Closing words Niemi at 30 BSPC

30TH BSPC: CLOSING SESSIONClosing words by the BSPC PresidentSpeaker: Mr Pyry Niemi, President by the BSPC 2020-2022Ladies and gentlemen,I now open the Closing Session of the Digital 30th Baltic Sea ParliamentaryConference.At first, I’m inviting you to adopt the Resolution of the 30th Annual Conference.As always, I would like to remind everyone that we can only decide by unanimousconsent.However, there is one matter that I would like to address first.The members of the Working Group have already informed us about the details intoday's Conference: Our Working Group on Climate Change and Biodiversity, chairedby my esteemed colleague Cecilie Tenfjord-Toftby, has presented an excellent andvery substantial interim report. Their calls for action fed into our Resolution of today.Unfortunately, the working group has so far only been able to hold digital sessions dueto pandemic-related restrictions. It will hold another digital session this autumn but willonly be able to start on-site sessions next year. In addition, today's contributions to thetopic have once again made clear how complex and comprehensive the issue is. Thatis why the Working Group - also against the background that we have planned our nextAnnual Conference for 12-14 June 2022 - has unanimously proposed extending theWorking Group's mandate for another year. The Group will then present the final reportduring the 32nd Annual Conference 2023 in Berlin. Since the Working Group wasestablished by the Annual Conference, it seems best if the BSPC also decides on themandate for the extension.Therefore, my question:Do you agree to extend the mandate of the BSPC Working Group on Climate Changeand Biodiversity for another year and that the Working Group will submit the final reportto the Annual Conference in 2023?......I see only agreement and do not see or hear any opposition.Then that is what we have decided. Thank you all very much for that.I wish Cecilie Tenfjord-Toftby and the whole Working Group continued great successin this essential work. I am very optimistic and confident that the Group will achievefurther excellent results.......Now we can turn to the Resolution of the 30th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference.Many thanks to all the delegations for your constructive proposals and hard work inour Digital Drafting Committee. As always, it was not an easy feat to find an agreement,but it was worth it in the end.And I am very proud that we have again succeeded and proven that we can bring suchcomplex negotiations to an excellent result online.You have all received a copy of the Draft Resolution. It found unanimous agreementby the members of the Drafting Committee, and now the Conference will decide toadopt it.Can everyone agree to the Resolution of the 30th Baltic Sea ParliamentaryConference?........................I see only reactions in favour and do not see any votes against and no abstentions.Thank you.The Resolution of the 30th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference is adopted.I hope that the contents of this Resolution will be acted on by our governments andother institutions around the Baltic Sea.......And now to the last part of the 30th BSPC.At this point, we have regularly passed the baton from one president to the next.This time, we have decided that we will extend the Swedish Presidency until the endof the 31st BSPC, and we will hold it in Stockholm from 12 to 14 June 2022.I would therefore like to take this opportunity to thank you all once again for agreeingto that. And I thank you for the confidence you have shown in us to continue with thisvital task.I will continue to exercise the function of the BSPC President diligently and withdedication.Therefore, the usual passing of the baton at this point is not necessary.-------Dear colleagues, we have reached the end of our digital 30th Conference. It was shorterand different, and I believe we all missed our formal and informal in-person talks.However, we have shown once more this year that we can have excellent, seamless,and outstanding cooperation.We have again underlined the importance of parliamentary cooperation and furtherstrengthened the parliamentary dimension of cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region.Today, based on our intensive preparatory work, we have strengthened the content ofour work, made progress in fundamental issues and deepened the cooperation withour partners at all levels.We have shown that we can intensify our cooperation regardless of externalcircumstances, even when we resort to digital possibilities instead of direct encounters.And we have further optimised these possibilities.We have dealt in the Standing Committee, Seminars, Working Group, and Conferencewith crucial questions of democracy and our values. And we have deepenedfundamental and significant issues of the future.We have appreciated the value of our 30 years of cooperation and what we haveachieved so far.We have intensively involved the young generation in our discussions anddeliberations and have tried to gear our decisions to the needs of the next generationas well. It is important to us to involve the young people even more in our decision-making processes.I want to thank the representatives of governments, civil society, academia, and all theinstitutions involved for their intensive cooperation in the preparation and today'sholding of this Conference.I want to thank all those who have contributed here today for their excellentcontributions.I want to thank all who have contributed to today's success for their outstandingdedication and commitment.And I want to thank our interpreters, who have once again done an outstanding jobunder challenging conditions and have made a valuable contribution to facilitatingunderstanding among all of us.I want to thank- all delegates,- the Chairs of our sessions,- the Professional Conference Systems teamToday, we have had high-quality input; we have listened, reflected, discussed,negotiated, and decided on far-reaching demands to improve the situation infundamental areas.It is up to us to ensure that our calls for action are implemented, contributing to an evenbetter future in the Baltic Sea Region:To this end, I wish us determination, courage, skill, foresight, and sustainableassertiveness.We have the contents for a vision until 2030.Now it is a matter of turning it into reality.What we have achieved so far, what we have deepened today, and what we haveplanned for the future was worth all our efforts.We will include the results of today's Conference in our publication on 30 years of theBSPC and, in addition to the version published on the website, send you a printed copyof our 30 years of work with contributions by Presidents of our member Parliaments.I very much look forward to seeing you all again next year at the latest, from 12 to 14June, at the 31st BSPC, and to welcoming you directly and personally to my homecountry of Sweden in Stockholm, at the Riksdag.Until then, I wish you health, strength, and success in all your endeavours.I now declare the 30th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference closed.Thank you.