Europese "Baltische zee strategie" als leidend voorbeeld (en)

Today the European Parliament, the European Commission, the European Investment Bank, President of Estonia Toomas Ilves, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt i and other representatives of the EU Member States gathered in Stockholm. On the agenda was the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, as well as other similar initiatives in other regions of the EU.

“Five years after the major EU enlargement, and 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, it is very pleasing that we can take yet another step forward in the process of European integration”, said the chair of the meeting, Sweden’s Minister for EU Affairs Cecilia Malmström i.

“As more and more countries come knocking on the EU’s door wanting to be members of the Union, we need new ways to increase integration between the Member States. And I don’t think we can have a common model and believe that it will work everywhere. Instead, it is important to take into account the regional situation and challenges and develop measures and political instruments that work for different parts of the EU. And that is just what the EU Baltic Sea Strategy does”, said Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt i in his opening address.

Estonian President Toomas Ilves was proud that the Baltic Sea Strategy was the first EU strategy to have originally been proposed by the European Parliament. He mentioned three main aims of the strategy: to improve the marine environment, to increase the competitiveness of the region and to facilitate the EU's four ‘freedoms’ in the region, i.e. that people, goods services and capital can move freely on the EU’s internal market.

“Most of the countries around the Baltic Sea are small. If we want our universities, researchers and small business owners to survive and develop in a globalised world, and not least in competition with India, China and the USA, we must become better at working together more efficiently”, said Toomas Ilves.

A strategy that creates ripples

The Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region is intended to act as a prototype, or a pilot project, for other regional strategies. The region that has got the furthest in its preparations in the Danube region, where countries including Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria are working together to address their regional challenges. Slovakia’s Deputy Prime Minister Dušan Caplovic thinks it is important to try and use experience from the work on the EU Baltic Sea Strategy to develop ways of working together in the Danube region as well.

“We will focus on better infrastructure and transport, sustainable development and a common strategy for tourism. I hope that we will get to see more similar strategies in other parts of Europe as well in the future”, he said.

“The Baltic Sea Strategy is one of the Swedish Presidency's main priorities, but the Strategy can only be successful if all those involved are really committed. We have seen clear signs of that commitment today, from the Member States and from the European Investment Bank, the European Parliament and the European Commission”, said Minister for EU Affairs Cecilia Malmström, at a press conference.

Later in the afternoon, the Baltic Sea Strategy is being discussed in more detail, and the aim is for the countries of the Baltic Sea region to adopt a declaration on shared commitments. The ambition is that the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region will then be adopted by the EU heads of state and government at the end of October.