PRESS RELEASE:
HELCOM’s Chairman to address the Baltic Sea Action Summit

For immediate release

Helsinki, 9 February (HELCOM Information Service) – HELCOM’s Chairman, Mr. Igor Maydanov will participate and deliver a keynote address at the Baltic Sea Action Summit, which will take place on 10 February in Helsinki.

“The summit which brings together leaders of the Baltic coastal countries and the EU and focuses on the restoration of our sea is an unprecedented and historical event,” Maydanov told reporters today in Helsinki. He pointed out that it is a vindication of the commitment by the governments and the business community to set the Baltic on a path of restoration. “In response to the current degrading state of the marine environment, the Summit aims to obtain concrete and meaningful commitments from the public and the private sectors for the recovery of the Baltic Sea. These activities will be linked to the implementation of the strategic HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan to radically reduce pollution and restore its good ecological status by 2021”.

The implementation of the overarching plan to rescue the troubled Baltic marine environment which was launched under the Russian Chairmanship of HELCOM is considered an initiative of the highest political importance in the region, noted Maydanov. And this Summit should provide high-level support to the development of National Implementation Programmes to achieve the objectives of the Baltic Sea Action Plan, said Maydanov. These programmes currently being drafted by all the coastal countries are to be presented by the ministers of the environment at the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting to be held on 20 May in Moscow. “I see the Baltic Sea Action Summit as an excellent preparation for the Ministerial Meeting, which will be a stocktaking of the current status of implementation of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan and more specifically it will assess the programmes of action by each of the Baltic coastal countries,” added Maydanov.

The Baltic Sea Action Summit is convened by the President of the Republic of Finland, Ms. Tarja Halonen, the Prime Minister of Finland, Mr. Matti Vanhanen and the Chairman of the Baltic Sea Action Group (BSAG), Mr. Ilkka Herlin. The Summit brings together heads of states and governments, businesses and NGOs from all around the region. Up to 140 commitments from around the region are expected to be presented at the event. They include know-how, products and funds for projects and adoption of operations that are friendlier to the Baltic Sea.

HELCOM’s Chairman will address the leaders of the countries during an official lunch, as well as deliver a keynote speech at the second plenary session. He will be accompanied by the Executive Secretary of HELCOM, Ms. Anne Christine Brusendorff.


Note to Editors:

The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, usually referred to as the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), is an intergovernmental organisation of the nine Baltic Sea coastal countries and the European Community working to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution and to ensure safety of navigation in the region.

HELCOM is the governing body of the "Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area," more usually known as the Helsinki Convention.


For more information, please contact:

Mr. Nikolay Vlasov
Information Secretary
HELCOM
Tel: +358 (0)46 8509196
Fax: +358 (0)207 412 645
E-mail: nikolay.vlasov@helcom.fi