Highlights

  In October 2017, three new Flagships of Policy Area Secure were adopted by the EUSBSR National Coordinators. The actions of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region are implemented by means of Flagships. Flagships demonstrate the progress of the Strategy, and may serve as pilot examples for desired action in a given field. We asked the newly approved Flagships what the status means to them.

I had a great privilege to travel to sunny Slovenia last month to take part in “EU Macroregional Strategies Conference on Media and Communication – Know Thy Neighbour”. The event was about exchanging experiences, learning from good practices and discussing how to improve the visibility of the EU macro-regional strategies (MRS). Participants were representatives of media, journalists, communication experts, academia and interested stakeholders. Can you imagine that this was the first time that communication people from all four macro-regional strategies met to discuss their work!  

A digital Flagship of Policy Area Innovation, project DIGINNO (Digital Innovation Network), was launched on 5 September in Tallinn. DIGINNO’s objective is to advance the digital economy and to speed up the process of moving towards the Baltic Sea region single digital market. The project aims to increase the capacity of policymakers, industry associations and industrial SMEs to enable faster and more efficient uptake of digital solutions both in public and private sector.

  Healthy Population – Prosperous Region A healthy population is a critical factor behind the sustainable economic development of enterprises and societies. Therefore, improvement of health throughout the Baltic Sea region is important for the prosperity of the region.

On 14th June 2017, on the second day of the 8th Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region and during a Plenary Session on Strategic Cooperation on Sustainable Blue Growth in the Baltic Sea Region, the Baltic Sea Clean Maritime Awards of the Baltic Sea Forum were given out. The projects and actions awarded are strongly in line with the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region.

  Politicians, public authorities, industry stakeholders and maritime Flagship Projects agree that there is a need to focus on cross-sectorial cooperation, education and training as well as enforcement of regulations in order to turn the Baltic Sea Region into a leading region for clean and safe shipping.