Foreign Minister Paet and European Affairs Minister Ohlsson: Baltic Sea Region Strategy Could be Example for Danube Countries

01.03.2010

At his meeting with new Swedish European Union Affairs Minister Birgitta Ohlsson in Brussels on Monday, 22 February, Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said that the success of the Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region could serve as an example for the formulation of the Danube Strategy.

Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and Swedish Minister for European Union Affairs Birgitta Ohlsson agreed that the European Union Baltic Sea Region Strategy is off to a good start, which shows that regional strategies will become more important in the future. “Within the Baltic Sea Region Strategy, Estonia is focused on three sectors: the sea environment and navigation, better communication in the Baltic Sea region, and a knowledge-based society,” said Foreign Minister Paet. Foreign Minister Urmas Paet confirmed that the implementation of the Baltic Sea Region Strategy will support the goal of the European Union’s new economic growth and employment strategy to make the union more competitive.

While talking about the European Union’s renewed competitiveness strategy “Europe 2020”, Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and Swedish Minister for European Union Affairs Birgitta Ohlsson both were of the opinion that the new economic growth and employment strategy should focus on a limited number of priority goals on the European Union level, which the member states will set their own national goals to help fulfil. “Through the formation of Europe 2020, the role of the European Council should become stronger and the European Commission should increase its contribution to implementing the strategy,” said Foreign Minister Paet. Foreign Minister Urmas Paet emphasised that within the context of Europe 2020, Estonia feels that further developing a functioning European Union internal market is of key importance in order to help increase the competitiveness of the European Union.

According to Foreign Minister Urmas Paet, co-operation between Estonia and Sweden has always been good, and he stated that co-operation between the Nordic and Baltic countries is intensifying, both in the formation of common positions and in the implementation of practical co-operation programmes.

SPOKESPERSON´S OFFICE
+372 637 7654
+372 521 3085
pressitalitus@mfa.ee