The European Commission is calling together a second Our Baltic Conference, to be held in Palanga in September, bringing together ministers from the eight EU nations that border the Baltic Sea.
The Baltic is a unique ecosystem, a virtually enclosed body of water bordered by Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Finland and Sweden – as well as Russia – and characterised by shallow depths, low water temperatures and slow rates of water circulation related to the relatively narrow channel of the Kattegat that connects it to the North Sea.
It’s no secret that the Baltic Sea has been in trouble for a long time, as a highly polluted sea affected by biodiversity loss, climate change, eutrophication, overfishing, and elevated levels of contaminants such as pharmaceuticals and litter, including plastic waste.
97% of the Baltic is affected by eutrophication, and it doesn’t help that an estimated 300,000 tonnes of munitions from both World Wars lie at the bottom of the Baltic, gradually leaching contaminants in to the waters.
‘The Baltic Sea is not in good shape. It’s time to save this sea for the people who live around it, for our fishers and for future generations. In September, I will be inviting ministers responsible for fisheries, agriculture and environment from all EU countries around the Baltic to step up their action,’ commented Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius ahead of the Palanga conference.
‘We will tackle in particular an invisible threat: the unexploded munitions lying at the bottom of the sea. I am looking forward to taking more targeted actions together so that we can solve the complex problems this majestic sea faces.’
Ministers aim to examine what has been achieved since the first Our Baltic Conference in 2020, and to analyse what still needs to be done.
Heralded as an opportunity to discuss, collaborate and agree on a joint action to address the current challenges, it’s too early to speculate on what the outcome is likely to be – although any cynical observer might predict there will be agreement that overfishing is the key problem facing the Baltic, more restrictions are needed, and other issues can be expected to be kicked into the long grass to be dealt with at some point in the future.
