Address at Baltic Sea Summit

My point of departure is stating the obvious, but often overlooked: How we address the question of energy will to a large degree shape the future of our region. Arguably no other factor will have such an impact on the development of our nations as stable and cost-effective suppliers of energy. It is surely true as far as economic development is concerned. Sustained and sustainable growth and prosperity cannot happen without a rational energy system. It is nothing less than the key factor.

But equally important is the interrelationship between energy and the environment. Many areas of the Baltic Sea region and indeed the Baltic Sea itself are, as we all know, heavily polluted. It does not take any special insight to realise that the success of the clean-up efforts will to a very large degree depend on our ability to match the need for energy with the needs of the environment. That is also what the obligations we just undertook in Kyoto are all about. If nothing else, Kyoto compels us to undertake a radical review of how we think of these issues, and to act.

The countries represented around this table find themselves in very different positions as regards energy. Some have limited indigenous resources and rely heavily on imports to satisfy their need for oil, gas, coal and electricity. Others are producers, but have to depend on energy resources which are environmentally hazardous. Still others are major producers and exporters of energy in various forms. In short, our region offers a complex picture where all major energy interests - from those of the producer-exporter to those of the consumer-importer - are represented.

The energy systems of the two main parts of the Baltic Sea region - the countries to the East on one side, and the countries to the West and South on the other - were for many years separate. This is now rapidly changing. Both in the field of pipelines and electricity grids a number of projects are being discussed that would contribute to link up the countries concerned. Still, we have a long way to go before we can speak of an integrated system.

And that is my vision - a system whereby the countries of the CBSS region are integrated into an efficient production and distribution energy network which will provide environmentally friendly, stable supplies of energy, be it electricity, gas, oil or coal or other energy sources.

Do I propose that governments and authorities plan, regulate and control such a network, that we create a big bureaucracy? No, I don't! Such a network must of course be realised by drawing on the mechanisms of the market and the full participation of the industry. But governments, and we as their leaders, could and should take initiatives and assist where we can.

And that is just what I recommend that we do. In June last year the Nordic prime ministers at a meeting in Bargen, adopted a declaration on "Sustainable energy supplies around the Baltic Sea". There they tasked their energy ministers to prepare a report on the prospects for an increased cooperation in the energy field in the Baltic Sea region. The report will be completed in a couple of months, and is based on close consultations with the energy authorities of the countries gathered here today.

My hope and proposal is that this report can form the basis for further work in the wider circle which the CBSS countries represent. One way of doing this would be for the Nordic energy ministers to invite their colleagues - the energy ministers of the CBSS countries - to a conference, for instance this autumn in order to discuss the potential for making energy-cooperation a new and significant dimension of the dynamic development in our region. If our ideas receive a positive response, Norway could offer to host such a conference. One important task would be to pick up all the projects and plans that already exist, and try to put them into a larger coordinated perspective. Another would be to stimulate energy efficiency and energy conservation.

I am not saying that launching such a process would result in a quick-fix to the challenges which we face in this field. And I do not underestimate the difficulties in generating a new cooperative energy system. What I am convinced of, though, is that the idea would be well worth trying, and that the benefits for us all are potentially very substantial.

Thank you.