TO THE UBC MEMBER CITIES AND COMMISSIONS / NETWORKS

Dear friends,  

I approach you all with an important request for cooperation and trust that you will give it the serious consideration it deserves. My issue is how to make our own organisation, the Union of the Baltic Cities - even stronger so that it can in the best possible way serve you, the Member Cities.

This year on the 1st of May we have experienced a significant historical moment - the Baltic Sea Region became almost an inland sea of the European Union. This fact will have a strong positive impact on further development of our region and it must have an impact on the activities of the UBC.

The UBC Presidium met in Brussels on 24 November, in conjunction of an important conference on "Baltic Sea Region - Perspective 2010". The Presidium stressed that the enlargement of the EU in the BSR brings new opportunities and challenges to the UBC. We have to self-evaluate the work we are doing, so that the UBC will also in the future meet the expectations of the members. Many dimensions of our work need to be reviewed: How to promote effectively exchange of experiences between member cities? How to enhance the work of Commissions/networks and mobilise more outside funding? How to ensure, that the concerns of the cities in BSR are listened to at national Government level and in Brussels? Can we use our limited material and human resources more effectively?

You, representatives of UBC Member Cities are the best experts to define how the UBC of tomorrow should function and look like.

On behalf of the Presidium I should like to ask all member cities how - in your opinion the UBC should evolve in order to meet expectations of member cities in the enlarged Europe.

I would also like to ask the UBC Commissions and Networks to evaluate your work and report to me about your findings and recommendations. One question I have in mind is, for example, whether the present structure of the Commissions is optimal. Can we sustain more that ten effective Commissions and their Secretariats, or should we perhaps to form a smaller number of forums/clusters which would be served by effective secretariats? Each forum/cluster could well include several working groups, for example.

I look forward to your evaluation, ideas and initiatives. My proposal is, that we will discuss all these issues and your proposals in the next Executive Board meeting of UBC, to be held in Luleå on 4-6 March 2005. After that, a small Task Force would be entrusted to formulate concrete proposals, which can be taken into consideration when we prepare for the next General Conference in Turku (29.9.-1.10.2005).

Please send your opinions to the UBC Secretariat at info@ubc.net latest by 28 January 2004.

Looking forward to your active response in this issue which is our common concern.

I wish you all a peaceful and family Christmas.

Yours sincerely,

Per Bødker Andersen
President