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Germany passes Presidency of the Council of the Baltic Sea States on to Finland
Harbour of the German city of Wismar near the Baltic Sea, © Janine Schmitz/photothek.de
After a year at the helm, Germany today passes the Presidency of the Council of the Baltic Sea States on to Finland who will coordinate the Council’s work for the next 12 months. For us, this is a good opportunity to look back at the German Presidency.
The impact of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine dominated Germany’s Presidency year. In May 2022, Russia left the Council of the Baltic Sea States. For the German Presidency, it was thus a major priority to lay the groundwork for the future of the CBSS, for some time one of the last remaining forums for cooperation with Russia. The remaining members quickly agreed that the CBSS is still needed as a forum for political dialogue and practical cooperation in the region. During the German Presidency, the CBSS successfully regrouped as a platform for dialogue based on trust focusing on the political issues of our time.
The highlight of the German Presidency year was the meeting of the CBSS Foreign Ministers and the EU held in Wismar on 1 and 2 June. Here the main focus was on resilience, renewable energies and clearing munitions dumped in the Baltic Sea. The 20th Ministerial Session of the CBSS was preceded by a series of projects, meetings and initiatives geared to the three key priorities of the German Presidency.
German priorities during its Presidency year – dumped munitions, offshore wind and youth
During Germany’s Presidency, a special focus was put on these three key areas which are especially important for people’s safety on a day‑to‑day basis: clearing dumped munitions in the Baltic Sea, developing offshore wind energy and promoting youth participation.
Some 400,000 tonnes of conventional munitions dating back to the World Wars are to be found on the Baltic seabed, in addition to some 40,000 tonnes of chemical weapons. These dumped munitions in the Baltic Sea pose an enormous challenge and a danger both to humankind and the environment. This challenge needs a cross-border approach.
With its Declaration agreed at the CBSS Ministerial in Wismar, the Council, thanks to Germany’s endeavours, for the first time identifies this as a regional problem which the Baltic Sea States need to tackle together. During Germany’s Presidency, multidisciplinary dialogue on this topic was held in Kiel in December 2022 with experts from various fields. Furthermore, Germany launched an immediate action programme totalling 100 million euro to clear munitions in the North and Baltic Seas.
Developing offshore wind energy was a further focus, in particular given the need to increase European energy sovereignty in the wake of Russia’s war of aggression. In the Berlin Declaration, the CBSS members underscored, inter alia, the need to develop offshore wind energy in the Baltic Sea also for security reasons. They committed to ambitious goals to develop offshore wind energy in the Baltic Sea. Output is to increase sevenfold by 2030.
With a view to getting the private sector on board with these political objectives, the Federal Foreign Office hosted the Baltic Offshore Wind Forum together with Denmark in Berlin on 9 May 2023. Some 300 participants from almost all CBSS states – from the fields of politics, administration, business and civil society – came together for dialogue on offshore wind. The Forum was opened by Foreign Minister Baerbock together with her Danish and Finnish counterparts.
Youth
Young people are the future – in the Baltic Sea region as elsewhere. Their participation and ideas are especially important when it comes to defining responses to the challenges facing Europe. This is why the Federal Foreign Office was engaged in setting up the Baltic Sea Region Youth Forum (BSRYF) to develop and organise various formats for getting young people involved. One example is the Baltic Sea Youth Dialogue (BSYD) which was held in Hamburg in November 2022 to discuss emergency preparedness. Furthermore, in the run‑up to the Ministerial Session in Wismar, the Federal Foreign Office joined forces with the BSRYF to stage the CBSS Youth Ministerial. This brought together 30 young people from the CBSS member states from 21 to 25 May 2023 in Berlin for a project workshop on social resilience. The young adults worked on specific project ideas, including on topics such as combating disinformation, involving young people more in the field of emergency preparedness and preventing and recognising human trafficking. Five young participants presented the results of the CBSS Youth Ministerial to the Foreign Ministers in Wismar.