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Updated report to NSC ExCom November 30th- December 1st
Background
The North Sea Commission and the Baltic Sea Commission are both geographical organisations under the umbrella of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe (CPMR). Cllr Anneli Stark from Västra Götaland is assigned to co-ordinate the cooperation between the two commissions.
Cooperation between the secretariats and the presidiums
The two secretariats exchange continuous information. The new web pages are one concrete example. The yearly joint meeting is planned for winter/spring 2010.
Cooperation between the working groups
All NSC working groups have ongoing contacts with their counterparts. One concrete example is the NSC and BSC Transport working groups which met in conjunction with the CPMR General Assembly in Göteborg, Västra Götaland. The two groups have formulated joint positions within the TEN-T work.
Experiences of the Baltic Sea Strategy
The main focus for the BSC during the past year has been the Baltic Sea Strategy, which was adopted by the Council on October 26, 2009. The process has been very long, starting in an informal grouping of MEPs in the European Parliament in 2005, followed by a request from the Council in December 2007. In November 2008 a public consultation was launched which resulted in a Communication for the Baltic Sea Region, adopted on June 10 2009 by the European Commission.
The four cornerstones of the Baltic Sea Strategy are to make the Baltic Sea Region environmentally sustainable; prosperous; accessible and attractive and safe and secure. The Strategy is accompanied with an Action Plan which comprises 15 priority areas which represent areas which can contribute to the improvements either through tackling the main challenges or through seizing the main opportunities. The priority areas are implemented through approximately 80 flagship projects. The idea is that the Baltic Sea Strategy will be followed up and updated each time a Baltic country takes over the Presidency of the EU. The next opportunity will be during Poland’s Presidency in 2011.
The discussions of macro-regions and macro-regional strategies raise a number of questions. Questions on funding, on follow-up, on governance, on the ability to react to new challenges. How do these strategies provide a European added value? And what is the role of the regions in this process?
- The experiences of the BSC in the process leading up to the Baltic Sea Strategy and now in the upcoming implementation, are very interesting for the NSC.
- Although the origin of the Baltic Sea Strategy differs a lot from a North Sea Strategy, much could be learnt from the process and of the BSC involvement.
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