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Formation | 1991 |
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Headquarters | Gdańsk |
President | Mantas Jurgutis |
Main organ | General Conference, Executive Board |
Website | www |
Union of the Baltic Cities (UBC) is a voluntary, proactive network mobilizing the shared potential of the member cities for democratic, economic, social, cultural and environmentally sustainable development of the Baltic Sea region.
The Union of the Baltic Cities was founded in Gdańsk, Poland in September 1991, by 32 cities, with the aim of developing cooperation and exchange between its member cities. Inspired in part by the historic example of the Hanseatic League [1] and supported by the European Union's Interreg programs to stimulate regional cooperation within the EU, it was one of the first formal institutions established to bolster the Baltic as a cohesive region within Europe. The cities of Gdańsk in Poland and Kalmar in Sweden took the initiative in founding the organization, but Gdańsk was chosen as the organization's headquarters to emphasize the desire to break down historic barriers between Western and Eastern Europe. [2] [3] [4] Anders Engström, who was in office from 1999 to 2001, was the first President of the UBC. [5] Per Boedker Andersen was the UBC President in the term 2001–2019. Since 2019 the office has been held by Mantas Jurgutis. [6]
The Union states its aims are to:
The Union gathers the cities from ten Baltic Sea countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, and Sweden. [8]
The Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) is a regional intergovernmental organisation working on three priority areas:
The terms Baltic Sea Region, Baltic Rim countries, and the Baltic Sea countries/states refer to slightly different combinations of countries in the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea, mainly in Northern Europe. The term "Baltic states" refers specifically to one such grouping.
The Northern Dimension (ND) is a joint policy between four equal partners – the European Union, Russia, Norway and Iceland – regarding the cross-border and external policies geographically covering Northwest Russia, the Baltic Sea and the Arctic regions, including the Barents Region. The ND Policy was initiated in 1999 and renewed in 2006. The Northern Dimension addresses the specific challenges and opportunities arising in those regions and aims to strengthen dialogue and cooperation between the EU and its member states, the northern countries associated with the EU under the European Economic Area and Russia. A particular emphasis is placed on subsidiarity, and on ensuring the active participation of all stakeholders in the North, including regional organizations, local and regional authorities, the academic and business communities, and civil society.
The European Structural and Investment Funds are financial tools governed by a common rulebook, set up to implement the regional policy of the European Union, as well as the structural policy pillars of the Common Agricultural Policy and the Common Fisheries Policy. They aim to reduce regional disparities in income, wealth and opportunities. Europe's poorer regions receive most of the support, but all European regions are eligible for funding under the policy's various funds and programmes. The current framework is set for a period of seven years, from 2021 to 2027.
The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions, and invest it in the infrastructure and services of underdeveloped regions. This will allow those regions to start attracting private sector investments, and create jobs on their own.
The Baltic Assembly (BA) is a regional organisation that promotes intergovernmental cooperation between Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. It attempts to find a common position in relation to many international issues, including economic, political and cultural issues. The decisions of the assembly are advisory.
Interreg is a series of programmes to stimulate cooperation between regions in and out of the European Union (EU), funded by the European Regional Development Fund. The first Interreg started in 1989. Interreg IV covered the period 2007–2013. Interreg V (2014–2020) covers all 27 EU member states, the EFTA countries, six accession countries and 18 neighbouring countries. It has a budget of EUR 10.1 billion, which represents 2.8% of the total of the European Cohesion Policy budget. Since the non EU countries don't pay EU membership fee, they contribute directly to Interreg, not through ERDF.
The Swedish Baltic Sea Water Award was a regional award by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs now discontinued. It had been administrated by Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) till 2010 and later handed over to the Swedish Institute (SI). Established in 1999 by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the award recognised direct and practical efforts by individuals, corporations, non-governmental organisations and municipalities to help improve the water environment of the Baltic Sea. Currently Swedish Institute operates "Cooperation in the Baltic Sea region" by providing Swedish organisations with funding, useful advice and help in finding partners in collaborating countries.
The Baltic Sea Region Programme 2007–2013 is a support programme part-financed by the European Union and Norway. It is one of the mainstream Structural Funds programmes under the European Community's territorial co-operation objective. The Programme will support transnational projects working together for balanced and sustainable development of the European territory.
Baltic 21 is a plan to cooperate on implementing regional sustainable development. It is managed by the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS).
The Baltic University Programme (BUP) is one of the largest university cooperatives in the world with 93 member universities and other institutes of higher education in the Baltic Sea Region. It has its coordinating secretariat at Uppsala University, in Sweden. The programme strives since its foundation in 1991 to find novel ways of interaction among universities by promoting openness, internationalization and mobility. The main aim is to support building strong regional educational and research communities. The main focus of the programme is Sustainable development, Environmental protection and Democracy.
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.
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.
The Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being (NDPHS) is an international networking platform for strengthening professional connections, sharing and co-creating knowledge, and developing joint activities in public health and social well-being. The Partnership is served by the NDPHS Secretariat that was established in 2012 as an international legal entity hosted by the Swedish Government located in Stockholm and funded jointly by the Partner Countries.
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.
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.
The Danube Strategy of the European Union aimed at closer cooperation between the states along the Danube. The focus is on the areas of infrastructure, environmental protection, wealth creation and good governance.