Commission staff working document
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IntroductionIn December 2007, the European Council issued its Presidency Conclusions, inviting the European Commission to present an EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea region no later than June 2009.1 Prior to this, the European Parliament had called for a strategy to address the urgent environmental challenges arising from the increasingly visible degradation of the Baltic Sea. The Commission presented its Communication on the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) on 10 June 20092 alongside a detailed Action Plan prepared following intensive consultation of Member States and stakeholders. The European Council endorsed this approach – the EU’s first macro-regional strategy in October 2009.3 Based on the experience gained, the Commission put forward a Communication on 23 March 20124 specifying the three overall objectives for the Strategy: ‘Save the Sea’, ‘Connect the Region’ and ‘Increase Prosperity’. The Communication also included concrete proposals to establish a set of measurable indicators and targets for each objective, with the aim of facilitating monitoring, evaluation, communication, and, most importantly, achieving results. On 26 June 2012, the General Affairs Council endorsed this Communication5 and took note of the list of indicators and targets elaborated during spring 2012 by the task force composed of representatives of the Member States and the European Commission. Following this, Action Plan of the EUSBSR was updated to reflect objectives, targets and indicators of the Strategy that are fully in line with and contribute to the objectives of Europe 2020 Strategy. It introduced governance of the EUSBSR in line with the guidelines for roles and responsibilities of the main implementing actors, which was also agreed by the General Affairs Council on 26 June 2012. It also presented the work structured by policy areas and horizontal actions. With a view to concentrate and focus better on the three objectives of the Strategy, an extensive consultation with Member States concerned and stakeholders in the Baltic Sea region was carried out in 2014 and early 2015. Following that, a revised Action Plan of the EUSBSR was agreed with Member States in February 2015. It is more streamlined and focused, and also includes a chapter on the role of regional organisations/networks. Although this is a strategy of the European Union (EU), it is clear that many of the issues can only be addressed in constructive cooperation with our external partners in the region. However, the Strategy cannot impose action to third parties. Instead, it rather indicates areas where cooperation is desirable and proposes platforms for discussion and cooperation. As the European Council conclusions noted, the Northern Dimension – a common policy of the EU, Russia, Norway and Iceland –, provides the basis for external aspects of the Strategy. Other fora are also useful, such as international bodies, for instance the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM) or the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM). The macro-regional cooperation is without prejudice to the decision-making mechanisms of these respective bodies. As regards cooperation with Russia, developments in EU-Russia relations will be taken into account in accordance with the relevant European Council and Council Conclusions. A key factor of success for the Strategy is the integrated and coordinated governance of the Baltic Sea region, between sectors of society as well as between regional and local authorities in the respective countries.6 Without such integration, the objectives of the Strategy will be difficult to achieve. The overall success of the strategy also depends on the weight and attention it is given from the political actors in the region. Successful implementation of the Strategy requires also the adoption of a gender perspective in the governance system and the Action Plan. Equality between men and women is a core value of the European Union. At the same time, economic and business benefits can be gained from enhancing gender equality. In order to achieve the objectives of the EUSBSR the contribution and talents of both women and men should be fully used. This Action Plan comprises 13 policy areas and 4 horizontal actions, which represent the main areas where the EUSBSR can contribute to improvements, either by tackling the main challenges or by seising key opportunities of the region. Typically, one Member State coordinates each policy area or horizontal action, and they work on its implementation in close contact with the Commission and all stakeholders, i.e. other Member States, regional and local authorities, inter-governmental and non-governmental bodies. Other bodies may also be nominated to coordinate an area or action. They need to ensure that the Action Plan is consistent with all EU policies, and in particular Europe 2020 Strategy as well as the Integrated Maritime Policy, with its Blue Growth strategy and its Sustainable Blue Growth Agenda for the Baltic Sea Region,7 and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) objective to reach good environmental status by 2020 and sustainable growth in the region. Furthermore, they need to ensure the integration of the horizontal principle of sustainable development in the Action Plan and that environmental considerations are adequately taken into account in the flagship proposals. Every objective of the Strategy covers a wide range of policies and has impact on the other objectives: they are interlinked and interdependent. Presentation of each policy area and horizontal action starts with a background information on the topic, followed by specific indicators and targets. By way of example, climate change and the sustainable development principle will be adequately included as a cross-cutting horizontal consideration in the implementation of the Action Plan’s objectives, sub-objectives, policy areas, horizontal actions and flagships. To translate this into results, there are detailed actions and flagships. Actions represent the main steps that are needed to achieve the agreed indicators and targets for that particular area, while flagships detail how to achieve (part of) the desired outcome. Importantly, flagships should all have a lead partner and a deadline for implementation. In some cases, actions and/or flagships might require a change in the policy thrust or (rarely) national legislation of the Member States in the Baltic Sea region. In others, they require financing which could be provided by private or public funding (EU, national, regional or local funds). All actions and flagships should be understood without prejudice to the existing exclusive Community competences. In a number of cases, the objective of the actions and flagships is to highlight areas of activity that are ongoing within the EU or in other international frameworks, but which require greater coordination within the Baltic Sea region and consistent funding strategies to be implemented successfully. The Strategy provides a unique opportunity to do this. Work on the Action Plan should be carried out in close coordination with any such on-going developments (in particular new regulations), including at EU level, to ensure coherence and efficiency. The lingering impact of the economic crisis affects the context in which this Action Plan needs to be implemented. There is a less-favourable climate for investment, affecting both public sectors and private business generally. This makes it all the more essential that the EUSBSR allows the partners in the region to take a longer perspective, recognising that when this crisis has passed the regions that have best prepared will be those best equipped to take advantage of the new opportunities and innovations. The report ‘Counter Currents: Scenarios for the Baltic Sea 2030’ was published in August 2012 as the result of an extensive multi-stakeholder consultation that included several members of the European Commission and EU Member States. It provides a useful context in which to take that longer-term perspective on how the commitments we make today will impact the future of the Baltic Sea, 10-20 years hence. Directory: regional policy -> sources -> docoffic -> official -> communic -> baltic baltic -> Commission staff working document regional policy -> The contribution of regional and local authorities to economic development baltic -> Commission staff working document Download 0.86 Mb. 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