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The Baltic Development Forum is an independent think-tank and non-profit high-level and agenda-setting networking organisation with strategic partners and sponsors from large companies, major cities, institutional investors, business associations and academia in the Baltic Sea Region. The network involves more than 8,000 decision-makers from all over the region and beyond.
March 2014 former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Lene Espersen replaced the interim Chairwoman, Mrs. Helle Bechgaard as chairwoman of Baltic Development Forum.
Until November 2011, Baltic Development Forum was chaired by Uffe Ellemann-Jensen, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Denmark 1982–1993. Mr. Ellemann-Jensen is co-founder of Baltic Development Forum (in 1998) and the Council of the Baltic Sea States (1992). Former CEO of Confederation of Danish Industry Hans Skov Christensen replaced Uffe Ellemann-Jensen as chairman. When Hans Skov Christensen died in autumn 2013 he was provisionally replaced by Member of the Board, Mrs. Helle Bechgaard.
The Baltic Development Forum Honorary Board and Advisory Board consist of high-level political dignitaries and prominent business executives and researchers representing the entire Baltic Sea Region.
Director of Baltic Development Forum is Hans Brask since August 2007. His background is in international affairs. He holds a MA in Political Science from the University of Aarhus (1990) and an MA in History and Philosophy from the University of Essex, UK (1990).
The mission of Baltic Development Forum is to promote the Baltic Sea Region as an integrated, prosperous and internationally competitive growth region, to position the Baltic Sea Region in the EU and on the global map. Baltic Development Forum has consolidated its position as internationally recognized think-tank and networking organization that wants to inspire and challenge national and international decision-makers within business and government in the Baltic Sea Region. The Region's potential and challenges are highlighted at the Summit as an important part of an increasingly globalised world. BDF offers a unique platform for innovative thinking, informal cross-sector/cross-border/cross-level encounters and concrete new business opportunities with a global perspective.
The Annual Summit takes place in different capitals and metropolis in the Baltic Sea Region - 1999: Copenhagen; 2000: Malmö; 2001: Copenhagen; 2002: St. Petersburg; 2003: Riga; 2004: Hamburg; 2005: Stockholm; 2006: Helsinki; 2007: Tallinn; 2008: Copenhagen/Malmö; 2009: Stockholm; 2010: Vilnius; 2011: Gdańsk; 2012: Copenhagen/Malmö; 2013: Riga. 2014: Turku, Finland.
Baltic Development Forum's Baltic Sea Award has been established together with Swedbank as sponsor in 2007. Recipient of the Award is given to personalities that have made an extraordinary contribution to the future of the region.
Baltic Development Forum publishes different reports in order to support a common regional agenda for integration, innovation and sustainable growth. The State of the Region Report has developed into a key reference document on tracking the region's competitiveness and economic development. Nordic Council of Ministers, European Investment Bank, and Nordic Investment Bank have co-sponsored this report.
Baltic Development Forum also carries out different cooperation projects with partners from many parts of the region in the field of energy, water, investment promotion, transport, branding and ICT.
Baltic Development Forum has been a key supporter of the EU's adoption of an EU strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. In October 2009, the European Council of the EU endorsed the first EU strategy for a macro-regional area of the EU. The Baltic Sea Region thereby has the chance to make an innovative combination of European and regional integration and news efforts to improve territorial cohesion of the EU according to EU's Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region.
The Baltic Sea Region comprises 11 nations and more than 100 million inhabitants. The Baltic Development Forum defines the Baltic Sea Region as including the Baltic countries Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, Northern Germany (Hansestadt Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein), Northern Poland (Pomorskie, Warminsko-Mazurskie and Zachodnio-Pomorskie), and Russia's Northwestern region including Kaliningrad.
The region shares many historical ties, which often are symbolized by the legacy of the Hanse around the Baltic Sea. Thus, the Baltic Sea has been the facilitator of integrative processes in more than 1000 years with more intensive periods than other. Naturally, the Cold War to a large extent hindered extended cooperation, but when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 new strong ties emerged. Nowadays the Baltic Sea Region is interlaced by a myriad of formal and informal cross-border organisations and fora signalising the multidimensional scale of interaction.
The Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) is a regional intergovernmental organisation working on three priority areas: regional identity; regional safety and security; regional sustainability and prosperity. These three priority areas aim to address the themes of sustainable development, environment, sustainable maritime economy, education, labour, culture, youth engagement, civil security, children's rights and trafficking in human beings.
The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomous areas of the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland. The representatives are members of parliament in their respective countries or areas and are elected by those parliaments. The Council holds ordinary sessions each year in October/November and usually one extra session per year with a specific theme. The council's official languages are Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish, though it uses only the mutually intelligible Scandinavian languages—Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish—as its working languages. These three comprise the first language of around 80% of the region's population and are learned as a second or foreign language by the remaining 20%.
Øresund or Öresund, commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of 118 kilometres (73 mi); its width varies from 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to 28 kilometres (17 mi). The narrowest point is between Helsingør in Denmark and Helsingborg in Sweden.
