Brussels,
SWD(2015) …
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT
Accompanying the
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
concerning the
European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region
ACTION PLAN
{COM(2009) 248}
{SEC(2009) 702}
{SEC(2009) 703}
…..
June 2015 VERSION
Action Plan
for the
European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region
An integrated framework that allows the European Union and Member States to identify needs and match them to the available resources by coordinating of appropriate policies, thus enabling the Baltic Sea region to achieve a sustainable environment and optimal economic and social development.
Table of Contents
Introduction 8
Governance of the Strategy 11
Roles and responsibilities of the main stakeholders of the EUSBSR 11
Updating the Action Plan 16
Flagships: functions, structure and added value 17
Regional organisations within the EUSBSR 21
Funding Issues 32
Communicating the EUSBSR – Let’s talk about results 34
Objectives and sub-objectives of the Strategy 35
Save the Sea 35
Sub-objective: Clear water in the sea 37
Sub-objective: Rich and healthy wildlife 38
Sub-objective: Clean and safe shipping 39
Sub-objective: Better cooperation 40
Connect the Region 42
Sub-objective: Good transport conditions 42
Sub-objective: Reliable energy markets 43
Sub-objective: Connecting people in the region 44
Sub-objective: Better cooperation in fighting cross-border crime 44
Increase Prosperity 47
Sub-objective: Baltic Sea region as a frontrunner for deepening and fulfilling the single market 48
Sub-objective: EUSBSR contributing to the implementation of Europe 2020 Strategy 48
Sub-objective: Improved global competitiveness of the Baltic Sea region 51
Sub-objective: Climate change adaptation, risk prevention and management 53
Policy Areas 59
PA Bioeconomy – Agriculture, forestry and fisheries 59
PA Culture – Culture & creative sectors 69
PA Education – Education, research and employability 74
PA Energy – BEMIP Action Plan (for competitive, secure and sustainable energy) 80
PA Hazards – Reducing the use and impact of hazardous substances 91
PA Health – Improving and promoting people’s health, including its social aspects 97
PA Innovation – Exploiting the full potential of the region in research, innovation and SME, utilising the Digital Single Market as a source for attracting talents and investments 102
PA Nutri – Reducing nutrient inputs to the sea to acceptable levels 107
PA Safe – To become a leading region in maritime safety and security 113
PA Secure – Protection from land-based emergencies, accidents and cross-border crime 121
PA Ship – Becoming a model region for clean shipping 131
PA Tourism – Reinforcing cohesiveness of the macro-region through tourism 137
PA Transport – Improving internal and external transport links 143
Horizontal Actions 148
HA Capacity – Capacity building and involvement 148
HA Climate 152
HA Neighbours – Creating added value to the Baltic Sea cooperation by working with neighbouring countries and regions 158
HA Spatial Planning – Encouraging the use of maritime and land-based spatial planning in all Member States around the Baltic Sea and develop a common approach for cross-border cooperation 164
Annex I: EUSBSR Flagships 167
Abbreviations
BASREC / The Baltic Sea Region Energy Cooperation Initiative
BEMIP / The Baltic Energy Market Interconnection Plan
BDF / Baltic Development Forum
BONUS / The joint Baltic Sea Research and Development Programme
BSAP / HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan
BSC / Baltic Sea Commission
BSPC / Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference
BSR / The Baltic Sea Region
BSRAC / Baltic Sea Regional Advisory Council
BSRBCC / The Baltic Sea Region Border Control Cooperation
BSSSC / The Baltic Sea States Sub-regional Cooperation
BSTF / The Baltic Sea Tourism Forum
BSTF / The Baltic Sea Task Force
CBSS / The Council of the Baltic Sea States
CBSS TF-THB / Task Force against Trafficking in Human Beings
CCI / Cultural and Creative Industries
CCS / Cultural and Creative Sectors
CEF / Connecting Europe Facility
CEN / Continental European Networks
CF / Cohesion Fund
CFP / Common Fisheries Policy
CISE / Common Information Sharing Environment
CLLD / Community-Led Local Development
COSME / Programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and SMEs
CPMR / Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe
DG ENERGY / Directorate-General for Energy
DG GROW / Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs
DG ENV / Directorate-General for Environment
DG MARE / Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
DG REGIO / Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy
EAFRD / European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development
