The EU’s executive body has finalised its first ‘macro-regional’ plan, which will focus on tackling the severe environmental degradation of the Baltic Sea and wider region. The Commission released a proposal for a strategy for the Baltic Sea Region as well as an action plan on 10 June, with EU leaders likely to ask for a similar strategy to be prepared for the Danube region by 2010.

The strategy identifies four main pillars for EU action: making regions more environmentally sustainable; economic prosperity; geographical accessibility and attractiveness; and making the area safe and secure. In terms of environmental sustainability, there will be renewed efforts for preventing the depletion and degradation of the Baltic Sea and reducing the number of nutrients put into the sea for example.

The strategy will also be used for developing the region’s isolated electricity market. It aims to integrate energy markets, particularly in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, so as to reduce prices and facilitate the diversification of energy sources, as the building of this network will provide an opportunity to develop large-scale offshore wind-farms in the Baltic Sea to be used in the region and potentially beyond.

It is foreseen that this strategy will be implemented using ‘much deeper coordination’ of institutions, policies and investment in the Baltic region, without the implementation of new legislation, structure or funds. Instead the EU had already set aside €10 billion for environmental purposes for 2007-2013 under the EU’s cohesion policy funding.

With Sweden assuming the rotating EU Presidency as off next month, and with the country already having expressed its determination to make the Baltic a priority, it is clear the issue will be treated seriously over the coming months. Added to which EU leaders have in fact indicated in their draft conclusions for next week’s summit that they hope to adopt a Baltic strategy by the following summit in October, the coming months could prove very fruitful indeed.