Perspectives for the BSR

by Ms Malene Eskildsen

T he Copenhagen EU Office is the international office of the capital of Denmark. The office has been active in Brussels since 1992 representing the interests of Copenhagen and carrying the international priorities set for the city. These are the primary tasks of Copenhagen EU Office.

The office is engaged in a number of formal and informal networks such as Eurocities and various Baltic Sea organisations. Through forming alliances and strategic partnerships with other European cities we attempt to influence EU policies and to create a dynamic and sustainable development in the Baltic Sea Region surrounding Copenhagen.

The upcoming second Baltic Sea Region Perspectives conference, to be held in Brussels on 9 November in the House of the European Regions, is one of the major activities the Copenhagen EU Office is undertaking to materialize the above ambitions. The purpose of the conference is to identify what the Baltic Sea Region can do to help Europe reach its goals and vice versa: what Europe can do for the Region.

High-profiled speakers such as Commissioner of DG Regional Policy Danuta Hübner, ex-Foreign Minister of Denmark Uffe Ellemann-Jensen and the Mayor of Riga Aivars Aksenoks will speak at the conference, as well as representatives of the major Baltic Sea organisations and industry Three themes will be addressed:

• economy, growth, labour market and mobility
• environment and infrastructure
• education, research and innovation

The Baltic Sea Region exceeds European standards on a wide range of indicators, and European leaders such as José Manuel Barroso have commended the region for its solid implementation of the Lisbon Strategy and its innovative approach. The BSR in particular seeks to be the model for Europe in achieving sustainable growth based on Innovation, Mobility and Integration - the three crosscutting themes of the conference.

The conference is organised jointly by the Brussels representation offices of Helsinki, Tallinn, Malmö, Oslo, Riga, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, South Denmark House, Stockholm Region and Hanse-Office. Copenhagen EU Office is the main organiser.