Under the Chairmanship of Prof. Dr. Jānis Vucāns, the BSPC Standing Committee gathered at the European Parliament in Brussels to prepare its upcoming Silver Jubilee edition in Riga and to exchange with EU and CBSS representatives.
The Standing Committee was greeted by the Standing Committee member and Chair of the EP Delegation for relations with Switzerland and Norway and to the EU-Iceland Joint Parliamentary Committee and the European Economic Area Joint Parliamentary Committee, Mr Jørn Dohrmann, and EP Vice President Anneli Jäätteenmäki, who is also responsible for Baltic, Nordic and Arctic Affairs.
The Vice President underlined that the EP regards the EUSBSR and the Northern Dimension as focal points for regional cooperation in the BSR and in Northern Europe, to which all partners should commit, and encouraged the BSPC Standing Committee to explore possibilities for addressing still existing challenges with regard to cooperation in the region, and to raise awareness on successful cooperation.
Ms Maria Luisa Cabral from the European Commission’s DG Employment then briefed the Standing Committee on the main topic of the Latvian BSPC Presidency’s Work Programme, namely education & labour mobility. She highlighted the economic benefits of more people being ready to work in other Member States, while also acknowledging its downsides. Consequently, the Commission would be working on a deeper and fairer internal market, while ensuring growth and jobs through structural reforms and the implementation of an ambitious investment plan.
The Chair of the CBSS’s Committee of Senior Officials, Ambassador Michał Czyż, then briefed the Standing Committee on new developments and activities within the CBSS’s three long-term priorities “Sustainability”, “Regional Identity”, and “Safety”. Moreover, the CBSS would continue efforts on making all regional cooperation formats work well together. The future CBSS mission should be recalibrated as follows: closer collaboration with the EU on BSR development including the context of EU–Russia relations, closer CBSS cooperation with its observer states, strategic partners and neighbouring regions, paving the way for creating a single Baltic cooperation space through improved regional synergy and cohesion.
Against the background of ongoing discussions within the BSPC regarding Belarus, the Standing Committee was then briefed by Mr Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski, Chair of the EPO Delegation for Relations with Belarus, and Mr Dirk Schübel, European External Action Service (EEAS), on Belarus and the Eastern Partnership after the Presidential election in Belarus. The Standing Committee is currently engaged in deliberations over its stance concerning Belarus. The BSPC President will soon inform the Belarusian side about the outcomes of the Brussels meeting.
Additionally, the parliamentarians prepared the 25th edition of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, which is to take place in Riga on 28-30 August 2016. An exchange of opinions and experiences on the refugee crisis in Europe was also on the agenda.