HELCOM Moscow Ministerial Meeting, 18–20 May 2010

Participants

Ministers of the environment and high-level representatives of the ten Members of the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), an inter governmental organization for the protection of the Baltic marine environment, made up of Denmark, Estonia, the European Union, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden

Observers from the governments of Belarus and Ukraine, and up to 20 intergovernmental organizations and 30 international non-governmental organizations

Invited guests

Events

HELCOM Baltic Cities Summit – 18 May 2010 at 13:00 – 18:00

HELCOM Ministerial Meeting – 20 May 2010 at 9:00 – 13:00

Press Conference – 20 May 2010 at 13:15 – 14:00

Venue

Hotel Baltschug-Kempinski, Ul. Balchug 1, Moscow, Russia

Objectives

To ensure that the implementation of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan, a strategic programme to radically reduce the pollution of the Baltic Sea, is proceeding as planned.

To enable the Ministers to scrutinize and exchange best practices in the national implementation of the Baltic Sea Action Plan.

This will include:

• presentation of National Implementation Programmes on how the HELCOM countries have implemented measures to combat eutrophication and curb the inputs of hazardous substances,

• presentation of a HELCOM holistic assessment on the state of the marine environment of the Baltic Sea,

• decision to anchore the role of HELCOM as the coordinator of the implementation of the ecosystem approach in the Baltic Sea area by the adoption of a common implementation strategy.

Programme

At the HELCOM Baltic Cities Summit on 18 May the Baltic cities will share experiences and best practices in wastewater management. A reception for the participants of the Summit, hosted by Ms. Valentina Matvienko, Governor of St. Petersburg, will be held in the evening. The outcome of the Summit will be reported to the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting on 20 May.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment of the Russian Federation will host a dinner for the participants of the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting in the evening on 19 May.

The ministers of the environment of the Baltic Sea countries and the high-level representative of the EU will meet on 20 May, starting with an informal breakfast meeting, prior to the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting. A press conference will follow the Meeting. An exhibition of the Youth Environmental Center of St. Petersburg’s water utility company “Vodokanal St. Petersburg” will be put up at the Meeting venue. Mr. Yuri Trutnev, Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment of the Russian Federation, will host a lunch for the ministers of the Baltic Sea countries and the EU representative.

History of HELCOM Ministerial Meetings