The Baltic Sea Strategy? Toms Rostoks

1 2 3 2 3 UDK 327(4)(082) Eu 600 The publication of this book was supported by: The authors are responsible for facts and opinions reflected in the articles. Cover design by Kristīne Plūksna Copy editors Valdis Bērziņš, Antra Legzdiņa Layout by Margarita Stoka © Authors of the articles, 2010 © Kristīne Plūksna, cover design, 2010 ISBN 978-9984-808-77-2 © “Zinātne”, 2010 4 5 Contents Preface . 7 In Place of an Introduction: Why the Baltic Sea Strategy? Toms Rostoks . 9 Part I In Search of New Models of Macro-Regional Governance How to Govern the Strategy? Whether to Govern at all … Iveta Reinholde . 41 Designing National Governance for Macro-Regional Strategy Žaneta Ozoliņa . 59 Communicating the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region to Latvian Society Daina Bāra . 90 Part II From Strategy to Actions Can the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region Bridge the ‘Great Divide’? Alf Vanags . 103 Free Movement of Knowledge in the Unified Baltic Knowledge Area – the Cornerstone for Implementation of the Strategy Edvīns Karnītis . 120 Environmental Interactions: Humans, Nature and Politics Madara Pelnēna and Gatis Pelnēns . 139 4 5 The EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region and Promises for Latvia’s Energy Market Kārlis Bukovskis . 158 The Future of the Baltic Energy Market – Lessons Learned from the European Court of Justice Inese Stepiņa . 187 The Employers’ Perspective in the Baltic Sea Region – Looking for the Competitive Advantage in Diversity and Participation Elīna Egle . 210 Part III The Strategy and the Future of Regional Organizations The Strategy for the Baltic Region and the Regional Realities (an Attempt at Political Evaluation) Valdis Krastiņš . 223 The Baltic Sea Strategy: Illusions and Perils Marika Laizāne-Jurkāne . 233 The Baltic Sea Strategy and the Future of Europe Daunis Auers . 248 In Place of a Conclusion. Bringing the Debate Forward Reported by Inese Grumolte . 265 6 7 Preface Several publications, articles and books devoted to the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region contain a reference to 2005, the year the Strategy was born. On 15 November 2005 the European Parliament submitted to the president of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso a document entitled “Europe’s Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region”, drafted by the Baltic Europe Intergroup. In the process of drafting the document, MEP Ģirts Valdis Kristovskis invited a group of Latvian scholars to look into the prospects of the Baltic area. A year later the results of the study were published in the book “Baltic Sea Region after the Enlargement of the European Union: Future Prospects”. One of the aims of the study was to elaborate scenarios for regional development. The authors arrived at three possible models: fragmentation, integration within the EU frame- work and the Baltic Sea Region as an expander of EU policies to outer areas. The first scenario was excluded as the least possible prospect, but the two others are still valid. Drafting of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region was of particular interest to the researchers who had taken part in the first project. There- fore, the idea of providing a study on the first year of implementation of the Strategy seemed a logical continuation, expanding knowledge of the region and testing the existing body of knowledge. The idea was enthusiastically welcomed and supported by the European Commission Representation in Latvia, the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nordic Council of Ministers. The Latvian Political Science Association took on the initiative of involving scholars from different sectors and coordinating the project. As a result, this book presents a wide spectrum of views and ap- proaches. Toms Rostoks provides a comprehensive overview of how the Strategy has been elaborated, which have been the main players 6 7 Preface in the regional game and what have been the contradictory aspects that could influence further developments in the area. Iveta Reinholde searches for new models of governance for macro regions. She presents a study of four models and assesses them in the context of the Baltic Sea Region. Žaneta Ozoliņa looks into the case of Latvia. She focuses on Latvia’s response to the Strategy. On the basis of interviews with the members of the Working Group, she presents the achievements of the Latvian model, but also highlights some of the most important problem issues. In their papers, Valdis Krastiņš and Marika Laizāne-Jurkāne address the regional organizations and their attitude towards the Strategy. Both authors arrive at similar conclusions, namely that in reality the organizations claiming to have been assigned the coordination of regional activities have not put the Strategy at the core of their policies. Alf Vanags presents an analysis of the most important economic indicators and processes taking place in the Baltic Sea Region. His study warns that the present economic policies and regional undertakings do not indicate that divisions (economic, social, sub-regional, competitive) are diminishing. Edvīns Karnītis arrives at a similar conclusion. He states that the countries around the Baltic Sea have accumulated significant knowledge potential, which unfortunately is still compartmentalised and is not being applied to increase regional competitiveness. He sug- gests following the EU pattern, and as the EU has a European Research Area, which is based on the fifth freedom, namely free movement of knowledge, he urges the creation of a Baltic Knowledge Space. Inese Stepiņa and Kārlis Bukovskis consider the topic of energy. In their article, Madara Pelnēna and Gatis Pelnēns address the environmental policy agenda, while Elīna Egle presents the view of the Latvian Con- federation of Employers on the Strategy. Daina Bāra, in her turn, seeks to discover how the government’s present communication policy can assist in communicating the Strategy to the Latvian public. Daunis Auers places the Strategy in the wider context of the debate on the future of Europe. Since the project was implemented in different stages, including several round-table discussions and interviews with various stakeholders, the book contains also a report on a seminar that took place on 15 June 2010 with the participation of distinguished experts on regional cooperation, such as Pertti Joenniemi and Mindaugas Jurkynas, and policy makers dealing with the Strategy. Žaneta Ozoliņa Iveta Reinholde Toms Rostoks 8 9 In Place of an Introduction: Why the Baltic Sea Strategy? TOMS ROSTOKS The EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (the Strategy), which has finally reached its implementation stage in 2010, is the latest of the regional initiatives aimed at contributing to a cleaner Baltic Sea and more dynamic economic development in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). This is a macro-regional strategy – the first of its kind in the EU. It is a sign that the EU has accepted the uniqueness of its regions, recognising that the various regions of the EU may perform different functions and that each can excel in something different. The task of the EU would thus be to approach the uniqueness of its regions in a strategic manner, to accentuate their strengths and make them work for the benefit of the EU. The Strategy is also an acknowledgment that some of the problems cannot be solved on a national level and, thus, have to be addressed on a regional level with the help of supranational EU institutions. The results of implementation of the Strategy are important for the BSR countries, but will be closely observed by other EU Member States as well, because its success may pave the way to increasing regionalisation of the EU, and its failure would probably result in abandonment of regional strategies. The Strategy has only recently reached its implementation phase, so one might ask whether it is worth devoting detailed analysis to a strategy whose results are yet to be seen. On the one hand, this is a valid objection, because it is too early to assess the results of the Strategy, but on the other hand it is an evolving 8 9 TOMS ROSTOKS strategy with a rolling Action Plan, so it is important for the aca- demic and research community to take a closer look at the prin- ciples on which it is based, the goals and priorities that it aims to achieve, the actions that have to be implemented, the stakeholders that are involved in its implementation, the structures and institutions that have been created to serve the needs of the Strategy, the external implications of the Strategy, etc. In sum, it is high time to look at the preconditions for success of the Strategy. The Strategy does indeed offer fascinating research opportunities, and, not surprisingly, researchers have accepted the challenge. A number of research papers have been written in 2009 and 2010 on the issue of the Strategy. The group of authors interested in the Strat- egy includes Carsten Schymik, Esko Antola, Marko Lehti, Pertti Joenniemi, Rikard Bengtsson, Mindaugas Jurkynas, Andrea Stocchiero, Marion Salines and others. One should not omit to mention the lengthy collection of articles published in 2008 by the Office of the Committee for European Integration (Poland). The debate on the Strategy has been facilitated by Baltic Rim Economies, which has provided a platform for decision-makers, experts and members of academia willing to voice their opinions on its virtual pages. This book aims at building on earlier scholarly efforts, and tries to fill existing gaps and assess the Strategy from a variety of perspectives. This article, however, has more modest aims. Its first section looks at the origins of the Strategy, the process through which it was born, and the interests that facilitated its development. Pro- blems relating to governance, implementation and funding are also discussed. It is argued that solving the region’s problems will not be easy and that implementation of the Strategy may be hampered by the same factors that have prevented the development of an ef- fective intergovernmental approach to the region’s problems until recently.

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