Baltic Sea welcomes sought-after EU funding
Through practical cooperation the project has supported stability, wellbeing and sustainable development in these regions. Cooperation has taken place or instance in environmental, nuclear safety, as well as in social and health issues. The future plans include also traffic and logistics cooperation, as well as cultural partnership.
The cooperation initiative is funded with joint funding principle which in its essence highlights the objective of establishing equal partnership between the EU, Russia, Norway and Iceland. Additional funding is sourced also from EU’s funding instruments and programs, international monetary institutions, regional operators and the private sector.
The EU never established a designated budget for the Northern Dimension initiative and the projects have been funded through already established funding instruments and programs. It is exactly the lack of adequate funding, which has prevented the Northern Dimension from finding wind under its wings.
The Baltic Sea, which also belongs to the Northern Dimension, seems to be doing better than before, since in the end of last year the European Parliament announced a 20 million Euro allowance for the Baltic Sea strategy.
The inclusion of the Baltic Sea allowance within the budget was the welcome outcome of several years’ persistent battle. All the Finnish MEPs pushed for the allowance single-mindedly. In the final vote all the political groups supported the Finnish cause.
It was a rare occasion to have all the Finnish MEPs stand in one line. The MEPs represent their own political groups in the European Parliament, more than anything else. We can’t help our isolated geographic position, but sometimes, as this time around, it can also work as a bridger.
On the scale of the Baltic Sea, twenty million Euros may sound like peanuts, but it is a significant allowance for a brand new project. Now, when the stream is finally flowing, the coming years must witness the growth of the Baltic Sea strategy. Without funding the project will not run for long.
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