UBC AT HIGH LEVEL MEETINGS

our region. BSA will be also used for information on the respective organisation members, and will include some important tools for further search.
The project is divided into three parts at the moment, with the UBC taking care of the home-page development including the fact pages, as well as the server. BSSSC has started a major work around a "Partner Search Forum" together with Kommunedata, Denmark. BCCA is working on the marketing side and is preparing a marketing leaflet. So far the project has not got any coordinator, but the idea is to share the job between the three organisations. This also means that BSA will be heavily dependent on the support of the three organisations. At the moment the BSA pages are under construction. Quick launching is planned and all the members will be involved in its marketing. The server and the job will from now on be transferred to the UBC Secretariat or some other place. In the meantime you can visit the ongoing project at the address: vvv. balticsea. net. 
Unfortunately, the ambitious plans had to be reduced due to the lack of financing.

POLISH - ESTONIAN TWIN CITIES CONFERENCE

Voru, Pärnu, Torva, Kunada, Suwalki, Ciechanów, Lukow, Wloclawek, Gdynia are well on the way to tightening up their twinning relationship. 
On 10-12 May Tallinn city hosted a Polish-Estonian Twin Cities conference. Both national associations of cities gathered together to talk about existing twinnings and to establish new partnership co-operation. Enlargement of the European Union and its impact on the Baltic cities was one of the leading themes. Local governance issues, Polish-Estonian cultural and economic exchanges and practical examples of European cooperation of the cities were covered, too. The conference met with significant interest in the area.

Union of the Baltic Cities has developed into one of the most important networks in the Baltic Sea Region in recent years. This is reflected in the invitations of the UBC President to a number of high level meetings, where he has been asked to give the opinion of UBC in different matters. Here is a short list of the most important meetings during the first half of 1999. 
February 17, the CBSS assembled at a meeting in Kaliningrad. Mr Engström put the emphasis on present and future co-operation in the Baltic Sea Region. Among the items suitable for increased co-operation is preparation for the enlargement of the European Union in our region and the implementation of Agenda 21. The relations between our region and EU should also be the subject of co-operation, especially regarding funding of future programs, co-ordination of programs and initiating local management and decision making on EU projects in our region. Also exchange of information is an important field for co-operation. 
March 21, UBC and BSSSC had a joint meeting with the EU Commission in Brussels. Mr Engström stressed the importance of continuing and increased funding from the European Union to the Baltic Sea Region, the need for co-ordinated programs and rules and also the need for local management of programs in our region. 
March 25, the Council of Europe had a conference on the theme "Problems of Financing Transfrontier Projects", also in Kaliningrad. Mr Engström in his speech emphasised above all the lack of suitable programs after the Phare and DG 16 financed programs have disappeared. Also the lack of co-ordination of financing on both sides of the Baltic Sea, the uncoordinated programs, deadlines and difficulties regarding program rules. One acute problem is late payment, especially from BSPF. 
April 12, the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs invited representatives of all Swedish actors in the Baltic Sea Region to a meeting with the Government. Mr Engström outlined a feasible model for concrete projects in BSR. UBC can initiate and carry out projects to strengthen the region and for sustainable development, and also catch and convey 

experiences and information from the local level. UBC, BSSSC and CBSS should jointly act to be a spokesman in Brussels with support from the national governments. Finally joint projects between the different level should be carried out, for example regarding information and exchange of experiences in the field of Agenda 21 and preparations for EU enlargement. 
April 22, the Council of Europe carried out a large conference in Kaunas on the theme "Improvements of Co-ordination between Institutions and Bodies for Cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region". Mr Engström stressed the importance of further co-operation between the organisations. Recently an EU commissioner had complained about the multitude of organisations in our regions. This shows the need to show a common face towards Brussels. 
June 14, Mr Engström had a speech at the CBSS meeting in Palanga, Lithuania. He listed a number of very concrete issues where cities have to be prepared for EU enlargement. He was also invited to a meeting aiming at setting up a concrete action plan to prepare cities for EU enlargement.

BALTIC SEA ALLIANCE

The three Baltic networks UBC, BSSSC (subregions) and the chambers of commerce (BCCA), have joined forces. After the two year talks on further cooperation it was decided to develop a joint information and marketing project at last kicked off in January 1999 in Kalmar. 
It is important to stress that this is not a new database but a contact link. The link, called www. balticsea. net, will be used for spreading information among the organisations in the BSR, and connecting the existing home-pages of the UBC, BSSSC and BCCA. In the future other similar organisations will be invited to take part. 
The BSA home page will be one important entrance for European and International organisations which would like to get contacts in