11th Ministerial Session of the CBSS 
(Svetlogorsk, Kaliningrad
Oblast, 5-6 March 2002)

        Declaration

        The Council of the Baltic Sea States 
represented by the Foreign Ministers of Denmark, 
Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, 
Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia and Sweden 
and a Member of the European Commission
       convened at Svetlogorsk in the Kaliningrad 
Oblast of the Russian Federation for the  
11th Ministerial session of the CBSS, marking 
the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the 
Council, and adopted the following Declaration.

 A Decade of Concentrated Effort

Driven by the will to enhance stability and 
prosperity in the Baltic Sea region through 
strengthened  co-operation on an equal and 
non-discriminatory basis, the Ministers for Foreign 
Affairs of the countries of the region and a 
representative of the European Commission 
adopted the Copenhagen Declaration  and 
established the Council of the Baltic Sea States in 
March 1992.


Time has proven this choic to be a good way to 
secure, in close collaboration with the enlarging
   European Union, the sustainable development of 
the region in an era of historical changes on the
European and international arena.

Shared responsibility for the future of the Baltic Sea 
region has allowed the Baltic Sea States to  develop 
unprecedented multilateral co-operation, covering a 
wide range of intergovernmental relations, i.a. 
democratic institutions, human rights, sustainable 
development, energy, environment,   radiation safety, 
trade, economy, spatial planning, transport, information 
and communication    technology, civil security, youth, 
culture, protection of children, and the fight against 
organised crime  and communicable diseases.

Thesee activities of the CBSS have created closer 
links between many regions of the Member States 
andpromoted  cross-border co-operation in the Baltic 
Sea region in general and with the North-West and the 
Kaliningrad Oblast of the Russian Federation in particular.

The Council has contributed to the creation of a civil 
society network around the Baltic Sea and has helped 
to improve people-to-people contacts significantly. 
Numerous links have been established  among 
non-governmental organisations, and Baltic Sea r
egion–wide NGO fora have been organised.

     The CBSS has contributed to the strong increase i
n trade and investments in the region, through
   supportive measures and the removal of obstacles. 
The CBSS Business Advisory Council has been of 
assistance in this process.
Regional co-operation has been a contributing factor 
to the sustainable development of the Baltic Sea
States, and to a better functioning of democratic 
institutions and the efficient promotion of human
rights, including gender equality issues, the rights of 
the child and the rights of persons belonging to 
minorities.

 With these constructive and result-oriented 
developments the Baltic Sea region has generated a 
trend   in European policies in relation to regional and 
cross-border co-operation and contributed to security
  and stability in an undivided Europe.   Common 
implementation of the goals and spirit of the 1992 
Copenhagen Declaration has increased the 
understanding and confidence between the Baltic Sea 
States, and has created a new positive   identity of 
the Baltic Sea region.
        Enhancing Baltic Sea Co-operation
   These achievements of the CBSS have been 
facilitated by a number of innovations and reforms.
   Baltic Sea States Summits of Heads of Government 
have been held three times, giving strong overall 
political guidance and stimulus to regional co-operation. 
Ministerial meetings have been held in many fields, and 
corresponding working groups have been established.
  To promote and consolidate democratic development 
in the member states, an independent CBSS  
Commissioner has been appointed. High-level Task 
Forces have been set up to fight organised crime and 
control the spread of communicable diseases. Special 
programmes have been created for higher education 
(EuroFaculty), energy (Baltic Sea Regional Energy 
Co-operation - BASREC) and sustainable development 
(Agenda 21 for the Baltic Sea Region – Baltic 21). The 
Council took note of the new institutional arrangements 
for co-operation on child matters.
Thee CBSS is served by a permanent secretariat 
since 1998. In 2000 all regional intergovernmental  
co-operation taking place among the group of CBSS 
members was consolidated within the framework
of the CBSS. Parliamentary co-operation has been 
carried out through yearly conferences held by 
members of  national and regional parliaments of 
the Baltic Sea states within the framework of the 
Baltic Sea  Parliamentary Conference (BSPC), 
ensuring democratic transparency and providing 
important impetus  to regional co-operation.
Municipal and regional authorities have established 
sub-regional institutions for the development of
local democracy, people-to-people contacts and 
cross-border co-operation in a wider sense: e.g. 
the  Union of the Baltic Cities (UBC), the Baltic 
Sea States Sub-regional Co-operation (BSSSC) 
and a  number of Euroregions. 
       
 A View into the Future
 This 10th anniversary of the CBSS is not only 
a landmark but also a point of departure for 
attaining new  goals.

