PRESS RELEASE:

Wastewater treatment in Kaliningrad continues

First major result in the Baltic Sea Action Summit joint effort well before February’s summit

Manager of the NDEP fund Jaakko Henttonen delivered good news in the Baltic Sea Action Summit press conference in St. Petersburg this Thursday. The construction of a wastewater treatment plant that was in a halt is being continued in Kaliningrad. Until now the wastewaters of 400 000 habitants have been drained straight to the Baltic Sea. For the last 15 years the building of a wastewater plant in Kaliningrad has been on the agenda, without results.

“The international co-operation and monitoring that was agreed upon yesterday guarantees that the purification requirements will be met,” states Henttonen about the progress of the project.

The reduction of emissions from Kaliningrad has been a top priority of the joint effort by President Tarja Halonen, Prime minister Matti Vanhanen and Baltic Sea Action Group. This joint effort by the trio gathers commitments from the heads of state and businesses around the Baltic Sea area for concrete work on behalf of the Baltic Sea. Most visible part of the process is the high level summit on February 10^th, 2010 in Helsinki.

Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, after discussions with Prime Minister Vanhanen, announced in October that the Summit has the full support of Russia. He also stated that the Baltic Sea Action Summit process will produce significant decisions and also, that the matter of Kaliningrad will be taken into consideration immediately.

“The key of success in all major projects is the participation of the highest level of politics – especially in Russia.” points out Ilkka Herlin, chairman of Baltic Sea Action Group.

“This is a great example of co-operation. If this project is realized it is enough to justify all the efforts we have made with the heads of state. In February we will see more concrete solutions for the problems that the Baltic Sea is facing.” promises Saara Kankaanrinta, who is responsible of the Summit contents as well as the Secretary General of BSAG.

“Most important work is done before and after the high level summit. With the event in February we try to speed up the actions that are vital to the Baltic Sea. The to do-list, for both heads of state and businesses, is extensive but this is exactly why we need a joint effort with this much visibility”, Ilkka Herlin, Chairman of the Board of BSAG, continues with a smile.

Additional information: Saara Kankaanrinta, 050 545 0323, saara.kankaanrintaREMOVETHISCAPITALTEXT[at]bsag.fi (BSAG, asiamies, Baltic Sea Action Summit –responsible of the Summit content)

Image bank and logos: Pieta Jarva, 050 338 1096, pieta.jarva@bsag.fi

Baltic Sea Action Summit: www.bsas.fi , Baltic Sea Action Group (BSAG): www.bsag.fi