Baltic Sea strategy open to all

Dec 17, 2007
In cooperation with BNS

BRUSSELS -- The Baltic Sea strategy, which was given a preliminary endorsement at the European Council will be open to all, Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said in Brussels on Friday.

The final conclusion of the European Council noted the Swedish initiative to work out the European Union's Baltic Sea strategy.

"I can say that we will shape the Baltic Sea strategy so that cooperation will be open to all applicants, Ansip said in Brussels during a European Council meeting.

"As we know there is also a Mediterranean initiative, which has been criticized by [German chancellor] Angela Merkel for taking advantage of the European Union in attempts to isolate one region from the rest of the European Union," Ansip said, underlining that the Baltic Sea strategy initiated by Sweden would not turn into anything similar.

"We are not planning to use means of the European Union in some way of becoming self-absorbed. On the contrary, one of the keywords in working out the Baltic Sea strategy will be openness," Ansip said.

"Working out the Baltic Sea strategy is a reality and preparatory work for this is already going on in Estonia."

Regional cooperation and development of the Baltic Sea region is of growing importance from the point of view of the whole European Union, the government communication office mediated the prime minister's view.

The Baltic Sea strategy mentioned in the European Council conclusions embraces issues of economic, transport and research cooperation as well a environmental issues. The strategy is intended to win more attention to the Baltic Sea area in the European Union and the hope is to shape it into a regional cooperation model for the whole of the EU.

The strategy is likely to be passed during the Swedish presidency period in the second half of 2009.

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