Kansen van regionale samenwerking tussen EU-lidstaten besproken (en)

The Chairpersons of the Committees on Environmental Protection and the Committees on State Administration and Local Authorities of the Parliaments of the European Union (EU) member states met at the Seimas to discuss two EU Strategies (for the Baltic Sea Region and the Danube Region), and debated the potential resolution of regional problems through cooperation. The environmental aspect is very important in the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region and the Danube Region. The idea of the preparation of macro-regional strategies was born because the countries opted to coordinate their activities and share experience.

The speaker, Minister of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania, Valentinas Mazuronis, said that when approving the macro-regional Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region in 2009, the European Council had emphasised that it could act as a model for other regions. “The EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region has three goals. Firstly to save the sea; secondly to connect the region; and thirdly to increase the prosperity of its population. [...] The ecological state of the Baltic Sea is a concern for the whole region, state institutions, the private sector and all society, i.e. all its population. [...] We all need to understand that the relevance of attaining and preserving the wild natural resource, and the good state of the Baltic Sea, is a growing challenge in our region,” said the Minister.

Mr Mazuronis said that we need to devote special attention to the sustainable exploitation of resources, because most sea pollutants “arrive” via river basins. Even though the summer 2013 Report issued by the European Commission indicated that Lithuania is one of the four EU countries best at managing waste, the speaker believes that we need to further reduce the pollution volume in rivers in order reduce pollution in the Baltic Sea.

Countries in the Danube Region are facing similar issues. Andreas Beckmann, Director of the World Wild Fund’s Danube-Carpathian Programme, pointed out that if any pollutants (shampoo, soap) end up in the Danube River in Austria, they flow to other regions and finally the Black Sea. As pollution affects fish populations, the speaker was positive about the goal set forth by the EU Strategy for the Danube Region to save the Danube sturgeons and increase its population. Sturgeons used to migrate from Austria to Germany, but now due to multiple dams the fish can only reach the border of Romania and Serbia.

The speaker emphasised that the central goal of the Strategy for the Danube Region is economic integration and cooperation between stakeholders. “We do not take sufficiently into consideration the future perspective when forming this strategy. It is based on current events and today’s vision. When speaking about progress, we need to stick to a wider vision, and think more about the future, which can be achieved with regards to our long-term goals,” said Mr Beckmann, the chief executive of the Strategy for the Danube Region.