ECoC / European Capitals of Culture
EEZ / Exclusive Economic Zone
EFF / European Fisheries Fund
EIAs / Environmental Impact Assessments
EIB / European Investment Bank
EMFF / European Maritime and Fisheries Fund
EMODNET / European marine Observation Data Network
ERA / European Research Area
ERDF / European Regional Development Fund
ESF / European Social Fund
EU / European Union
EUSBSR / EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region
FDI / Foreign Direct Investment
GDP / Gross Domestic Product
GES / Good Ecological Status
GT / Gross Tonnage
HA / Horizontal Action
HAC(s) / Horizontal Action Coordinator(s)
HELCOM / The Helsinki Commission
HIV/AIDS / Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
HLG / High-Level Group of macro-regional strategies
IALA / International Association of Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities
ICES / International Council for the Exploration of the Sea
ICT / Information and Communications Technology
ICZM / Integrated Coastal Zone Management
IED / Industrial Emissions Directive
IMO / International Maritime Organization
IPR / Intellectual Property Rights
ISUM / Integrated Sea Use Management
ITS / Intelligent Transport Systems
JASPERS / Joint Assistance to Support Projects in European Regions
LNG / Liquefied Natural Gas
MLG / Multi-Level Governance
MSFD / Marine Strategy Framework Directive
MSP / Maritime Spatial Planning
MSY / Maximum Sustainable Yield
NCM / Nordic Council of Ministers
ND
NC(s) / Northern Dimension
National Coordinator(s)
NCDs / Non-Communicable Diseases
NDEP / The Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership
NDPC / The Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture
NDPHS / The Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being
NDPTL / The Northern Dimension Partnership on Transport and Logistics
NECA / Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) Emission Control Areas
NEET / Not in Employment Education or Training
NGO / Non-Governmental Organization
NIB / Nordic Investment Bank
NID / Nitrates Directive
OSH / Occupational Safety and Health
PA / Policy Area
PAC(s) / Policy Area Coordinators
PSSA / Particularly Sensitive Sea Area
RES / Renewable Energy Sources
SEA / Strategic Environmental Assessment
R&D / Research and Development
SCAR / The Standing Committee on Agricultural Research
SECA / Sulphur Oxide (SOx) Emission Control Area
SFM / Sustainable Forest Management
SMEs / Small and Medium Enterprises
SOGC / CBSS Senior Officials Group for Culture
TEN-E / Trans-European Energy Network
TEN-T / Trans-European Transport Network
THB / Trafficking in Human Beings
UBC / Union of the Baltic Cities
UWWTD / Urban Waste Water Directive
VASAB / Visions and Strategies around the Baltic Sea
VET / Vocational Education and Training
VMS / Vessel Traffic Management System
VTS / Vessel Traffic Service
WFD / Water Framework Directive
WHO / World Health Organization
Introduction
In December 2007, the European Council issued its Presidency Conclusions, inviting the European Commission to present an EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea region no later than June 2009.[1] Prior to this, the European Parliament had called for a strategy to address the urgent environmental challenges arising from the increasingly visible degradation of the Baltic Sea. The Commission presented its Communication on the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) on 10 June 2009[2] alongside a detailed Action Plan prepared following intensive consultation of Member States and stakeholders. The European Council endorsed this approach – the EU’s first macro-regional strategy in October 2009.[3]
Based on the experience gained, the Commission put forward a Communication on 23 March 2012[4] specifying the three overall objectives for the Strategy: ‘Save the Sea’, ‘Connect the Region’ and ‘Increase Prosperity’. The Communication also included concrete proposals to establish a set of measurable indicators and targets for each objective, with the aim of facilitating monitoring, evaluation, communication, and, most importantly, achieving results. On 26 June 2012, the General Affairs Council endorsed this Communication[5] and took note of the list of indicators and targets elaborated during spring 2012 by the task force composed of representatives of the Member States and the European Commission.
Following this, Action Plan of the EUSBSR was updated to reflect objectives, targets and indicators of the Strategy that are fully in line with and contribute to the objectives of Europe 2020 Strategy. It introduced governance of the EUSBSR in line with the guidelines for roles and responsibilities of the main implementing actors, which was also agreed by the General Affairs Council on 26 June 2012. It also presented the work structured by policy areas and horizontal actions.
