A new set of regional guidelines for carrying out cross-border consultations over maritime spatial plans between the Baltic littoral states is a top issue in the of HELCOM and VASAB continuing today in Riga, Latvia. The guidelines on transboundary consultations and cooperation and public participation has been prepared under the leadership of Poland with the aim to ensure early and efficient information exchange and engagement. The meeting will decide if the guidelines are ready for use. New guidelines would support early and efficient information exchange and engagement. Photo: Maritime Office in Gdynia.The transboundary guidelines will assist the countries in real-life cross-border spatial planning and were agreed on by the 2013 HELCOM , as part of the regional . According to the roadmap, another deliverable concerns the exchange of relevant and available MSP related information. The countries are obliged, among others, to promote the creation and sharing of MSP relevant Baltic Sea regional datasets. The Meeting of the HELCOM-VASAB Maritime Spatial Planning Working is co-chaired by Ms. Anita Mäkinen, Finland, and Mr. Andrzej Cieślak, Poland. It will be followed by the first meeting of the MSP data on 1 -2 October 2015. * * *Note for editorsOperational since 2010, the HELCOM-VASAB Maritime spatial planning Working Group has established its place to ensure the regional coherence of any activities related to maritime spatial . The group is in charge of the Horizontal Action Spatial Planning within the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. HELCOM Ministerial Meeting adopted in 2013 the Regional Baltic maritime spatial planning roadmap 2013–2020. The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, usually referred to as , is an intergovernmental organization of the nine Baltic Sea coastal countries and the European Union working to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution and to ensure safety of navigation in the region. Since 1974, HELCOM has been the governing body of the ‘Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area’, more commonly known as the Helsinki Convention. * * * For more information, please contact:Dmitry Frank-KamenetskyProfessional SecretaryHELCOMTel: +358 40 630 9933Skype: helcom68E-mail: dmitry.frank-kamenetsky(at)helcom.fi Johanna LaurilaInformation SecretaryHELCOMTel: +358 40 523 8988Skype: helcom70E-mail: johanna.laurila(at)helcom.fi
A new set of regional guidelines for carrying out cross-border consultations over maritime spatial plans in the Baltic Sea are under discussions in Riga, Latvia.
