The highest Executive Committee of the BSPC, led by BSPC President Jānis Vucāns, met for the first time under the new Presidency on the premises of the Latvian parliament on 6 November. Delegations from Åland-Islands, the Baltic Assembly, Denmark, Estonia, the European Parliament, Finland, the German Bundestag, Hamburg, Latvia, Lithuania, the Nordic Council, the Russian Federation and Sweden participated in the meeting.
The content of the work focused on the follow-up of the resolution of the 24th annual conference, which took place in Rostock from 30 August to 1 September 2015, and the implementation of the BSPC resolutions. The meeting furthermore discussed the current refugee crisis in Europe, highlighting the urgency of the problem and exposing different approaches in response to the situation.
At the beginning of the Standing Committee Meeting the Parliamentary Secretary of the Latvian Ministry of Education, Mr Edvards Smiltens, President of the Council of the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Aigars Rostovskis, and the Special Representative of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly for the Baltic Sea Area, Mr Jurgen Klimke, addressed the SC members in a round of presentations. Mr Smiltens spoke about Latvians priorities in education, most importantly in vocational training and education (VET). Latvia deems the strengthening of the prestige of VET a priority, as VET is part of the innovation system. Ultimately, it should be the goal of higher education to enhance the creativity and entrepreneurship of students to become entrepreneurs, create jobs, provide new products and services and thus expand the national as well as global labor market. Mr Rostovskis later added in his contribution that the Baltic Sea Region should position itself as a global hub for education and innovation, both in order to provide students with the skills to start their own businesses and consequentially to further the prosperity and wellbeing in the region. German MP Jurgen Klimke talked about his work as Special Representative of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly for the Baltic Sea Area and expressed the willingness on the part of the OSCE to cooperate with the BSPC as a partner of similar interests.