Expert Group on Sustainable Maritime Economy

About

CBSS Expert Group on Sustainable Maritime Economy (EGSME) offers a platform for national experts from CBSS Member State line ministries dealing with maritime economy and the European Commission’s Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries as well as other associated pan-Baltic organisations and stakeholders to coordinate and exchange knowledge and best practices concerning maritime sector’s sustainable growth and marine ecosystem protection. 

Priorities

As an intergovernmental group of experts, the EGSME seeks to provide politically coordinated support to concrete initiatives, actions and projects aimed at:

• Promoting the Baltic Sea Region’s international competitiveness in the area of sustainable maritime economy.
• Pooling knowledge, experiences and resources as well as facilitating cross-sectoral approach and synergies between key actors in the field of maritime economy in the Baltic Sea Region. 
• Positioning the Baltic Sea Region as a model region for maritime best practices and facilitating a balanced co-existence between socio-economic development as well as environmental protection.  
• Strengthening coordination with other regional cooperation formats, especially the relevant EUSBSR Policy Areas (PA Safe, PA Ship, PA Spatial Planning, PA Tourism, PA Transport) and associated pan-Baltic organisations. 

Activities

The activities of the EGSME are anchored in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Climate Agreement as well as CBSS Baltic 2030 Action Plan promoting a coordinated action on Transition to a Sustainable Economy in the Baltic Sea Region. EGSME engages local, national and regional actors from the Baltic Sea Region to facilitate cross-sectoral approach in addressing global challenges on a regional level. 

The CBSS EGSME focuses on the following activity areas:

Green Shipping Corridors

Facilitating the knowledge exchange and coordination on launching Green Shipping Corridors (as defined in the Clydebank Declaration) in the Baltic Sea Region. Under the guidance of the CBSS EGSME German Chairmanship (2021-2022), the CBSS national contact points for green shipping corridors in the Baltic Sea Region have been established. During Finland’s Chairmanship (2022-2023), EGSME continues the support to charting clean transport corridors (green shipping corridors as defined in the Clydebank Declaration) and brings together actors to promote sustainable maritime transport and cruise tourism in the Baltic Sea Region (EGSME Finnish Presidency’s priorities). 

During the previous CBSS EGSME Chairmanships the regional cooperation was boosted, among others, in the following areas:

• maritime clusters;
• coherent and integrated approach to maritime issues;
• implementation of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments; 
• alternative fuels in maritime sector;
• maritime and coastal tourism;
• small and medium sized ports in the Baltic Sea Region;
• localising solutions and implementation of SDG14 (with maritime sustainability indicators);
• land-based power generation for vessels;
• green shipping and digitalisation.

Resources

• Outcomes of the CBSS Expert Seminar on Green Shipping Corridors and Food Waste under the Finnish Chairmanship
• CBSS Expert Group on Sustainable Maritime Economy Terms of Reference 

Strategic Guiding Documents 

• 2023 Wismar Declaration – “The Council reaffirmed the commitment of its members to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement. It encouraged its members to contribute continuously to an ambitious, urgent and comprehensive implementation of these goals, through existing and future Baltic Sea Region mechanisms and platforms, including inter alia the Baltic 2030 Action Plan…”
• 2022 Kristiansand Declaration – “Climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest is our collective goal. We will scale up actions to ensure a green transition of the global economy, including accelerating green energy development, and decarbonising the heavy industry, transport and construction sectors. We strive to reduce emissions from agriculture and ensure a healthy marine environment in the Baltic Sea and our other ocean areas. We will enhance collaboration on the circular economy and renewable energies, diversify our energy supplies and rapidly reduce our dependency on fossil fuels”
• 2021 Vilnius II Declaration: A Vision for the Baltic Sea Region by 2030 – “The Region has in line with UN Agenda 2030, the Paris Agreement and the Baltic 2030 Action Plan, taken resolute steps, including de-carbonisation, towards climate neutrality and to climate resilience of key economic sectors, including industry, transport and construction, as well as enhancement of natural sinks, such as forests”. 
• 2020 Bornholm Declaration – “…promotion of increased use in the region of off-shore wind power, carbon capture and storage in line with national legislation and shore-side power supply for ferries and cruise ships. These measures help strengthen the position of the Baltic Sea Region as a world leader in green research, innovation and technologies, in clean shipping and as a green tourist destination”.

EGSME members and partners

The EGSME Members are CBSS Member States (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden), European Commission and associated pan-baltic organisations. The chairmanship rotates on an annual basis and follows the CBSS Presidency rotation.

Chairs

Finland:

• Jussi Soramäki, the Prime Minister’s Office of Finland
• Eero Hokkanen, Ministry of Transport and Communications

Members

• Denmark: Danish Maritime Authority
• European Commission: DG MARE
• Estonia:, Ministry of Climate, Maritime Department
• Germany: German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV)
• Iceland: Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure
• Latvia: Ministry of Transport, Maritime Department
• Lithuania: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania
• Norway: Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries
• Poland: Ministry of Infrastructure, Department of Maritime Economy
• Sweden: Ministry of Rural Affairs and Infrastructure, Government of Sweden

Pan-baltic organisations:

• Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference
• VASAB
• HELCOM
• Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions, Baltic Sea Commission

Contacts

• Grzegorz Poznański, Director General and Acting Senior Adviser, Sustainable and Prosperous Region e-mail: [email protected], Phone: +46 73 721 09 93
• Ignė Stalmokaitė, Policy Officer, Sustainable and Prosperous Region, e-mail [email protected], Phone: +46 73 075 65 56