Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference

The 1st Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference was held in Helsinki on 7–9 January 1991, on the initiative of the President of the Finnish Parliament, Mr Kalevi Sorsa. The title was the Parliamentary Conference on Cooperation in the Baltic Sea Area. Six successive Conferences had the English name of the “Parliamentary Conference on Cooperation in the Baltic Sea Area”. The 7th Parliamentary Conference replaced the word “Area” with “Region”. The Conference was renamed by the 8th Conference as the “Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference”.

The 1st Conference was attended by parliamentary delegations from Denmark, Estonia, Greenland, Hamburg, Iceland, Karelia, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, MecklenburgVorpommern, Norway, Poland, Schleswig-Holstein, Sweden, the Åland Islands, the Faroe Islands, and the USSR. Observers were sent by the U.N. European Economic Conference, EFTA, the Helsinki Committee, the Interparliamentary Union, the Nordic Council, and the Council of Europe. Some of the subjects discussed at the Conference were proposed after earlier consultations (a preparatory meeting was held in Helsinki on 13 September 1990) but a number of other issues were discussed at the Conference forum. This gave the Conference the character of a working meeting that identified problems in the Baltic Sea Region needing swift action. Talks held during the Conference concentrated on four subjects: economy, ecology, culture, and politics. The economic discussions were dominated by issues relating to the transition of former communist bloc countries to market economies and the economic reforms in the Soviet Union. It was emphasised that the economic development of the Baltic States and the Leningrad area was vital to the region's integration and that the West should develop an appropriate mechanism for assisting those areas. The speakers expressed their hope for a rapid opening of the East to a capitalist economy, e. g. through free economic zones. However, they also emphasised that political stability free from armed conflicts is a precondition of development. During the debate on environmental protection, the invited experts presented the situation regarding the contamination of the Baltic Sea waters. This made clear to the Conference participants that ecosystems are not divided by political boundaries and that any measures to improve the natural conditions could be only be successful though joint action. Consequently, solution of ecological problems requires not only technological solutions but also political will and broad understanding. The participants called for urgent action to prevent contamination increasing in the Baltic region. They proposed a number of concrete measures, such as a joint system of taxes and fines for environmental pollution or signing a convention on the reduction of harmful substances added to the fuel of ships using the Baltic Sea.

The Conference also pointed out the importance of developing cooperation in the fields of education and culture. The participants voiced their hope that this cooperation would enable Northern Europe to be a model for coexistence within and between regions and ethnic minorities. The Nordic Council reported a number of initiatives intended to intensify cooperation with the Baltic States: the Council opened its information centres in the capitals of those countries, and the Danish Culture Institute did the same in Riga. At the same time, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia opened similar centres in Copenhagen. The political debate was dominated by developments in the Baltic States. Their representatives strongly protested against measures taken by the USSR authorities, and other delegates, especially the representatives from Denmark, voiced similar opinions. The discussion also concerned the security issue in the region, the proposed Nordic nuclear weaponfree zone, and cooperation to combat international crime. There was also a proposal to establish a Baltic Sea Council that would compile plans for cooperation in the region, initially in the fields of culture and economy, and later in areas such as technology, power industry, and education. This proposal was soon implemented. In autumn 1991, Denmark and Germany, considering economic and political stabilisation of the Baltic Sea Region, proposed an initiative to establish a new international organisation at governmental level. The Foreign Ministers of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Norway, Poland, Russia and Sweden, as well as representatives of the European Commission met in Copenhagen on 5–6 March 1992. They set up the Council of Baltic Sea States, an organisation to build up democratic institutions in the region and cooperate on matters of economy, culture, environmental protection, nuclear security, and social affairs. The council is now one of the most important players for international cooperation in the region. The Conference did not produce any formal conclusions or a resolution, but it should be considered as extremely important because of its groundbreaking character. The variety of regional development concepts presented at the Conference provided a basis for further debate and cooperation between the states and regions concerned.

On May 16, 2022, the Russian State Duma announced its withdrawal from the Baltic Parliamentary Conference.

Country name	Arms	Flag	Membership	Parliament	Membership status	Represented since	Members	EU relation	NATO relation
Denmark			full	Folketing	sovereign state	1991	5	member	member
Estonia			full	Riigikogu	sovereign state	1991		member	member
Finland			full	Eduskunta	sovereign state			member	member
Germany			full	Bundestag[7]	sovereign state			member	member
Iceland			full	Alþingi	sovereign state	1991		associate	member
Latvia			full	Saeima	sovereign state	1991		member	member
Lithuania			full	Seimas	sovereign state	1991		member	member
Norway			full	Storting	sovereign state	1991		associate	member
Poland			full	Parliament of Poland	sovereign state			member	member
Sweden			full	Riksdag	sovereign state	1991		member	partnership
Åland			full	Lagting	self-governing region of Finland	1991		territory	demilitarized zone
Bremen			full	Bürgerschaft	States of Germany			territory	member
Faroe Islands			full	Løgting	self-governing region of the Unity of the Realm	1991		minimal	member
Greenland			full	Inatsisartut	self-governing region of the Unity of the Realm	1991		OCT	member
Hamburg			full	Bürgerschaft	States of Germany			territory	member
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern			full	Landtag	States of Germany	1991		territory	member
Schleswig-Holstein			full	Landtag	States of Germany	1991		territory	member

St Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Karelia, Leningrad - do these need to be added?

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