Remarks at Council of the Baltic Sea States - 15th Ministerial Session

The Minister’s remarks were based on the following talking points (excerpt)
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• Norway is a member of all the four regional organisations in Northern Europe and is a partner along with the EU, the Russian Federation and Iceland, in the Northern Dimension. We consider these four organisations, with the Northern Dimension as the umbrella, to be closely linked, although not formally. The work they carry out have much in common. Must complement each other – and have close contact with one another, on the administrative level and between the presidencies. Encouraging that contact have increased over the last years. We expect this development to be carried on.
• Engagement by parliamentarians is important and I am pleased to note that parliamentarians are taking a keen interest also in other Northern European councils and political arenas, such as the Northern Dimension. We need the active support of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference to our work. Like to underline how important it is that all national parliaments in the region contribute to fulfilling priorities on the CBSS agenda. This will also strengthen and deepen the cooperation on CBSS issues between government and parliament in CBSS capitals.
• Seeking a global framework for dealing with the challenge of climate change is not a question of state or market: the optimum mix of regulation and market should be sought. It is not a question of promoting renewable energy or energy efficiency or carbon capture and storage alone: we need a mix of all elements in our efforts.
• I appreciate that the Danish presidency has put energy high on the agenda and welcome the communiqué adopted by the Baltic Sea Region Energy Co-operation (BASREC) ministerial conference in Copenhagen in February this year, defining the framework of cooperation during the next three-year period. A strengthened cooperation under BASREC is a crucial contribution to meeting common challenges of energy and climate policy issues in the Baltic Sea region. The regional energy co-operation is important to several energy issues on the political agenda.
• I also welcome the agreement to present a statement from BASREC at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December. The statement emphasises energy efficiency and renewable energy in general, including measures that must be taken, such as the use of low-carbon, energy-efficient technologies and clean coal technology, especially Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). I very much welcome this initiative. Development and implementation of emission reduction technologies must be key elements in our climate strategy. Norway last week organised a high-level CCS conference in Bergen. Discussions showed that some CCS technologies are commercially available today.
• Over the past few decades the annual average Arctic temperature has increased at almost twice the rate of the rest of the world. A few weeks ago, foreign ministers of the Arctic Council met in Tromsø to discuss the dramatically escalating melting of ice worldwide. The development is highly relevant not only for the Arctic region but also for the Baltic Sea Region, and indeed globally.
• Collaboration in the field of higher education in the European region is by and large driven by and through the Bologna Process. The challenges and opportunities when it comes to higher education collaboration between the members of the Baltic Sea States are to a large degree dependent on the developments within the Bologna process. Norwegian higher education policy promotes the internationalization of higher education with focus on strong institutional collaboration and increased mobility of staff and students.
• The states of the Baltic Sea Region are all affected by trafficking in human beings. Appreciate that the CBSS has established two task forces to deal with this challenge, one on fighting trafficking with a focus on adults, the other with a mandate including prevention of trafficking in children, protection of child victims and safeguarding their rights to care and assistance. I would like to commend Denmark for its active role during its presidency in combating trafficking in the Baltic Sea Region and for its engagement in and support of the two CBSS task forces on this issue. Trafficking is a global issue requiring national, regional and international measures to implement the existing framework. To achieve and measure progress in this regard we need independent monitoring. For this purpose Norway has taken the initiative in the Conference of Parties to the UN Convention against Trans-national Organized Crime to establish an independent monitoring mechanism for the UN Protocol against Trafficking. We encourage the CBSS to engage in and support this initiative.

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• In conclusion, I would like to greet welcome the Lithuanian presidency of the CBSS for the upcoming 12 months and confirm that Norway, according to the rotation agreement between us, will assume the CBSS presidency from the first of July 2010. Norway is thus prepared to host the next ordinary ministerial meeting in Norway in June 2011.