The Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference
Scope
The Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC) was established in 1991 as a forum for political dialogue between parliamentarians from the Baltic Sea Region. BSPC aims at raising awareness and opinion on issues of current political interest and relevance for the Baltic Sea Region. It promotes and drives various initiatives and efforts to support a sustainable environmental, social and economic development of the Baltic Sea Region. It strives at enhancing the visibility of the Baltic Sea Region and its issues in a wider European context.
BSPC gathers parliamentarians from 11 national parliaments, 11 regional parliaments and 5 parliamentary organizations around the Baltic Sea. The BSPC thus constitutes a unique parliamentary bridge between all the EU- and non-EU countries of the Baltic Sea Region.
BSPC external interfaces include parliamentary, governmental, sub-regional and other organizations in the Baltic Sea Region and the Northern Dimension area, among them CBSS, HELCOM, the Northern Dimension Partnership in Health and Social Well-Being (NDPHS), the Baltic Sea Labour Network (BSLN), the Baltic Sea States Sub-Regional Cooperation (BSSSC) and the Baltic Development Forum as well as the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea States on the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding.
BSPC shall initiate and guide political activities in the region; support and strengthen democratic institutions in the participating states; improve dialogue between governments, parliaments and civil society; strengthen the common identity of the Baltic Sea Region by means of close co-operation between national and regional parliaments on the basis of equality; and initiate and guide political activities in the Baltic Sea Region, endowing them with additional democratic legitimacy and parliamentary authority.
The political recommendations of the annual Parliamentary Conferences are expressed in a Conference Resolution adopted by consensus by the Conference. The adopted Resolution shall be submitted to the governments of the Baltic Sea region, the CBSS and the EU, and disseminated to other relevant national, regional and local stakeholders in the Baltic Sea region and its neighbourhood.
Resources 2022 – 2023
The BSPC has several working bodies, which serve as resources for driving and implementing BSPC priorities and objectives.
The Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference is the annual general assembly in the Baltic Sea Region for broad political debate on Baltic Sea issues. The Conference resolutions are political tools which enable the BSPC to take and support political initiatives, and to approach the governments and regional organisations on issues of common interest.
The host of the 32nd BSPC, the German Bundestag, is responsible for the operational planning and execution of the 32nd Conference in Berlin on 27 – 29 August 2023.
The BSPC Standing Committee (SC) is the highest decision-making body of the BSPC between the annual Conferences. The Standing Committee considers and decides on strategic issues concerning the mission, political priorities, working modes, finances and administration of the BSPC. The Standing Committee has the overall responsibility for preparing the annual Conference and for overseeing the structures and functions of the BSPC. The Standing Committee consists of parliamentarians from all national parliaments, regional parliaments and parliamentary organisations throughout the Baltic Sea Region. The Standing Committee convenes at least four times per year (beginning of the year, spring/summer, in connection with the Conference, and in autumn). The first SC meeting of the year should include a report from the CBSS and may also include progress reports on the EU Northern Dimension, the EU Baltic Sea Strategy and the EU Integrated Maritime Policy. The SC also serves as Drafting Committee during the annual Conference.
The BSPC Secretariat consists of officials from the BSPC members and the Secretary General, who coordinates its work. The BSPC Secretariat is responsible for the preparation of the BSPC Standing Committee and Working Groups meetings as well as for overseeing the preparations of the Annual Conference and for content. The Standing Committee is informed about the current business in order to supervise it.
The BSPC Secretary General (SG) manages the overall coordination of BSPC activities, prepares the groundwork in the BSPC bodies, delivers content, provides investigative resources and is responsible for administering the BSPC Joint Financial Mechanism as well as for other administrative and organisational matters and for follow-up. The members of the Secretariat are involved in administrative and organisational questions and support this work.
The BSPC Working Group on Climate Change and Biodiversity (WG CCB) will aim at elaborating political recommendations within this field. The Working Group will present its final report at the 32nd BSPC.
The BSPC Observers in HELCOM, Ms Saara-Sofia Sirén (Finland) and Ms Beate Schlupp (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) will follow the deliberations of relevant HELCOM bodies. That includes following and reporting on the developments in the field of Eutrophication.
The BSPC Rapporteur on Sustainable Tourism, President of Parliament Ms Birgit Hesse (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) will follow and report on the developments in this field.
The BSPC Rapporteurs on Integrated Maritime Policy, Mr Jörgen Pettersson (Åland Islands) and Mr Philipp da Cunha (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) will follow and report as co-rapporteurs on the developments in the field of Integrated Maritime Policy.
The BSPC Rapporteurs on Migration and Integration, Mr Hans Wallmark (Sweden) and Ms Carola Veit (Hamburg) will follow and report as co-rapporteurs on the developments in the field of Migration and Integration.
The BSPC Rapporteur on Sea-Dumped Munitions, Ms Anna Kassautzki (German Bundestag) will follow the developments in this field as well as the implementation of the recommendations of the 30th and 31st BSPC and will give a report at the 32nd BSPC in Berlin.
The BSPC Website (http://www.bspc.net) is a central conduit for disseminating news and information on the BSPC’s organisation, activities and results as well as a dynamic archive of BSPC documents and opinions.
