysis•Preamble•“Cooperation in the Region”•“Vision of a Healthy Baltic Sea”•“Sustainable Energy, Smart energydistribution platforms”,•“Migration and Integration”,•“Economic development and growth in theBaltic Sea region”.28 BSPC4|8 Dr Tobias Etzold«Implementation of the 27th BSPC Resolution» YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceAssessments of thematic areas•All thematic sections and most paragraphsaddressed by at least several governments.•Statements include both national as well astransnational measures.•The analysis focuses on the latter but also givesa number of examples of the former.•Those national and transnational measures thatare linked with each other of particular interest.28 BSPC5|8 Dr Tobias Etzold«Implementation of the 27th BSPC Resolution» YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMain messages and recommendations•Submitted statements underline the notionthat the responding governments havethtaken the 27 BSPC Resolution seriously.•Statements overall contain a lot ofinteresting and useful information onimplemented as well as planned activities.•Broad and rich picture of the cooperationnetworks across the Baltic Sea Region.28 BSPC6|8 Dr Tobias Etzold«Implementation of the 27th BSPC Resolution» YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMain messages and recommendations•A lot in terms of structures is already inplace in the BSR.•Existing structures could and should beused more effectively and efficiently inorder to achieve the objectives as outlinedin the Resolution.28 BSPC7|8 Dr Tobias Etzold«Implementation of the 27th BSPC Resolution» YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMain messages and recommendations•Several statements straight to the point offeringspecific and informative answers. Others rathergeneral and descriptive.•Several statements read like technical exerciseswithout revealing high political ambitions.•Standard of comprehensiveness and quality aswell as of concreteness and thoroughness couldand should be increased even more in thefuture.28 BSPC8|8 Dr Tobias Etzold«Implementation of the 27th BSPC Resolution» YEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceMain messages and recommendations•Systematization of the method - different topicsevery year, the same only every second year -and extending the reporting period to two years.•Future Resolutions and governmentalstatements need to be even more aware of thegeneral political climate and possible changes.•Be more explicit about the ramifications of thechanged environment and related challenges,and elaborate how the still existing cleavagescould be overcome.28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceTUESDAY 27 AUGUSTCLOSING OF THE28th BSPCChair: Mr Jorodd AsphjellMP, NorwayPresident of the BSPCCo-Chair: Mr Valerijus SimulikLithuania,Vice-President of the BSPCMr Valerijus SimulikMP, Lithuania, Incoming President of the BSPCclosing speech at 28 BSPCMr Jorodd AsphjellMP, NorwayPresident of the BSPCclosing speech at 28 BSPC28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceTUESDAY 27 AUGUSTCLOSING OF THE28th BSPCMr Valerijus SimulikMP, Lithuania,Incoming President of the BSPCclosing speech at 28 BSPCDear President, dear Jorodd,On behalf of everyone present here, thank you and thanks to the Stortinget for having hosted the28th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference in a genuine atmosphere with generous hospitality as wellas inspiring discussions and debate. I believe I speak for all of us present when I say that this has beenan excellent conference! It is always a pleasure to visit Norway and the impressive city of Oslo. Thishas been a perfect venue for the BSPC!Both the parliament building as well as the city and the country are something extraordinary. Thisparliament, with its long tradition, has once again deeply internalised the fundamental importance ofparliamentarism and parliaments. Oslo and Norway as a whole have allowed us to look beyond theBaltic Sea. We’ve become aware that our decisions on maintaining the health of the Baltic Sea con-tribute to the protection of the seas as a whole. The better we are in the Baltic region in this respect,the more we can influence developments in other seas as a best practice example.This conference again underlined the vital importance of international parliamentary cooperation– especially in times of crisis.The decisions we made include the expectation to move our macro-region another step closer to abetter future. This conference gave us the possibility to get to knownew colleagues from other parliaments, ministers and experts. And it has been an opportunity todeepen long-standing friendships. I hopefully will meet most of you again.Thank you, Jorodd, for the professional and open-minded way you’ve led the work within the BSPCsince we met in Mariehamn a year ago.Mr Valerijus Simulik28 BSPC2|2 MP, Lithuania, Incoming President of the BSPCYEARSclosing speech at 28 BSPCBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceThanks to everyone involved in the programme. It was very inspiring, and I think we all have learneda lot.I would especially like to thank the working people... and of course the interpreters! You have alldone a great job!Next year, I will invite you to Vilnius (August 22 until 25). After 15 years, the BSPC will come back toLithuania. The landscape may be the same; many historical buildings are the same, although restoredand attractive again. But society and life have fundamentally developed since 2005.We are an open-minded society, we want to have peace and fruitful cooperation, stability and safety.We will meet in our new parliament hall.During our Presidency, we want to place a special emphasis on what is particularly close to ourhearts: a boost to innovation through science and technology and their interaction to achieve betteradded value in economic development based on science.We want to push innovation on our way to a better future.We need innovative impulses not only to increase our prosperity but moreover - as was shown in theclimate discussions but also concerning the health of the oceans during this conference -, we want toget control back over our environment and solve problems intelligently.And of course, this is all only possible if we live in a stable environment with stable democracies,peaceful and close neighbourliness around us based on democratic values, the Rule of Law, humanrights and equal opportunities for everyone.It is worth all the effort to deepen cooperation and integration for a secure and prosperous Baltic Searegion.Let’s work on safeguarding and strengthening our parliamentary cooperation, especially in the faceof common challenges.We want all you parliaments and parliamentary organisations but also the CBSS and all our govern-ments and partners to support us with your ideas, your commitment, your collaboration and yourfriendship for the sake of further prosperous development of our unique Baltic Sea Region.Let’s begin our Lithuanian BSPC journey.28 BSPCYEARSBaltic Sea Parliamentary ConferenceTUESDAY 27 AUGUSTCLOSING OF THE28th BSPCMr Jorodd AsphjellMP, NorwayPresident of the BSPCclosing speech at 28 BSPCMembers of Parliament,Ladies and Gentlemen,Dear delegates,To most things in life, there is a beginning, and there is an end.Now dear colleagues, we have reached the end of this conference. I would like to take this oppor-tunity to warmly thank you for making it so useful, productive and enjoyable. Thank you for yourhard work, for your kind support of the different Chairs and Vice Chairs of our sessions, Vice-Chair Jørgen Pettersson and myself. It has been a great honour to serve as your host as Presidentof the BSPC.Thank you also so much to our secretariat and interpreters, for making us able to do our workand be able to communicate so well.I sincerely hope that the discussions and debates have given you food for thought and inspirationfor your work back home. I believe that conferences like this are very important for building uptrust and deepening ties between our countries, for making us grow closer as Baltic Sea countries.We have heard the incoming President of the BSPC, Mr Valerijus Simulik, present Lithuania’splans for their presidency next year. Listening to him, I am sure that next year’s conference willbe very successful. I am already looking forward to seeing you again in Lithuania in 2020.I now declare the 28th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference closed.Thank you, or as we say in Norwegian “a thousand thanks”- “tusen takk”,and have a safe journey home!