Baltische Zee-strategie voor tweede maal besproken op Forum (en)

Met dank overgenomen van Pools voorzitterschap Europese Unie 2e helft 2011 i, gepubliceerd op vrijdag 21 oktober 2011.

On 24th-26th October 2011 in Gdansk, the Second Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region will take place, combined with the 13th Baltic Development Forum Summit. Both events, co-organised by the Polish Presidency of the EU Council, the European Commission, the Baltic Development Forum, the Marshal’s Office of the Pomeranian Voivodeship and the city of Gdansk, will take place in Poland for the first time.

It is expected that around 700 people will attend, including senior politicians from the region, representatives of European institutions and regional cooperation structures, as well as representatives of central and local government from the Baltic Sea Region countries. The Polish delegation will be chaired by the Regional Development Minister Elzbieta Bienkowska i.

The theme of this year's event is: New Ambitions for the Baltic Sea Region. During several plenary sessions and panel discussions, guests will discuss the most important aspects of the review of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. They will also seek answers to the challenges facing the entire region, including the possibility of linking the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region with the priorities of the EU 2020 Strategy, the priorities in cooperation with Russia and the effective integration of business in the implementation of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea.

Plenary sessions and panel discussions will be conducted in the Baltic Philharmonic. During a ceremony in Sopot and at the Gdansk Shipyard, the Baltic Sea Award and the Baltic Sea Region Innovation Award will be handed out. Alongside the main events, a range of accompanying events will take place devoted to the individual priority areas of the strategy.

The Second Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region has been included in the agenda of the Polish Presidency of the EU Council, which in this six-month period is conducting the first review of this macro-regional strategy. The forum is regarded as a kind of public hearing for all parties involved in the implementation of the strategy. All suggestions and comments presented during the forum will contribute to the review process of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, which will end in November. More information on these events is available on a special website:http://www.bsr2011.eu.