Baltic Sea Ambassador Erja Tikka: investments in blue growth benefit the entire Baltic Sea region

Plenty of scope for improvement remains in the status of the Baltic Sea.  The Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda2030 relevant to the seas and the Baltic Sea Strategy update will be some of the key themes of Finland’s forthcoming HELCOM Chairmanship.  The outgoing Baltic Sea Ambassador Erja Tikka stresses the importance of cross-border Baltic Sea cooperation, also in funding issues.

Erja Tikka, the outgoing Baltic Sea Ambassador, has drawn particular attention to the marine litter problem during her term of office. Photo: HELCOM

Finland as an advocate for regional cooperation

In the run-up to EU budget negotiations, many are also concerned over the future of Baltic Sea cooperation. Regional cooperation programmes have been the main funding source of EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region projects. Attempts to involve national Structural Funds programmes with their much larger volumes have not been very successful.

“We must find a solution to this problem during the following funding period. Rather than being our loss, supporting transnational cooperation with a s mall slice of the funding would benefit our country. It will be up to the newly established counties to adopt this fresh way of thinking in Finland”, stresses Erja Tikka, Finnish Baltic Sea Ambassador.  “As the battle over the EU budget will be tough and cuts in cohesion funds will be inevitable, Finland together with other Baltic Sea countries should be profiled as a strong advocate for regional and cross-border cooperation.” 

Regional cooperation projects also bring more extensive benefits. Finnish actors are highly prominent project leaders or lead partners in the Baltic Sea region in proportion to our population.  Should this situation continue, it is also likely to increase EU funding allocated to Finland.

Another update of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region

Another update of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region will be launched late in 2018. The idea is to influence the contents of future funding programmes, ensuring that they will lend stronger support to the EU’s macro-regional strategies, of which the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region is the oldest.

Finland’s Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region completed last autumn gives Finland clear pointers for planning the contents of the new strategy.

By investing in the circular economy and bioeconomy across the Baltic Sea region, we can make a significant impact on both the status of the Baltic Sea and climate change mitigation. Intensifying cooperation related to blue growth, including the marine cluster, innovations and digitalisation will also serve both Finland and the entire Baltic Sea region. Erja Tikka considers it vital that the regions, civic society and businesses alike will continue their involvement in the preparation and implementation of the strategy.

The farewell seminar of Baltic Sea Ambassador Erja Tikka was held at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on 21 May 2018. Its topics included the outlook for EU funding and Finland’s two-year HELCOM Chairmanship starting in summer 2018.Photo: Virpi Voittonen

Baltic Sea Ambassador networks and brings visibility

Increasing the visibility of Baltic Sea issues and networking with stakeholders around Finland are an essential part of the Baltic Sea Ambassador’s work. Actors working for the Baltic Sea have indeed praised Tikka for her extensive networking. It has made it easy for them to report their concerns and pass on their messages to the central government and the national coordinators of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, at whose meetings the Baltic Sea Ambassador represents Finland.

Tikka’s successor as Baltic Sea Ambassador will begin their work in autumn 2018.

EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region main event to be held in Tallinn

As her final task, the outgoing Baltic Sea Ambassador will attend the main event of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, or the 9th Annual Forum(Link to another website.). The main theme of this year’s event held in Tallinn on 4–5 June will be After 2020. In Tallinn, seminar participants will discuss the status of the Baltic Sea environment, digitalisation and ways of improving strategy implementation. This year's forum will be hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia and Baltic Development Forum think-tank in cooperation with the European Commission.

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