Highlights of the 30th General Assembly of the CPMR Baltic Sea Commission

Key highlights included the adoption of the Baltic Sea Commission Resolution 2025, which delivers policy messages to EU institutions, and the election of Ms Talvikki Jori (Southwest Finland) as President for 2025-2026, alongside Mr Rickard Carstedt (Region Västerbotten) as First Vice-President. All approved documents are available here.

Read the full recap here.

Opening session

At the invitation of Mr Markku Markkula (Region Helsinki-Uusimaa), BSC Member Regions convened at the European Committee of the Regions, where he previously served as President. In his welcoming remarks, he underlined the European Committee of the Region’s role since 1994 as the institutional voice of local and regional authorities at EU level.

Mr Filip Reinhag (Region Gotland), CPMR President, highlighted key advocacy achievements, such as shaping the Ocean Pact and strengthening partnerships with MEPs. He underlined the active participation of the CPMR Baltic Sea Commission in CPMR work, especially on themes related to competitiveness and security. He praised the active contribution of the Baltic Sea Commission to the CPMR’s work on resilience, security and preparedness.

Ms Talvikki Jori (Region Southwest Finland), Acting President of the BSC, welcomed Members and guests. She stressed that while the Baltic Sea area holds unique opportunities to drive EU growth, its stability is increasingly challenged by the shifting security environment. Regional collaboration, she noted, is crucial to unlocking the region’s potential and building resilient societies. She also called for EU investment in infrastructure, innovation, and cohesion to enable sustainable growth across the Baltic Sea.

Ms Lucille Ehrhart, BSC Executive Secretary, presented the Activity Report of the CPMR Baltic Sea Commission for 2024-2025, underlining the BSC’s efforts in monitoring and shaping EU policies while maintaining strong dialogue with EU institutions – especially as 2025 marks the beginning of a new European Commission mandate.

An EU budget that helps regions lead territorial development and contributes to EU priorities

Moderated by Mr Jorge Núñez Ferrer, Director for Cohesion Policy and EU Budget at the CPMR Secretariat, this session examined the European Commission’s recently published proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). Members expressed concern over possible cuts to key policies, particularly Cohesion Policy.

Ms Lourdes Acedo Montoya, Head of Unit at DG Budget (European Commission), presented the 2028–2034 MFF proposal (presentation available here), designed around four headings and new own resources. She underlined its ambition to be more efficient, flexible, and strategically aligned with Europe’s geopolitical challenges.

Ms Niina Pautola-Mol, Regional Mayor, raised concerns about the role of regions in the MFF architecture and the proposed National and Regional Partnerships Plans, where the role of regions is unclear and not guaranteed since the existence of regional chapters within the plans seems to be optional.

Mr Merten Barnert, Deputy Head of the Representation of the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to the EU, warned that the proposal risks widening the gap between the EU and its citizens, fuelling euroscepticism. He stressed that regions are vital partners in delivering EU policies on the ground.

Mr Jaakko Mikola, Regional Mayor of Kymenlaakso, highlighted the challenges of eastern border regions with Russia and welcomed the preparation of an EU Pact for these areas.

Mr Mikael Janson, Director of North Sweden EU Office, argued that the proposal of budget size remains too small to address Europe’s global role. He regretted that the principles from Cohesion Policy have been broken, warning of negative consequences for regional development. He emphasised the importance of sustained EU investment in local capacity and value chains, especia/lly in globally small but strategically important regions such as Northern Sweden and the NSPA.

Reshaping Baltic Sea Region cooperation in a changed Europe

In a panel with representatives of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR), and the BSC, participants explored how cooperation frameworks in the Baltic Sea Region are adapting to new security realities. They highlighted their complementary approach to strengthen resilience, security and sustainable development across the Baltic Sea Region.

This session highlighted the ongoing reform process within the Council of the Baltic Sea States. Mr Gustav Lindström, Director General of the Council of the Baltic Sea States, informed participants that the geopolitical changes in the Baltic Sea region led to the re-evaluation of the CBSS organisation’s functions and its raison d’être. In Spring 2025, the former President of Estonia Mr Toomas Hendrik Ilves and the former Foreign Minister of Lithuania Mr Gabrielius Landsbergis drew up a report on the future of the CBSS to develop recommendations on reforms and refocus of the CBSS in order to reflect the new security and geopolitical situation in the Baltic Sea Region. The “Wise Persons Report” was submitted to the CBSS Foreign Ministers at their meeting in Vihula, Estonia on 15-16 May 2025. It calls for reorienting the focus of the organisation to address the concerns of governments and current geopolitical realities.

Mr Filip Reinhag, CPMR President, highlighted the important role of the CBSS in building stability and economic, social and territorial development across the Baltic Sea Region. He welcomed the stronger focus on security of CBSS and highlighted that regions have a key role to play in building resilient, strong communities while also making strategic investments to reinforce security. He welcomed the good cooperation and complementary work of the CBSS and CPMR Baltic Sea Commission.

The session was also an opportunity to highlight the state of the play in the update process of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. Ambassador at Large for Baltic Sea Cooperation Tõnis Nirk, representing the EUSBSR Estonian Presidency, highlighted that the new Action Plan update is entering a final phase. The new Action Plan will take into account EU priorities, and the changed security situation in the Baltic Sea Region. Resilience will be at the core of each Policy Area work. He welcomed the BSC recommendations on the Action Plan update (report available here), and highlighted the important role of regions in the delivery of the Strategy.