OREANDA-NEWS. June 06, 2008. At the Baltic Sea States Summit, the continuation of the reforming of the organisation was decided, and the common interests of the Baltic Sea Strategy of the European Union was specified, reported the Official website http://www.valitsus.ee.

The eleven heads of governments who attended the summit noted that the fast economic and political development of the Baltic Sea region has exceeded the initial goals of the organisation, so new goals must be set.

All member states of the Council agreed with the five future priorities of the region worded during the Latvian presidency, which are environment, energy, education and culture, economic development and safety of the society and human development.

According to Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, it is important to determine the role of the organisation in dealing with these priorities. In his words, it is especially important to avoid duplication with several other organisations operating in the region. Ansip stressed that the Council of the Baltic Sea States should mainly rely on project-based work.

Another important topic during the summit was the Baltic Sea Strategy under preparation by the European Commission. When turning to his colleagues, Andrus Ansip noted that the ambition of the Baltic Sea Strategy must be as big as the development potential of the region.

During the development of the strategy, Estonia has actively provided ideas for implementing the ambitious vision. For example, the idea to make the Baltic Sea region the first region in Europe that has a fully integrated domestic market. “The basis for the operation of the European Union’s internal market has been more or less established already,” said Ansip and stressed that in implementing this in the Baltic Sea region, it is very important to integrate the infrastructure of the region.

According to the Prime Minister, a more uniform approach should be formed in environmental issues as well: “The fragile situation of the Baltic Sea is clearly a regional issue, and a uniform approach would benefit the people of all Baltic Sea States.”

In conclusion, the Estonian Prime Minister talked about the fields of research and development, saying that a regional approach would also be of great benefit to this field.

The summit ends the Latvian presidency of the Council of the Baltic Sea States, and on 1 July, Denmark will begin its one year presidency. Summits of the Council of the Baltic Sea States will be held every two years. In 2010, the 8th summit will be organised by Lithuania.

The Council of the Baltic Sea States was established in 1992 as an intergovernmental cooperation forum on the level of Foreign Ministers. The organisation has 11 member states: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Russia, Poland and Germany. The European Commission is also a member.