The Baltic Sea Region, alternatively the Baltic Rim countries, and the Baltic Sea countries/states, refers to the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea, including parts of Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. Unlike the "Baltic states", the Baltic region includes all countries that border the sea.
Venstre, full name Venstre, Danmarks Liberale Parti, is a conservative-liberal, agrarian political party in Denmark. Founded as part of a peasants' movement against the landed aristocracy, today it espouses an economically liberal, pro-free-market ideology.
Uffe Ellemann-Jensen was a Danish politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs of Denmark in the Conservative-led Poul Schlüter Administration from 1982 to 1993. He was leader of the Danish Liberal Party Venstre from 1984 to 1998 and President of the European Liberals 1995–2000.
The Ellemann-Jensen doctrine is a set of principles in international relations aimed at increasing the global influence of smaller nations. The doctrine is not a written document but rather an approach inspired by the 1982–1993 tenure of Danish former Foreign Minister Uffe Ellemann-Jensen. He promoted the idea that a small country can gain influence by supporting larger ones that share its values and ideals.
Poul Holmskov Schlüter was a Danish politician who served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 1982 to 1993. He was the first member of the Conservative People's Party to become Prime Minister, as well as the first conservative to hold the office since 1901. Schlüter was a member of the Folketing for the Conservative People's Party from 1964 to 1994. He was also Chairman of the Conservative People's Party from 1974 to 1977 and from 1981 to 1993.
The Øresund Region, also known as the Greater Copenhagen Region for marketing purposes, is a transnational metropolitan region encompassing the Capital Region and Region Zealand in eastern Denmark and Region Skåne and Region Halland in southern Sweden. Centred around the Øresund strait and the two cities which lie on either side, Copenhagen in Denmark and Malmö in Sweden, the region is connected by the Øresund Bridge, which spans the strait at its southern end, and the HH Ferry route between Helsingør, Denmark, and Helsingborg, Sweden, at the narrowest point of the strait.
Copenhagen Malmö Port AB (CMP) operates the ports in Denmark's capital Copenhagen and in Sweden's third largest city, Malmö. The ports are located either side of Øresund, a strait between the two countries. The combined Øresund Region is the Nordic countries' largest metropolitan area in terms of population. The region is connected by the Øresund Bridge, which spans the strait at its southern end, and the HH Ferry route between Helsingør, Denmark and Helsingborg, Sweden.
The 1981–85 Nordic Football Championship was the 13th Nordic Football Championship staged. Four Nordic countries participated: Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Denmark won the tournament, its third Nordic Championship win.
The Euroregion Baltic (ERB) refers to a cross-border Euroregion in the south-east of the Baltic Sea Region, consisting of eight regions of Denmark, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Sweden. On 2 March 2022, the ERB's Executive Board suspended Russia's membership, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Denmark–Lithuania relations refers to the historical and current diplomatic relations between Denmark and Lithuania. Lithuania has an embassy in Copenhagen, and Denmark has an embassy in Vilnius. Denmark first recognized Lithuania in 1921 and again on 28 February 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union. Diplomatic relations were established on 24 August 1991. The Danish recognition in 1991 has been described as "extremely important for Lithuania". Both countries are members of the European Union, NATO, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and Council of Europe.
Denmark–Latvia relations refers to the historical and current diplomatic relations between Denmark and Latvia. Denmark has an embassy in Riga and Latvia has an embassy in Copenhagen.
Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) is a regional co-operation format that includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden. Under NB8, regular meetings are held of the Baltic and Nordic countries' Prime Ministers, Speakers of Parliaments, Foreign Ministers, branch ministers, Secretaries of State and political directors of Foreign Ministries, as well as expert consultations where regional issues and current international topics are reviewed.
EuroFaculty was an educational institution in the Baltic states in reforming higher education in Economics, Law, Public Administration and Business Administration.
The Arctic Policy of the Kingdom of Denmark defines the Kingdom's foreign relations and policies with other Arctic countries, and the Kingdom's strategy for the Arctic on issues occurring within the geographic boundaries of "the Arctic" or related to the Arctic or its peoples. In order to clearly understand the Danish geopolitical importance of the Arctic, it is necessary to mention Denmark's territorial claims in areas beyond its exclusive EEZ in areas around the Faroe Islands and north of Greenland covering parts of the North Pole, which is also claimed by Russia.
The Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC) was established in 1991 as a forum for political dialogue between parliamentarians from the Baltic Sea Region. BSPC aims at raising awareness and opinion on issues of current political interest and relevance for the Baltic Sea Region. It promotes and drives various initiatives and efforts to support a sustainable environmental, social and economic development of the Baltic Sea Region. It strives at enhancing the visibility of the Baltic Sea Region and its issues in a wider European context.
The Southern Baltic Sea Parliamentary Forum was founded in 2004 as a forum for the regional parliaments of Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), West Pomerania (Westpommern), Pomerania (Pommern), Warmia-Masuria (Ermland-Masuren) and the administrative district of Kaliningrad. The regional parliament of the southern Swedish province Schonen is an associated Member.
Events in the year 2022 in Denmark.
