41^st Executive Board Meeting in Riga

The 41^st meeting of the UBC Executive Board was held on 15-16 October 2004 in the City of Riga, upon the invitation of Mr Gundars Bojars, Mayor of Riga, UBC Vice-President. The meeting was divided into the closed session attended by the members of the Board and the general session open to the commissions, cities and guests.

The meeting in Riga raised a great interest among the cities - over 70 delegates from 32 member cities participated in the open part. Additionally there was a working meeting of the leaders of UBC commissions and networks in order to strengthen the coordination between these UBC working bodies. Also UBC Network on Youth Issues held its session in connection with the Board meeting.

Observer status in COR
Secretary General Pawel Zaboklicki informed that UBC received an observer status to the Committee of the Regions which proves that Brussels recognizes the work carried out by our organisation. Through the participation in COR Plenary Sessions UBC will have a chance to influence the work and policies of this important EU institution.

VHIGC in Turku
The Board decided that the theme of the VIII UBC General Conference to be held in Turku in 2005 will concern the transportation corridors in the Baltic Sea Region. Vice-President Armas Lahoniitty warmly invited all member cities to attend the GC in Turku. UBC realises that improvement of transportation corridors is crucial for further development of the whole region. UBC received the EC consultation document on "Motorways of the Seas" concept to be financed through the revised Trans-European Network Transport Guidelines. UBC welcomes the Commission's implementation framework of the "Motorways of the Seas" and hopes it will contribute to the improvement of intermodal transportation system in the BSR. Mr Mikko Lohikoski, Turku, on behalf of the UBC Logistics Task Force invited all member cities to Brussels on 24 November to discuss how we can benefit from the EU resources allocated to this new initiative.

BSR - 2010
The Board supported the conference "Baltic Sea Region-Perspective 2010" to be held in Brussels on 23 November 2004 at the premises of the Committee of the Regions. The conference is co-organised by several Brussels offices of our member cities. The aim of this event is to promote the Baltic Sea Region amongst the Brussels policy actors-politicians, representatives of EU institutions, business community, NGOs, media. UBC will take an active part in this important forum. All member cities are welcome to attend this conference.

Cooperation with CAAC
In July UBC signed the cooperation agreement with the Conference of Atlantic Arc Cities. UBC cooperation with CAAC focuses on lobbying for cities interests as well as on facilitating joint projects between our cities. Acting together make our voice stronger in Brussels. UBC and CAAC prepared a joint comment on the EC communication "Dialogue with associations of local authorities on the formulation of EU policy". In this paper the Commission informed about launching annual hearings for associations to inform them about its annual program and major policy initiatives that have a significant local impact. In the statement sent to the EC President we welcomed an opportunity to meet the Commission on regular basis and at the same time we expressed our opinion that organisations should not only be informed about EU policies but also should be given a chance to influence them. Our reaction was noted in Brussels. Director General of Regional Policy replied in a letter that annual meetings "will offer the opportunity to the associations to inform the Commission about the expectations of their members concerning the development of EU policies".

Maritime borders
The Board in Riga once again raised the issue of maritime borders in the Baltic Sea Region. UBC wants the European Commission to treat the maritime borders in the BSR in similar way as the land borders. We oppose the limit of 150 km -in case of BSR such distance can not be set definitely. We expect a more flexible approach taking into account historical, social, cultural and economical factors, in order to support the cross sea-border cooperation between the Baltic cities.

Cooperation with CBSS
UBC cooperates closely with the Council of the Baltic Sea States. At the Board meeting in Riga the chairman of CBSS Committee of Senior Officials Mr Jozef Wiejacz presented the priorities of new CBSS Presidency (Poland) and informed about current CBSS initiatives. Mr Wiejacz stressed that CBSS highly appreciates the practical and political work carried out by the UBC. CBSS representatives participate regularly in the UBC meetings.

Commissions & Networks
During the open session, eleven leaders of UBC commissions & networks presented the annual activity reports since the General Conference in Klaipeda, October 2003. The Board praised the commissions & networks for the vast range of projects, activities and events carried out in last 12 months and encouraged them to continue their important work.

written by Pawel Zaboklicki
Secretary General