Organization:Baltic Sea States Sub-regional Co-operation

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Short description: International network of local governments
Baltic Sea States Sub-regional Co-operation
HeadquartersSzczecin, West Pomerania, Poland
Official languagesEnglish
TypeInternational network
MembersDenmark , Estonia, Finland , Germany , Latvia, Lithuania, Poland , Norway , Sweden
Leaders
• President
Poland Olgierd Geblewicz
Establishment1993; 31 years ago (1993)

Baltic Sea States Sub-regional Co-operation, BSSSC is an international network associating local governments and local government organizations of the countries around the Baltic Sea. It was established in 1993 under the Stavanger Declaration as a result of the establishing Council of the Baltic Sea States a year earlier.[1]

It has an observer status in HELCOM.[2]

History

The BSSSC was founded in October 1993 in Stavanger, Norway , pursuant to the Stavanger Declaration, the result of the establishment of the Council of the Baltic Sea States in 1992.[1][3]

In 2009, the BSSSC initiated, together with the European Commission, the Idea Café Project aimed at promoting joint funds for the Baltic Sea region.[4] In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual conference was held for the first time in the remote formula.[5] In 2021, the BSSSC adopted a joint resolution on the future of the Baltic Sea in the context of climate change, cross-border cooperation and weapons lingering at the bottom of the Baltic Sea.[6] In March 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the BSSSC excluded Russian regions from the organization.[7][8][9]

Structure and mission

The goal of the BSSSC is to strengthen regional cooperation as well as to support the interests of its members among decision-makers from the European Union.[1] Political priorities of BSSSC are:[10]

  • EU cohesion policy
  • EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea
  • Innovations / Smart Specialization
  • Culture, creative industries and regional identity
  • Transport and communication connections

The organization consists of:

  • chairman who represents organizations outside and conducts board meetings;[11]
  • board, which is the decision-making body of the BSSSC;[12]
  • annual BSSSC conference, which is the organisation's main forum;[13]
  • secretariat that changes with the president and is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the organization.[14]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Baltic Sea States Subregional Cooperation | UIA Yearbook Profile | Union of International Associations". https://uia.org/s/or/en/1100025935. 
  2. "News 2015-2017" (in en). https://www.bsssc.com/news. 
  3. "Structure" (in en). https://www.bsssc.com/structure-1. 
  4. "Project Idea Café and the Baltic Sea States Subregional Co-operation (BSSSC) annual conference" (in pl). https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/pl/newsroom/events/2009/10/project-idea-cafe-and-the-baltic-sea-states-subregional-co-operation-bsssc-annual-conference. 
  5. "BSSSC Annual Conference 2020" (in en-gb). https://www.balticsea-region-strategy.eu/communication-alias/events/600260-bsssc-annual-conference-2020. 
  6. "To co najważniejsze dla Bałtyku! Rezolucja państw nadbałtyckich w ramach BSSSC -" (in pl). 2021-10-14. https://pomorskie.eu/to-co-najwazniejsze-dla-baltyku-rezolucja-panstw-nadbaltyckich-w-ramach-bsssc/. 
  7. "Nadbałtyckie regiony nie będą współpracować z Rosją!" (in pl). 2022-03-17. https://www.wzp.pl/biuro-prasowe/biuro-prasowe/aktualnosci/nadbaltyckie-regiony-nie-beda-wspolpracowac-z-rosja. 
  8. "Zarząd BSSSC wykluczył Obwód Kaliningradzki ze współpracy subregionalnej krajów nadbałtyckich" (in pl). https://samorzad.pap.pl/kategoria/aktualnosci/zarzad-bsssc-wykluczyl-obwod-kaliningradzki-ze-wspolpracy-subregionalnej. 
  9. "Nadbałtyckie regiony nie będą współpracować z Rosją! Decyzja BSSSC pod przewodnictwem Marszałka Województwa Zachodniopomorskiego". https://www.iswinoujscie.pl/drukuj/74500/. 
  10. "BSSSC (Baltic Sea States Subregional Cooperation)" (in de). http://www.schleswig-holstein.de/DE/Fachinhalte/O/ostseepolitik/bsssc.html?nn=80cfdf51-1a24-4512-a0d7-d9cd524787ae. 
  11. "Chairman" (in en). https://www.bsssc.com/chairman. 
  12. "Board" (in en). https://www.bsssc.com/board. 
  13. "Annual conferences" (in en). https://www.bsssc.com/ac. 
  14. "Secretariat" (in en). https://www.bsssc.com/secretariat.