Foreign Trade and Development Minister Paula Lehtomäki to attend the meeting of the Council of the Baltic Sea States in Poland
Press release 186/2005
9 June, 2005
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paula Lehtomäki will attend the ministerial session of the Council of the Baltic Sea States, CBSS, in Szczecin, Poland, on 9-10 June. The foreign and prime ministers of the CBSS have meetings in alternate years. The presidency of the CBSS will change over from Poland to Iceland after the Szczecin session.
The ministerial session, which will be held at foreign minister level, will focus on the role of the Council and its future prospects after the enlargement of the European Union. Cross-border cooperation and environmental issues will also feature prominently on the agenda. In her statement, Minister Lehtomäki will hasten the economic cooperation between the Baltic Sea states and call for further inputs to resolve environmental problems. According to her, the Baltic Sea region is capable of becoming the engine of economic and social development in Europe. This, however, requires open-minded and determined cooperation between the states in the region in order to capitalise on the resources available and in order to resolve even the most difficult problems.
The members of the Council of the Baltic Sea States are: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the European Commission.
Further information: Counsellor Tauno Pesola, Unit for the Northern Dimension, tel. +358 40 5555 662, and Special Advisor to the Minister Satu Mäki, tel. +358 40 8293 298