Council of the Baltic Sea States foreign ministers to meet in Malmö

Press release 120/2007
8 June, 2007

The 14th Foreign Minister Meeting of the Council of the Baltic Sea States will be organised in Malmö, Sweden, on 12-13 June. In Malmö, the chairmanship of the council will transfer from Sweden to Latvia. The Finnish delegation will be chaired by Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva.

The launch of the reform of the operations and structure of the Council of the Baltic Sea States is one of the topics on the Foreign Minister Meeting agenda. In addition, the Foreign Ministers will discuss the possibility of drafting a Baltic Sea strategy within the council.

During the Foreign Minister Meeting, Kanerva will also meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for the first time.

In the operation of the Council of the Baltic Sea States, CBSS, established in 1992, are involved all Baltic Sea region states as well as Norway, Iceland and the European Commission. The topics handled in the council cooperation include economic, energy and environmental protection questions; sustainable development; safety of shipping; action against contagious diseases as well as human trafficking and other forms of organised crime; cooperation between universities and polytechnics; and action for preservation of cultural heritage.

Additional information: Special Adviser to the Foreign Minister Jori Arvonen, tel. +358 (0)9 1605 5016, and First Secretary Jukka Nikulainen, tel. +358 (0)9 1605 5772