The ample information and lively discussions during this Forum have provided an enriching experience which I am sure will contribute to our joint and combined capacity to deal with the challenges of the Baltic Sea Region.
The EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, based on an initiative by the Baltic Intergroup in the European Parliament, is a welcome companion to the array of strategies, policies and tools to manage the challenges of the Baltic Sea Region. The consultation procedure preceding the adoption of the Strategy was an exemplary exercise in transparency and inclusion.
The structure of cooperation evolving in the Baltic Sea Region is in many ways ground-breaking, with huge potential to deliver results and also serve as best practice and inspiration for other regions.
Allow me to make three short comments on this Forum.
Firstly, I believe that this Forum can be a useful contribution to the evolution of a communality of views on the ways and means of dealing with the challenges of the Baltic Sea Region.
The challenges of the Region transcend institutional and territorial borders, and so the solutions to these challenges must transcend those borders as well.
It is fundamentally important to ensure that all stakeholders of the Region – from EU- as well as non-EU– countries – can participate in the work on an equal footing. We strongly advocate the continuous alignment of the EU Strategy with the Northern Dimension policy, which constitutes a general framework for cooperation between EU, Russia, Norway and Iceland.
The Baltic Sea Region accommodates a multitude of actions, policies and projects aimed at curing the Region’s illnesses and releasing its potentials. The HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan, The Baltic Sea Action Summit, and the Baltic Development Forum Summit are three prominent examples.
Different actors have and should pursue different aims and actions. I maintain, however, that we can do better in synchronizing our various activities in order to avoid duplication and boost the collective impact of our efforts. Pragmatic modes of coordination and cooperation should be sought. The designation of the Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-Being – currently with Russian Chairmanship – as coordinator of the health priority in the Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region is a case in point.
The macroregional concept underpinning the Strategy opens up interesting and promising new opportunities, both for horizontal cooperation between various stakeholders of the region, and for vertical cooperation between different levels of governance. The Strategy and its priority areas can serve as a joint focus, inspiring a macroregional consolidation of efforts and guiding them towards common goals.
There is a need to develop methods for continuous monitoring, assessment and feed-back on the progress of the Strategy, both at Commission level and by all stakeholders.
Secondly, I believe that this Forum has an important role in promoting and providing an overview over the financial resources available for the implementation of strategies.
By and large, it seems like sufficient resources are available, albeit through different funding channels. It is important to bring sharper clarity over the availability of resources, and to use them efficiently. Since the overarching objectives of the major strategies of the Region coincide to some extent, there are synergies that can be harvested in the implementation of strategies. For instance, a project that receives its principal funding through one strategy might very well produce results that are also compliant with the objectives of other, related strategies.
It is also important to widen and facilitate the access to funds for all stakeholders of the Region. The EU Baltic Sea Region Programme 2007-2013, for instance, embraces North-West Russia and Belarus as eligible applicants. This supports a development of projects and approaches which is based on the nature of the challenges, regardless of their geographical distribution, and not on administrative divisions. Co-funding should remain a basic principle.
Money is one resource, skills is another. There is a shortage of bankable projects, meaning coherent, realistic and viable projects to implement plans and programmes. Based on an initiative by parliamentarians of the Region, the Nordic Investment Bank and the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation have launched a Trust Fund to support the development of bankable projects for the implementation of the HELCOM BSAP, which of course also benefits the implementation of the EU Strategy.
Thirdly, I believe that this Forum can serve as a kind of a Town Hall Meeting, where citizens, experts and decision-makers can congregate and exchange opinions and ideas.
A strategy gains credibility both from the sense of participation that citizens experience during its design and its implementation, and from its ability to deliver tangible and positive effects in people’s everyday life.
A sincere and expanded dialogue with citizens, NGOs, civic organizations and others should therefore be an integral part of the implementation of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region.
The local and regional authorities in the region will play an indispensable role for the Strategy and its implementation. Subregional organizations like the BSSSC and UBC – to name but a few – are other important drivers on the ground.
The NGOs play an invaluable role both as opinion-makers and independent experts, and their views, warnings and advice should be taken seriously. They can also be instrumental in keeping citizens informed and involved in the planning and implementation of strategies and projects that influence the development of the Baltic Sea Region.
At the end of the day, the value and success of the Strategy will be judged not by its internal logic, but by its capacity to improve the welfare – in a wide sense – of the citizens of the Region.
In conclusion, we expect that the EU will further develop the interfaces and instruments of the Strategy. We parliamentarians of the Region will continue to exert political pressure on the Governments to provide resources, fulfil all their commitments, and take action for the good of the Region.
This way, we can all contribute to make the Baltic Sea Region sustainable, prosperous, attractive and safe.
Tal under "The 1st Annual Forum on the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region" i Tallinn 15.10.2010
