The Future of the Baltic Sea Region
The answer to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: strong democracies, protection of human rights and sustainable development
In a time of fundamental upheaval, the conference will discuss the Future of the Baltic Sea region. The Swedish capital sets the ideal scene for the meeting of delegates from 20 parliaments and parliamentary organisations and their guests from the Baltic Sea region and beyond.
The 31st BSPC is taking place in Stockholm, Sweden. The themes on the agenda for this conference are peaceful and reliable neighbourliness and intense cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region in times of crisis; democracy and freedom of expression; mitigating climate change; preserving biodiversity and adapting to climate change as well as demographic challenges in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine; migration, labour market and the social welfare model.
On Saturday, 11 June, the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Youth Forum of 2022 will take place in connection to the Annual Conference of the BSPC, in an effort to promote dialogue between young people of the region and policymakers. The purpose is also to capture input from the young generation. Their representatives will discuss with parliamentarians how to strengthen democracy and peaceful original cooperation in times of crisis, ways towards a greener, stronger and more biodiverse Baltic Sea as well as climate change.
On Sunday, the first day of the conference, the BSPC Drafting Committee and the BSPC Standing Committee will hold their first sessions in the Riksdag building. They will deliberate possible compromises in difficult policy areas and discuss the core principles of the BSPC in light of the current crucial challenges. In the afternoon, the delegates will visit the Baltic Sea Science Centre.
On Monday, the conference will be opened by the Speaker of the Riksdag, Dr Andreas Norlen, the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ann Linde and BSPC President Pyry Niemi, followed by a speech by the former Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations and former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, Jan Eliasson, as well as addresses from the Norwegian and German Ministers for Foreign Affairs. Until Tuesday at noon, the delegates will intensively deepen in four sessions the themes of the conference.