With its adoption, on 10 June, of a strategy and action plan for the Baltic Sea, the European Commission innovated on both substance – the action plan includes around 80 projects – and style, since it places its action at ‘macroregional’ level. It involves all the Baltic Sea rim countries: Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany and Denmark plus the Russian Federation and emphasises enhanced cooperation.

The strategy is innovative because it introduces a new way of working together in the Union. It is not about drafting new laws or creating new institutions but about acting on the basis of the determination of governments and citizens of member states and regions to address common challenges together. It is also the EU’s first ever comprehensive, multisector strategy covering a macroregion, an approach that interests other regions, such as the Mediterranean and the Danube. The initiative, a priority for the Swedish EU Presidency, is expected to be endorsed by the heads of state and government at their meeting, on 29-30 October.

LEARNING A DIFFERENT APPROACH

Much has been done and a lot of money poured into the Baltic Sea in the last few years, but the results are not really equal to the efforts. The problem is that there are many players involved, but very few leaders. The Commission hopes that by coordinating implementation of the strategy, it will be raised to the rank of a leader without national interests. The countries and regions concerned will have to learn a different approach to their development policy. A common strategy means that the countries will interact as a region with common interests, rather than as isolated states each working in its own interests. Intense participation by all levels of power and all stakeholders is a key to the strategy’s success. An annual forum will allow participants to share information and experiences and build and consolidate ties.

Five years after the EU’s latest enlargement, the Baltic region is faced with pressing challenges, including the deterioration of the Baltic Sea, poor transport connections, trade barriers and energy problems. These issues are exacerbated by a lack of effective coordination and the world of difference between, on the one hand, the North and West, which are prosperous and highly innovative (Scandinavian countries and Germany) and, on the other, the East and the South, whose development is lagging behind (regions with a young and highly trained workforce but lacking in infrastructure: Poland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia). This mix of shared interests, resources and concerns, but wide disparities between regions, can be either explosive or stimulating. The strategy assumes that this mix is the latter and is intended to be a new development opportunity.

IMPROVING COORDINATION

Initiatives and action plans have already been implemented in the region but they have had limited effects. “Better coordination of the many bodies and actions concerned is urgent,” explains the Commission, which adds that many problems occur in areas where the EU can intervene and has the necessary instruments. Structural Fund programmes will serve as the groundwork for enhancing cooperation. “There are many opportunities under the existing financial and legal framework,” notes the Commission, which does not see the need for new instruments. “It is not just about new resources or more resources. We can get a lot of things organised by working in a different way,” adds Branislav Stanicek of the Committee of the Regions. The Baltic region will receive more than €50 billion in investment support between 2007 and 2013 under the Cohesion Policy and other EU financial instruments: €27 billion for improving accessibility, nearly €10 billion for the environment, €6.7 billion for competitiveness and €697 million for security and risk prevention.

OBJECTIVES AND PRIORITIES

The strategy is matched with an action plan based on four objectives and 15 priorities:

a. marine environment (five priorities): improving the environmental status of the sea, reducing pollution, protecting natural zones and biodiversity, reducing impact of dangerous substances, adapting to climate change

b. economy (4): reducing hindrances to the internal market, exploiting the full potential of the regions in research and innovation, strengthening SMEs, reinforcing the sustainability of agriculture and fisheries

c. accessible and attractive region (3): energy (efficiency and security of energy markets), transport (improvement of internal and external links) and reinforcement of the attractiveness of the Baltic Sea region through education, tourism and health

d. security and safety (3): making the Baltic a leading region in terms of safety and security (combating accidental and deliberate pollution), boosting protection against major emergencies at sea and on land, and reducing cross-border crime.

COOPERATION WITH THIRD COUNTRIES

The strategy concerns the eight EU member states bordering the Baltic Sea and is consequently an EU strategy. However, the effectiveness of some measures will be improved through close cooperation with non-EU countries from the region: Russia and Norway, to start with, are said to be “interested,” and Belarus subsequently. This type of cooperation exists between the EU, Norway, Iceland and Russia under the EU’s Northern Dimension Policy, which will probably have to be redefined, restructured and supplemented but certainly not scrapped.

“It is not just about new resources or more resources. We can get a lot of things organised by working in a different way”