During the 8th EUSBSR Annual Forum many new and interesting publications concerning the developments in the Baltic Sea region came out.

Political state of the region report was published by Baltic Development Forum with the title "External earthquakes, internal adaptation? Brexit, Trump and the Baltic Sea region". In the report six young researchers have written about the impact of Brexit and Trump in thier field of research. It is concluded in the report that

" [...] multilateral cooperation around the Baltic Sea remains important for the region’s development and prosperity. Regional cooperation however, needs to adapt and adjust constantly to external circumstances. Hard security cooperation has become more important, but it falls outside the traditional formats of regional cooperation. Traditional formats and themes of regional cooperation should not be neglected, which could provide a certain sense of regional stability in unstable and uncertain times."

Read the Political State of the Region report on BDF's website.

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Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth together with Baltic Development Forum published a report "The Future of Europe and Globalization: Where is the Voice of the Baltic Sea Region?" The report is a follow-up for the "Vision 2030" report published in the Annual Forum in November 2016. A lot has happened in six months and thus the Baltic Sea region should take stock of the latest developments in discussing how to prepare to the future. The authors of the report, Dr. Christian Ketels and Dr. David Skilling, conclude that 

"[t]he Baltic Sea Region is facing changing circumstances in Europe and the global economy that have the potential to negatively impact its future prosperity. We see in this difficult situation an opportunity for the Region and the countries within it to act rather than only adapt. It can influence the future of European Integration, and has an important contribution to make to the discussions happening right now across Europe. It can prepare for changes in the global economy, and maybe even influence the choices that are being made shaping it. In both of these areas much of the action required is national in nature. But collaboration in the Region can accompany these efforts, by providing a platform to learn from each other and by joint action that can affect the context in which the countries from the Region operate."

Read the report here.

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The European Commission took the 2017 Annual Forum as an opportinity to publish a report "Towards an implementation strategy for the Sustainable Blue Growth Agenda for the Baltic Sea Region". The report presents the results of a systematic stakeholder dialogue in the region. Initiated by the European Commission in September 2016, the aim of the dialogue was to identify and discuss in greater depth the processes necessary to realise the Baltic Blue Growth Agenda in the coming years. The Sustainable Blue Growth Agenda for the Baltic Sea Region itself was adopted by the Commission already in 2014.

"This stakeholder dialogue process has raised attention and interest in the Baltic Blue Growth Agenda among many stakeholders throughout the BSR. The process has created four positive and realistic visions for where the BSR could be in 13 years time in each of the four selected thematic areas."

Read more about the visions and the drivers and next steps to reach them by downloading the report on the Commission's website.