BackSustainability, Resilience and Security in the spotlight – Annual Forum 2024
The 15th EUSBSR Annual Forum, organized in Visby, Sweden on 30-31 October, invited participants to engage, co-create, and network to reinforce and further develop cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region and beyond. All in all, the forum attracted 650 registered participants from 20 countries.
The forum consisted of close to 30 workshops, seminars and panel discussions on topics important on the macro-regional level. Topics on the agenda varied from competitiveness and preparedness of the region to sustainable transport systems and energy security. The unjustified war in Ukraine and its impact on the EU and the Baltic Sea Region were addressed in more or less every discussion throughout the forum. This year, the EU post-2027 discussions and Strategy’s Action Plan update, which will be finalised during 2025, were also high on the agenda.
“Ukraine will remain central to the future of European security and the priority for the Baltic Sea Region”
– Ulf Kristersson, Swedish Prime Minister
Sustainable, resilient and secure Baltic Sea Region
On stage and in the hallways, Ukraine was on everyone’s lips. Starting from the very early days of the invasion in 2022, the key stakeholders of the Strategy have sought ways to support Ukraine and to build connections. Cooperation and support on Ukrainian soil is a priority, but the invasion also has an impact on the Baltic Sea Region, starting from energy and transport investments and the questions regarding balancing foreign trade and self-sufficiency.
We need to work on preventing the weaponisation of food and save our value-based democracies. This help also preventing the rise of national protectionism.
– Olga Trofimtseva, Agriculture Team Lead at Mykolaiv Water Hub and Former Minister of Agriculture Policy and Foor of Ukraine
Discussion about energy is also intensely tangled with questions about security and civil preparedness. ‘Energy infrastructure is targeted even in the Baltic Sea Region, which highlights the need to address energy security’ reminded Daniel Liljeberg, State Secretary to Swedish Minister for Business and Energy in his speech. Daniel Mortensen, Senior Project Manager, Oorsted called for an international security strategy in the region.
Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, MSB Director General, emphasised that in addition to the role and the needs of the military forces in terms of security issues, 80% of everything that has to function in society is owned or run by the private sector so the civil defence structures are equally important to consider. Quite recently, Sweden for instance has shifted more clearly towards thinking that civil defence is to support military defence, making sure that critical societal functions are at a level that will maintain a society that works ‘as normal’ as possible in times of crisis. MSB is a core agency in the Swedish system of total defence and it functions as a Co-Coordinator for Policy Area Secure in the Strategy.
We need to work together while there is time to work together, not when the crisis hits.
– Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, MSB Director General
The Annual Forum is a meeting point for cross-border and transnational cooperation
The EUSBSR Annual Forum brings together key actors working with regional cooperation, which opens an opportunity for a number of stakeholder meetings. On the day before the Forum, the Baltic Sea States Subregional Co-operation (BSSSC), Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) and Union of the Baltic Cities (UBC) organised a roundtable discussion regarding the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region Action Plan update and the role of regions and cities in the updated plan. On the same day, Interact invited Interreg cross-border and transnational cooperation programmes in the Baltic Sea Region to discuss synergies and ideas for the future, including closer cooperation with the Strategy’s Policy Area Coordinators.
Last but not least, the Swedish Institute organised an optional side event on the 29th of October, focusing on widening participation, increasing engagement and attracting new stakeholders to drive the Strategy forward. During the Engagement Day, close to 200 representatives of local authorities, civil society, youth, and the business sector had the opportunity to present their cooperation ideas and receive feedback from Policy Area coordinators.
The two hosts for the Annual Forum are the Swedish Government together with the Nordic Council of Ministers. The organizers are the Gotland County Administrative Board in close collaboration with the secretariat of the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Government Offices of Sweden, the Norden Association Sweden, the Swedish Institute, Region Gotland and the Baltic Sea Strategy Point. The event is co-funded by the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme, the Swedish Government, the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Swedish Institute and Region Gotland.
More about the Annual Forum
- The Future of Regional Innovation in the Baltic Sea Region
- Good practices on inclusive work environment are spreading
- WWF co-creates key solutions for offshore wind expansion
- Digital and Smart Solutions for Supporting Sustainable Business Environment
- Have your say on Interreg funding in the Baltic Sea Region after 2027
- The EUSBSR empowering sustainable rebuilding of Ukraine
- Strengthening Water Resilience in Baltic Sea Region Tourism
- Culture X Integration
- Recreating opportunities for twin towns – a new role in a modern, global and digital world
- BioBoosters Showcases Innovation
- Building resilient Communities
- Let’s talk about PFAS!