The Members of the Council share the belief that 
co-operation within the framework of the CBSS will 
 continue to diversify and strengthen, becoming a 
permanent political and economic factor in the north
 of Europe. By adapting itself to changing 
circumstances, taking up issues of vital common 
interest and aming at concrete results, the CBSS 
will be able to meet the challenges ahead.  In the 
years to come, the Member States of the CBSS 
will remain united in their commitment to
realizing the full potential of good-neighbourly 
co-operation. For the next decade, their goal will
 be to  foster a region of accelerated sustainable 
growth, good environment and improved social 
welfare, a   region where all countries and societies 
enjoy security and stability and share common 
democratic  values.

The Baltic Sea States will further enhance the role 
of the CBSS as a political co-ordinator and initiator
of wide-ranging regional co-operation.

The ultimate goal of the CBSS is to secure a 
prosperous future for the Baltic Sea region. The 
dynamics      of the relationship between trade 
and investments, growth and welfare, stability 
and security will be  fully utilised in the endeavour 
to achieve this objective. Sustainable development 
in our region should been ensured, e.g. through 
the activities of Baltic 21.

The Baltic Sea States are convinced that the 
promotion of democracy and human rights is an 
integral  part of CBSS activities. The work of the 
CBSS Commissioner on Democratic Development 
is of special  importance in this respect. 

Council encourages the intensified co-operation 
among non-governmental organisations and other
civil society structures of the Baltic Sea region. 
This process of networking helps to identify 
priority tasks to be solved in common.

The results of CBSS co-operation are beneficial for 
all areas in and around the Baltic Sea region. The
Council will continue to encourage intensified 
co-operation between municipal and regional 
authorrities to enhance economic and social 
development. Further emphasis will be put on the
sub-national level of co-operation, cross-border 
projects and interaction with the BSSSC and the 
UBC in  developing trade, small and medium-sized 
enterprises, cultural exchanges and tourism, new
transportation links and people-to-people 
contacts.

  The Council expressed its support for regional 
measures to promote the development of 
Kaliningrad  Oblast of the Russian Federation, 
such as the EuroFaculty project and tripartite 
training initiatives of  Lithuania, Poland and 
Russia, and welcomed the initiative to set up an 
ad-hoc group for business  development in the 
Oblast.

 The future of the Baltic Sea region is seen as 
a continuous process of strengthening 
constructive   interdependence and coherence 
with other European structures. The CBSS is 
especially in favour of   intensified co-ordination 
and co-operation with other bodies in the North 
of Europe, i.e. the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, 
the Arctic Council, the Nordic Council of 
Ministers and the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM).

The CBSS reiterates the significance of further 
EU enlargement embracing Estonia, Latvia, 
Lithuania  and Poland.

Council emphasises that the Kaliningrad Oblast 
of the Russian Federation should become an 
 example of fruitful EU-Russia interaction, in 
solving relevant practical problems and seizing 
the opportunities offered by EU enlargement. 

The CBSS will utilise its advantage of 
encompassing both embers and non-members 
of the EU to prevent divisions and achieve 
cohesion.

  The Northern Dimension is a dynamic framework 
for dialogue and co-operation, which constitutes 
a  valuable link between the EU and the CBSS. 
he CBSS and other regional organisations should 
 contribute to the implementation of all sectors 
of the Northern Dimension Action Plan.

   The Council reiterated its strong condemnation 
of the terrorist acts committed in the USA on 
11 September 2001. Such acts, like any act of i
nternational terrorism, constitute a threat to i
nternational peace and security. The CBSS expresses 
its willingness to contribute to the fight against 
international    terrorism in accordance with the 
principles of the UN Charter, international law and 
relevant  international conventions and with 
resolution 1373 of the UN Security Council.

 Already many of the activities of the CBSS 
contribute to the elimination of risks of terrorism 
affecting the Baltic Sea region, and will be 
continued. The Council encourages the relevant 
CBSS structures and the Task Force on Organized 
Crime in the Baltic Sea region to enhance 
collaboration within their mandates towards this 
aim.
        Final Provisions
     The Council looks forward to the 4th Baltic 
Sea States Summit in St. Petersburg in June 2002, 
the first  such summit during the second decade 
of activities of the Council. The Member States 
look forward to Finland assuming the CBSS 
Presidency from July 2002 and noted the 
readiness of Estonia to succeed Finland in 2003.

       Finland invited the Members of the CBSS 
'o the next Ministerial meeting, which will take 
place in June  2003.

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mit Fakten zum
Fall "Kursk".
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