Baltic State Summit

The mood at the conclusion of the 6th Baltic Sea States Summit in Reykjavik, Iceland, was one of cooperation, focussing on expanding their cooperation with other international organisations, and increasing the free-flow of trade and labour.

In attendance were Icelandic PM Halldor Asgrimsson, Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Estonian PM Andrus Ansip, Finnish PM Matti Vanhanen, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Latvian PM Aigars Kalvitis, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis, Norwegian PM Jens Stoltenberg, Polish PM Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, Russian Federation PM Mikhail E. Fradkov, Swedish PM Goran Persson, and Ambassador to the European Commission Percy Westerlund.

Among the conference's joint conclusions, the representatives "looked forward to a new Northern Dimension policy beyond 2006 jointly agreed by all the EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Russia and the European Commission, which will provide a common framework for regional cooperation in Northern Europe." The group also aimed for further cooperation with the Arctic Council, the Barents Euro-Arctic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers.

The aims of such areas of cooperation included "removing barriers to trade and investment in the region as well as raising awareness of the fight against corruption," which would involve the use of both the public and the private sector. A major part of this area of cooperation included "the economic, environmental, and strategic importance of energy cooperation in the Baltic Sea region" as well as "continued stimulation for trade and investments between CBSS member states, underlining the importance of maintaining and updating the CBSS information gateway for small- and medium-sizes enterprises."

Environmentalism also came to the surface, with the conference calling for "continued strengthened and co-ordinated action, including concrete measures, to address common concerns and threats such as eutrophication, hazardous substances, the loss and degradation of biodiversity, the environmental impacts of maritime activities including shipping and threats to fish stocks," saying further that they expected "concrete results" by 2007.

In the area of human rights, the representatives touched on the idea that "continued efforts to address challenges to democracy, the risk of democratic deficits, and the implementation of the international agreements on human rights are needed." But mostly, a strong emphasis was placed on human trafficking, with plans to "integrate the successful work of the Nordic Baltic Task Force against Trafficking in Human Beings into the CBSS framework."

When asked by the press if organised crime had been addressed, PM Fradkov replied, "This group has been working for the past ten years on this issue, with an emphasis on human trafficking and the stealing of auto cars, which is of most importance to Europe. And I suggested that the members reach towards terrorism as well, as this is a key point of organized crime, and I think my colleagues support this."

When asked how Sweden intends to emphasise environmental issues, PM Asgrimsson said, "This is very high on the agenda, and much has been achieved in the past ten years, in particular in the area of the transport of oil from the east to the west."

PM Persson added, "Our focus has been on two things: the use of energy, as this is linked to the environment, the use of energy more effeciently, and also the beautification of the Baltic Sea area. We want to engage the schools in these issues, and try to make a difference. I believe after a year you'll see we've done something.

A member of the Icelandic press asked PM Marcinkiewicz is the free-flow of workers within the EU Member States has hurt the Polish economy, implying that Polish workers were leaving the country to seek work elsewhere, to which PM Marcinkiewicz replied, "This is a matter with two dimensions. First, is freedom and democracy. We have tried our best to make Poland a free and democratic country, where everyone has the same type of passport so that they can be used in the same way. Second, is the Polish economy. That problem will hopefully be resolved, to a realistic degree, within three years' time, to where Poles will employ more Poles."

A member of the press asked PM Kalvitis is the issue of human rights had been addressed - a pointed question, as Latvia and Russia have been at loggerheads over human rights issues for some time now.

PM Kalvitis replied, "It's important to start a dialogue, and historically it's been a very good meeting. I will call on the Latvian government to become more active in this area."

Added PM Fradkov, "We have discussed these issues, in particular the rights of minorities, and will continue to build good neighbour relations with our neighbouring countries." - PFN