Adopted by the 24th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference
(BSPC)
1. The participants,
elected representatives from the Baltic Sea Region States*, assembling
in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, 30 August – 1 September 2015,
welcome, against the background of the crisis in Ukraine, the agreements concluded
in Minsk, which may lead to a peaceful solution of the conflict,
and insist on their thorough and unwavering implementation and appeal
to the parties to provide comprehensive support to the work of the
OSCE;
2. expect all Baltic Sea States to make
every effort to ensure that the Baltic Sea region will continue
to be a region of intensive co-operation and good, peaceful neighbourliness.
To this end, they will use all the opportunities of parliamentary,
governmental and social exchange and dialogue. For this reason,
they also call for a resumption of the ministerial meetings of the Council
of Baltic Sea States (CBSS). This will foster the dialogue and strengthen
cooperation;
3. discussing Cooperation in the Baltic
Sea Region, Cross-Border Cooperation in Health Care, Health and
Economy – Paving the Way for Innovation in Social and Health Care,
and Sustainable and Accessible Social and Health Care – at the Crossroads
of Health Care Provision, the Demographic Shift and Shrinking Budgets;
4. reiterating their support for the Council
of Baltic Sea States (CBSS), welcoming the new long-term priorities
of the CBSS, as well as the efforts of the Polish CBSS Presidency
to improve coherence in Baltic Sea regional cooperation, and acknowledging
the progress and achievements of CBSS in fields such as sustainable
economic growth, clean shipping, labour market mobility, research
and development, transport and communications, cultural heritage,
trafficking in human beings, and civil security, and support the CBSS
practical approach to the implementation of the new CBSS long term
priorities;
expressing against
the background of the current situation their solidarity with
the refugees which are forced to flee their
homelands, being aware of the big challenge to secure a safe residence;
call on the governments in the Baltic Sea
Region, the CBSS, the World Health
Organisation (WHO) and the European Union (EU);
to ensure the decent treatment of the refugees
especially concerning housing and healthcare;
1. strengthen the cooperation
in the Baltic Sea Region including the Northern Dimension and the
EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region and other regional actors
for a stable foundation of relations and encourage further development
of the structural dialogue and cooperation between each and every
regional organization and format leading to creation of a common
Baltic cooperation space;
2. support any cooperation that marks
the Baltic Sea Region as a model region with equal access to health
for all and with a special obligation to support the dissemination
and development of health and well-being by playing a key role in the
realization of the new sustainable development goals of the United
Nations;
3. reaffirm the pursuit of the entire
region to co-operation aimed at becoming a role model region with
a sustainable economy, capable of boosting competitiveness and opening
up new opportunities for business and employment;
4. co-operate in order to strengthen the
Baltic Sea Region as an important competitive knowledge region with
an excellent higher education and research infrastructure;
5. encourage co-operation in the fields
where mutual benefits and synergies e.g. between the EU Strategy
for the Baltic Sea Region and the Strategy for the socioeconomic
development of the North-West Federal district of Russia can only
be achieved by identifying common priorities and by developing respective
regional strategies and action plans;
6. evaluate the effects and promote the
extension of the new regulations on SECA (Sulphur Emission Control
Area), in force since 1 January 2015, to other sea basins, including
outside of the EU, and support efficient enforcement of these regulations
on ships, regardless of which flag they might fly, to ensure the
improvement of the environment, human health and to secure the competitiveness
of the shipping sector in the region;
7. promote close cooperation between cruise
operators, ports and other coastal tourism stakeholders such as
in the recently launched Pan-European Cruise Dialogue and actively
participate in transnational projects to unlock the full potential
for sustainable blue growth in the maritime and coastal tourism
sectors;
8. continue work to upgrade reception
facilities for sewage in passenger ports to ensure a timely activation
of the special area status of the Baltic Sea under Marpol Annex
IV of the International Maritime Organization, with the aim to hinder the
release of untreated sewage from passenger ships in the future and
to reaffirm the commitment for the continued improvement and modernization
of the waste water treatment capacity throughout the entire Baltic
Sea Region, in compliance with the stricter threshold values agreed by
HELCOM;
9. enhance macro-regional capacity to
respond to major emergencies based on all-hazards approach and joint,
cross-border preparations to protect lives, health and wellbeing
of citizens;
10. strengthen and further develop HELCOM
as the main coordinating body in the effort to protect the Baltic
