Adopted by the 22nd Baltic
Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC)
The participants, elected representatives from the
Baltic Sea Region StatesParliaments of Free Hanseatic
City of Bremen, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Federal Republic of Germany,
Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Iceland, Republic of Karelia,
Latvia, Lithuania, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Norway, Poland, Council
of Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation,
State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, City
of St. Petersburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Sweden, Åland Islands, Baltic
Assembly, European Parliament, Nordic Council.
, assembling in Pärnu, Estonia, 26-27 August 2013,
discussing Co-operation in the Baltic Sea Region,
Economic Growth and Innovation, Green and Blue Growth and Energy
Efficiency, and Creative Entrepreneurship,
emphasizing the importance of the parliamentary
dimension of cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region, and asserting
that it strengthens the democratic legitimacy of cooperation,
reaffirming their commitment to the principles of
sustainable ecological, economic and social development, and reiterating
their appeal to governments to make sincere and forceful efforts
to implement the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan,
stressing the mutually beneficial interaction
between CBSS and BSPC at all levels and in all fields, and acknowledging
that a close coordination between the legislative and executive branches
will facilitate the implementation of programmes and projects for
the benefit of the Baltic Sea Region and its citizens,
call on the governments in the Baltic Sea Region,
the CBSS and the EU,
1. ensure effective
and systematic implementation of priority projects in the Baltic
Sea region, jointly identified on the basis of regional strategies
and policies, and to use regional cooperation structures such as
the Northern Dimension and Regional Councils in this work;
2. make sustained efforts to facilitate
mobility within the Region, in particular by tackling administrative
and physical hurdles, such as customs regulations and practices,
and visa restrictions between Schengen and non-Schengen countries;
3. promptly undertake further action in
order to reduce euthropication and pollution of the Baltic Sea,
in particular by joint efforts to improve the capacity for purification
of sewage waste;
4. facilitate the establishment and work
of democratic NGOs in the Baltic Sea Region, and to provide political
and financial support for their international cooperation and activities;
5. acknowledge the importance of the Baltic
Sea Secretariat for Youth Affairs for youth cooperation in the Baltic
Sea Region, and to support its work as well as the establishment
of an annual Baltic Sea Youth Forum; in this regard, to support
also the decision of the XI Baltic Sea NGO Forum on the creation
of a Baltic Sea Youth Network; and furthermore to underline the
need to continuously strengthen and ensure effective methods and
solutions for improved cooperation;
6. make the utmost use of the CBSS core
political position in the BSR in creating and implementing a commonly
agreed strategic vision of the region;
7. initiate and support
awareness-raising activities on the necessity of innovation for
the sustainable development and competitiveness of the Region, applying
a comprehensive approach that recognizes innovation as a key element
both in the production of goods and the provision of services, and
places strong emphasis on environmental sustainability and social
cohesion;
8. foster a conducive climate for innovation,
for instance by developing national programmes and strategies for
innovation and by instructing public agencies and authorities to
adopt action plans for innovative management and operations;
9. promote innovative knowledge and skills
in basic, vocational and higher education, for instance by making
innovation a more explicit strand in educational curricula and by
allocating resources to basic R&D on innovation;
10. handle the demographic change also
as a source for innovation, where special attention should be put
on the development and marketing of barrier-free offers and services;
11. take measures to ensure an appropriate
regulatory environment that encourages innovation and eliminates
bureaucratic obstacles;
12. support the creative industries as
an engine of growth and employment;
13. provide fiscal incentives for innovation,
such as tax reliefs, to stimulate the establishment and growth of
innovative enterprises and services;
14. in order to strengthen the maritime
economy, evaluate if and how (when applicable) economic incentives
can be considered for fleet modernization;
15. ensure availability of and access to
funding and seed money to support innovative initiatives and enterprises,
and to facilitate the development of bankable projects in the field
of innovation;
16. note the importance of public-private
partnership in the Baltic Sea Region, and welcome the establishment
of the CBSS Pilot Financial Initiative (PFI) as a new mechanism
of public-private partnership and encourage financial institutions in
the Region to join the PFI;
17. exploit the synergies and added value
by enhancing interregional cooperation on innovation in the Baltic
Sea Region, e g by facilitating mobility and by supporting knowledge
diffusion, networks and clusters on innovation both within and between
sectors;
18. take measures to unlock the potential
that exists in the coastal and marine environment, which will lead
to sustainable growth and employment opportunities;
19. strengthen innovation, growth and cooperation
within the maritime economy, e.g. by supporting research and development
in marine technologies, such as alternative propulsion systems,
as well as in emerging maritime sectors, such as blue biotechnologies,
aquaculture and offshore energy, by facilitating interregional cooperation
in shipping and ship-building, and by developing logistics and infrastructure,
for example for the provision of LNG and electricity in Baltic Sea
ports;
20. promote entrepreneurship and a joint
transnational cooperative platform for tourism, being a sector
that can contribute substantially to innovation and growth in the
Baltic Sea Region; furthermore to focus on coastal and maritime tourism;
21. take measures to harmonize labour market and
security standards for employees in the creative economy, and launch
action plans for enhanced transparency, tolerance and diversity
in society, being key elements in a creative economy;
22. make efforts to ensure that the transformation to
a knowledge-based society is not detrimental to economic progress
or living conditions in urban and rural areas, e.g. by promoting
urban-rural innovation cluster opportunities;
23. support the funding of projects devoted
to “Culture and cultural identity” and model projects in the sector
of creative industries;
24. strengthen efforts
to create public awareness on how green growth and energy efficiency
can support social welfare and economic development in the Region;
25. strengthen cooperation for developing
common technical standards and building codes defining quality of
building, common rules of recognition and evaluation of experts
for building evaluation, common criteria for green public procurement
(GPP), where appropriate, in order to create a larger market for
new products and innovative solutions that support green growth
26. support and strengthen efforts by the
national grid operators, co-ordinated with agreements on a broader
European scale, to improve the connections of national grids across
borders, in order to facilitate investments in renewable energy production,
including offshore, and contribute to energy supply security;
27. further develop and implement financing schemes
that support green growth and energy efficiency, and to develop
legislation that facilitates innovative financing of energy efficiency investments
in infrastructure, businesses and buildings;
28. to encourage the development of new
cleaner technologies and support the use the best currently available
technologies in order to improve maritime safety, develop clean
fuels and energy efficient solutions for both land and water transport
in the Baltic Sea Region;
29. against the background of the upcoming tightening
of the limits for sulfur emissions in the Sulfur Emission Control
Areas to support efforts of the Helsinki Commission to found a “Green
Technology and Alternative Fuels Platform for Shipping”;
30. welcome the results of the Conference
of the Heads of the Baltic Sea states on environmental protection
(St. Petersburg, April 5-6, 2013) held in the framework of the Russian
chairmanship in the CBSS, as an important step towards environmental
rehabilitation in the BSR;
31. follow up the 10
recommendations drawn up by the BSPC Rapporteurs on THB in their
final report presented to the 22. BSPC in Pärnu, Estonia;
Furthermore the Conference Decides to
32. establish a Working Group on Innovation
in Social and Health Care, to submit a first report at the 23rd BSPC;
33. to note the work of the IPCC in relation
to the forthcoming 5th Assessment Report (AR5), and to deliberate
on its implications for the Baltic Sea Region;
34. adopt the BSPC Work Programme for 2013-2014;
35. welcome with gratitude the kind offer
of the Parliament of Poland to host the 23rd Baltic
Sea Parliamentary Conference in Olsztyn on 24-26 August 2014.