With a view to concentrate and focus better on the three objectives of the Strategy, an extensive consultation with Member States concerned and stakeholders in the Baltic Sea region was carried out in 2014 and early 2015. Following that, a revised Action Plan of the EUSBSR was agreed with Member States in February 2015. It is more streamlined and focused, and also includes a chapter on the role of regional organisations/networks.
Although this is a strategy of the European Union (EU), it is clear that many of the issues can only be addressed in constructive cooperation with our external partners in the region. However, the Strategy cannot impose action to third parties. Instead, it rather indicates areas where cooperation is desirable and proposes platforms for discussion and cooperation. As the European Council conclusions noted, the Northern Dimension – a common policy of the EU, Russia, Norway and Iceland –, provides the basis for external aspects of the Strategy. Other fora are also useful, such as international bodies, for instance the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), the Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM) or the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM). The macro-regional cooperation is without prejudice to the decision-making mechanisms of these respective bodies. As regards cooperation with Russia, developments in EU-Russia relations will be taken into account in accordance with the relevant European Council and Council Conclusions.
A key factor of success for the Strategy is the integrated and coordinated governance of the Baltic Sea region, between sectors of society as well as between regional and local authorities in the respective countries.[6] Without such integration, the objectives of the Strategy will be difficult to achieve. The overall success of the strategy also depends on the weight and attention it is given from the political actors in the region. Successful implementation of the Strategy requires also the adoption of a gender perspective in the governance system and the Action Plan. Equality between men and women is a core value of the European Union. At the same time, economic and business benefits can be gained from enhancing gender equality. In order to achieve the objectives of the EUSBSR the contribution and talents of both women and men should be fully used.
This Action Plan comprises 13 policy areas and 4 horizontal actions, which represent the main areas where the EUSBSR can contribute to improvements, either by tackling the main challenges or by seising key opportunities of the region. Typically, one Member State coordinates each policy area or horizontal action, and they work on its implementation in close contact with the Commission and all stakeholders, i.e. other Member States, regional and local authorities, inter-governmental and non-governmental bodies. Other bodies may also be nominated to coordinate an area or action. They need to ensure that the Action Plan is consistent with all EU policies, and in particular Europe 2020 Strategy as well as the Integrated Maritime Policy, with its Blue Growth strategy and its Sustainable Blue Growth Agenda for the Baltic Sea Region,[7] and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) objective to reach good environmental status by 2020 and sustainable growth in the region. Furthermore, they need to ensure the integration of the horizontal principle of sustainable development in the Action Plan and that environmental considerations are adequately taken into account in the flagship proposals.
Every objective of the Strategy covers a wide range of policies and has impact on the other objectives: they are interlinked and interdependent. Presentation of each policy area and horizontal action starts with a background information on the topic, followed by specific indicators and targets.
By way of example, climate change and the sustainable development principle will be adequately included as a cross-cutting horizontal consideration in the implementation of the Action Plan’s objectives, sub-objectives, policy areas, horizontal actions and flagships.
To translate this into results, there are detailed actions and flagships. Actions represent the main steps that are needed to achieve the agreed indicators and targets for that particular area, while flagships detail how to achieve (part of) the desired outcome. Importantly, flagships should all have a lead partner and a deadline for implementation. In some cases, actions and/or flagships might require a change in the policy thrust or (rarely) national legislation of the Member States in the Baltic Sea region. In others, they require financing which could be provided by private or public funding (EU, national, regional or local funds). All actions and flagships should be understood without prejudice to the existing exclusive Community competences.
In a number of cases, the objective of the actions and flagships is to highlight areas of activity that are ongoing within the EU or in other international frameworks, but which require greater coordination within the Baltic Sea region and consistent funding strategies to be implemented successfully. The Strategy provides a unique opportunity to do this. Work on the Action Plan should be carried out in close coordination with any such on-going developments (in particular new regulations), including at EU level, to ensure coherence and efficiency.
The lingering impact of the economic crisis affects the context in which this Action Plan needs to be implemented. There is a less-favourable climate for investment, affecting both public sectors and private business generally. This makes it all the more essential that the EUSBSR allows the partners in the region to take a longer perspective, recognising that when this crisis has passed the regions that have best prepared will be those best equipped to take advantage of the new opportunities and innovations.