marine environment, and to strongly support the implementation of
the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP), and to stress the importance
of BSAP as the environmental pillar of the EU Strategy for the Baltic
Sea Region;
11. deepen the political exchange among
young people in the Baltic Sea Region and to support the permanent
establishment of a Baltic Sea Youth Forum;
12. support the Nordic Bioeconomy Initiative
by the Nordic Council of Ministers;
13. expand, strengthen
and deepen cross-border coopeNy revisjon på Dokument 18ration in
social and health care and the strategic planning of health services
and continue with strong effort the development of a “Baltic Sea
Health Region”, to decrease inequality and lift the general welfare
as a common challenge all Baltic Sea Region Countries face;
14. support the Northern Dimension Partnership in
Public Health and Social Wellbeing (NDPHS) as a highly valued and
innovative regional network, significantly contributing to the improvement
of peoples’ health and social wellbeing in the Northern Dimension
area, the new NDPHS Strategy 2020 and its Action Plan, as well as
the Policy Area “Health” of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region;
15. support the EU´s cross-border co-operation programmes
and other relevant programmes as tools contributing to strengthening
cross-border and regional cooperation in health care in the Baltic
Sea Region;
16. launch and develop concrete transnational health
care and social wellbeing initiatives, such as ScanBalt or the WHO’s
Healthy Cities project and to foster the development of the Baltic
Sea Health Region by further strategies and transnational projects,
e.g. by a joint antibiotics strategy, by connecting the fields of
health, tourism, information and communications technology (ICT)
and natural resources;
17. spread innovative and best practices
throughout the Baltic Sea Region so to become a model region in
health care;
18. co-operate on research and sustainable
strategies for promotion of cultivation and production of healthy
and organic food;
19. make workplaces safer and healthier
and thus more productive and recognize the important work of trade
unions to promote a culture of risk prevention to improve working
conditions throughout the region;
20. improve transnational cooperation
and medical specialization in the treatment of rare diseases, bearing
in mind the cost-effective usage of medical equipment;
21. regulate transnational emergency care
in a way that the fastest possible healthcare provision can be guaranteed
regardless of the healthcare providers´ country of origin;
22. intensify exchanges of experience
and co-operation with the aim of fighting antimicrobial resistance
as one of the main global challenges in health care, to implement
research in this area, and support and intensify all efforts to
develop and implement a global action plan on antimicrobial resistance
by WHO; 23. reduce the usage of antibiotics – general – and for
agriculture (livestock farming) to an absolute minimum in order
to prevent further increase of antimicrobial resistance;
24. strive to introduce the same standards
on a high level in the treatment of contagious infectious diseases
throughout the Baltic Sea Region;
25. broaden the scope of the Könberg report
to the entire Baltic Sea Region, in order to gain a comparable overview
of the status of health and care in the Baltic Sea Region;
26. commission a regular report on the
status of health including disaggregated data and analysis for different
population groups such as children, youth and senior citizens and
particularly marginalized groups in the countries of the Baltic Sea
Region, in order to coordinate issues, definitions and emphases
as a step forward in terms of comparability of different systems
within the region and map commonly shared challenges ahead;
27. appreciate that,
whereas economic prosperity is good for health, good health outcomes
also favour economic growth and development. To that end, recognize
the importance of health and social wellbeing for the economy and
other policy areas and vice versa and consider health aspects in
all policies;
28. improve support for the development
of innovations in health care in order to prevent a brain drain;
29. support the ScanBalt Strategy 2015-2018 and
use synergies with existing strategies;
30. develop measures to improve the situation
of the medical and care professions through – for example - eHealth;
31. improve conditions to support the
development of innovations in health care, including in the fields
of eHealth and telemedicine, whilst ensuring that investments in
eHealth support the adoption of standards and drive interoperability across
the health sector to leverage the “eHealth European Interoperability
Framework (eEIF) and observe the joint European initiatives, such as
the “Guidelines under eHealth Network” of the responsible member
state authorities;
32. further strengthen measures for collaborative implementation
of a joint eHealth Innovation ecosystem based on a Baltic Sea Region
cooperation platform for eHealth initiatives built on smart specialization
and mobilize regional resources based on already existing structures
and internationally recognized standards;
33. improve the conditions to include
eHealth and telemedicine in the standard care;
34. improve early intervention to strengthen good
