Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-09-16-Speech-3-087"
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"en.20090916.6.3-087"2
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"Mr President, I would like to thank all the Members for the great level of support that you have given us for our continued work on the Baltic Sea Strategy. It is only natural that we should be supported by the European Parliament, because in fact you were the founding fathers of the whole idea of a strategy for the Baltic Sea area and I am pleased that you are also going to ensure that this strategy becomes a reality. It can only be a success – it can only become real, and not just fine words and rhetoric – if all the Member States genuinely acknowledge ownership and feel a real responsibility for ensuring that the project is realised.
Success will be guaranteed by working on these projects, setting clear timetables for when they are to be realised and carrying out regular checks. I am sure that, just like the Commission, Parliament will continue to put pressure on us to ensure this actually comes to fruition.
One hundred million people live in this region. At any given moment, there are 2 000 ships in the Baltic Sea. It is clear that we face enormous challenges here. We have had a very broad foundation process and I would like to thank the Commission – first Mrs Hübner and now Commissioner Samecki – for the work they have put in. There is a great deal of support in civil society and among the municipalities around the Baltic Sea for us to achieve this.
Some Members, Mrs Krehl and Mr Itälä, have raised the matter of resources. It is not intended that any new funds will be earmarked for the strategy. However, there are plenty of resources in the region that we can use. EUR 55 million has been earmarked for the region under the existing budgetary framework. We also know that we can hope for contributions from international institutions such as the EIB, which has shown great interest in the Baltic Sea region. The aim is to keep all administrative costs as low as possible and to work with those who have responsibility locally and nationally for the various flagship projects.
One of these concerns trafficking – an area mentioned by Mrs Jäätteenmäki. There is a project that involves strengthening the training of customs and police officers in the region in order to be better able to identify and work on the issue of trafficking. Mrs Hassi and Mrs Lövin mentioned the matter of the marine environment, agriculture and fisheries. There are a number of such projects here and I would very much like to see more of them. I also believe that the strategy could provide the opportunity to gain a better overview of our environmental efforts and our fisheries and agriculture policy and to ensure that they work towards the same ends.
There are also other partnerships in the Baltic region. We have an extensive and growing energy policy partnership in which we aim to link up the energy infrastructure in the region, to reduce dependence and improve efficiency. Naturally, this is something that the Union will continue to work on. The Ignalina plant has nothing to do with the Baltic Sea Strategy. That was an old decision that already existed from the time of Lithuania’s accession negotiations. Neither does Nord Stream have anything to do with this. Naturally it is related to the Baltic Sea, but it is not part of the strategy. It is a commercial project that has been examined in accordance with current international environmental conventions and relevant national legislation.
The Baltic Sea Strategy is an internal EU strategy. It will be what we make it. However, it is also important – as a number of Members have pointed out – that third countries are involved. We have ensured that we keep countries such as Russia and Norway involved and that we tell them about our work on the strategy as well as signalling to them that we would like to work in partnership with them on specific projects in which we have a common interest.
We are looking forward to the conference tomorrow and on Friday and are pleased that Vice-President Wallis is coming to Stockholm. At the conference, we will discuss the strategy for the Baltic Sea area and we hope to gain a strong commitment from the countries concerned to work towards this becoming a reality, as well as discussing macroregions in general. The Danube region and the Black Sea region have been mentioned in this connection. I believe that there is a great deal to do here and a great deal that can inspire us. We hope to be able to move forward in the discussion, although it is a little too early to set actual timetables at present. Once again, I would like to thank Parliament for its strong support for the Baltic Sea Strategy and I look forward to discussing this with Members on future occasions."@en1
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