Press release on a ministerial session of the Council of the Baltic Sea States
A ministerial session of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) was held in Reykjavik, Iceland, on June 20. It was timed in to coincide with the 25th anniversary of this international forum, which, in addition to Russia, includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland and Sweden, as well as the European Union. Foreign ministers of the CBSS member states, as well as the EU representative, took part in the session. The Russian delegation was led by First Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov.
The meeting participants were unanimous in that the council, despite the recent interruptions in the political dialogue, continues to be a valuable and important regional cooperation forum. It was stated that cooperation in the Baltic region that covers the key spheres of public life makes it possible to consider this region one of Europe’s most stable ones even amid current difficult international circumstances, and its economy is characterised by steady growth. In this regard, the participants spoke in favour of further strengthening the project-oriented efforts undertaken by the organisation, including as part of the CBSS Project Support Facility.
The Russian delegation proposed resuming the practice of holding coordination meetings of northern regional councils and Northern Dimension partnerships at the political level to ensure synergy of their efforts.
A joint declaration was adopted during the session, which summed up the council’s activities since its inception and outlined areas of future activities. A decision was taken to create a Group of Wise Persons to develop a new road map for the Baltic Sea Region for the period until 2030. The Baltic 2030 Action Plan aimed at promoting the global goals of sustainable development at the macro-regional level was approved.
The CBSS presidency for the next year was passed from Iceland to Sweden.