public health through social investment such as vaccine programs,
and take strong measures to reduce consumption of alcohol, tobacco and
illicit drugs, and work towards stronger prevention of diabetes
II and other lifestyle illnesses;
35. support the usage of cost-reducing
methods for better quality of life, including cultural and physical
health-related activities in treatment;
36. improve the national labelling relevant
for a healthy lifestyle including labelling accessible to different
population groups such as child-sensitive and child-specific labelling;
37. foster development of health-related
services within the tourism strategies of the Baltic Sea Region
countries;
38. ensure global comparability of health
economy and measure the performance and the impact of the health
care systems via economic growth and employment by establishing
a first reliable transnational method like “economic footprint of health
economy”;
39. check the possibility to establish
a “Baltic Health Forum”, to ensure and improve a sustainable exchange
and networking in this policy field around the Baltic Sea;
40. ensure affordable
health care for everyone and emphasize the focus on the needs of
patients with due regard to age and gender and to warrant equal
and affordable access to high-quality health services throughout
the whole Baltic Sea Region;
41. ensure that a positive economic development in
the region promotes high standards in health care and social wellbeing;
42. take strong measures to ensure equitable availability,
access and use of social welfare and health care services, e.g.
between urban and rural areas, between socio-economic groups and
with due regard to age and gender;
43. develop and strengthen strategies
addressing demographic change, such as the European Innovation Partnership
on Active and Healthy Ageing and especially considering public services
with regard to rural peripheral areas;
44. install geriatric health care centres
and modify social rehabilitation centres to ensure health care in
rural areas as well as improving age-approNy revisjon på Dokument
18priate medicine;
45. ensure integrated services for children
consolidating health care and social care services in a child-sensitive
way;
46. ensure support services for families,
pregnant women and prospective parents in support of families and
parenthood, provide an integrated package of services to families
with children in order to encourage childbirth, childcare and child
rearing with a view to counteracting the current demographic trends
and investing in families and fostering child-friendly communities
and societies;
47. encourage patient responsibility for
people living in the Baltic Sea Region;
48. raise awareness especially amongst
the youth in a healthier lifestyle and to work on making education
in healthy lifestyle mandatory in all schools and all school levels,
a database on best practice examples on how to improve education and
awareness should be created;
49. carry out studies with the aim of
developing prevention strategies in health care, such as the North-Trøndelag
Health Study (HUNT);
50. establish a first aid system for mental
health problems as the recognition, awareness and diagnostic of
mental problems are still underdeveloped;
51. support activities on Non-Governmental
Organizations focussing on nonformal education for example in culture,
sports, volunteering and music in order to fight against stigmatization
of disadvantaged groups;
52. create incentives to improve the conditions of
the nursing and care professions and to work towards intensified
professional and vocational training for people employed in the
health sector to significantly facilitate a cost-effective health system
in the region and foster understanding of the health sector as a
cross-cutting issue;
53. fully recognize the social partners
in the social and health care professions, protect their activities
and ensure that social partners and trade unions will be involved
in the regulatory and implementation process on health issues as
early as possible;
54. carefully consider both physical and
psycho-social risks at work place, against the background of a rising
retirement age, strive for good working conditions, wellbeing and
a sustainable work-life balance within the labour force of the Baltic
Sea Region;
55. strive to establish laws for patients’
rights in all the countries of the Baltic Sea Region and mechanisms
to ensure that those rights are fulfilled;
56. establish a Working Group on Sustainable Tourism
– with focus on cultural, economic and labour market, maritime and
coastal tourism as well as ecological aspects and as a central pillar of
maritime spatial planning and with a view to developing synergies
with the policy area “Tourism” under the EU Strategy for the Baltic
Sea Region - to submit a first report at the 25th BSPC;
57. welcome with gratitude the kind offer
of the Parliament of Latvia to host the 25th Baltic Sea Parliamentary
Conference in Riga on 28 - 30 August 2016.
*Parliaments of Denmark,
Estonia,
Europe,
Finland,
Federal Republic of Germany,
Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,
Free Hanseatic City of Bremen,
Iceland,
Latvia,
Leningrad Region,
Lithuania,
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern,
Norway,
Poland,
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,
Nordic Council