Author: Johanna Laurila

Today, a handover ceremony in Butinge, at the border between Latvia and Lithuania will be held to mark the change of HELCOM Chairmanship. Lithuania will assume the Chairmanship of HELCOM from 1 July 2024 until 30 June 2026, taking over from Latvia. The Chairmanship rotates between Contracting Parties every two years, in alphabetical order.

“It is an honour and a privilege to take over the responsibility of HELCOM Chairmanship in times when protecting the Baltic Sea marine environment must remain high on all agendas”, says Mr. Vitalijus Auglys, Head of the Pollution Prevention Policy Group with the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania, and the forthcoming Chair of HELCOM.

Mr. Auglys is currently the Head of Pollution Prevention Policy Group of the Ministry of Environment (MoE) of the Republic of Lithuania. He has worked for thirty years in the public and environmental sector with extensive experience in international cooperation, including the entire EU and Baltic Sea regions.

Reflecting on the priorities of the incoming Lithuanian chairmanship he states, “Geopolitical challenges in the Baltic Sea region and political tensions between the countries can affect environmental activities and maritime security. That is why one of the top priorities of our Chairmanship is to strengthen HELCOM’s role in the context of those challenges.”

“Another priority area is to seek a balance between environmental protection and the Blue Economy, as this can overcome current shortcomings in the management of marine, coastal and aquatic ecosystems and become an important part of meeting the economic, social and environmental needs. Thirdly, we want to strengthen dialogue and engage the public in decision-making,” he continues.

Let the joint work continue

“We are pleased with Latvia’s achievements during the HELCOM Chairmanship and would like to thank our colleagues and everyone involved for their work. We are pleased to hand over the Chairmanship to Lithuania, underlining our long-term commitment to the security and sustainable development of the Baltic Sea. Let our joint work on the implementation of the Action Plan, including strong biodiversity conservation measures in the Baltic Sea, continue,” says Minister of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, Ms Inga Bērziņa.

The HELCOM ceremonial Chairmanship key will be handed over by the outgoing Chair of HELCOM, Ms Evija Šmite, Deputy Director General and the Director of Fisheries Control Department, State Environmental Service of Latvia.

She notes the continuity in priorities between the two Chairmanships. Ensuring that HELCOM remained a well-functioning regional organization capable of action even in unforeseen and force majeure situations was one of the priorities of Latvia’s Chairmanship from 2022 to 2024, which also took place against the current backdrop of geopolitical tension.

“Despite the geopolitical challenges, however, HELCOM has not been impaired in acting effectively and efficiently to achieve its main objectives in the protection of the Baltic marine environment. The work has continued, and several important milestones have been achieved – such as the renewal of the HELCOM working structure and the finalization and publication of the Third Holistic Assessment of the Baltic Sea (HOLAS 3)”, emphasizes Šmite.

“This spring has also been a memorable peak period for the Latvian Chairmanship. The Ministerial Meeting on the Baltic Sea Marine Environment, held on 25 April 2024, was productive and forward-looking and the following HELCOM 50th anniversary celebration was impressive, historical and interesting, draw attention to HELCOM and our joint work over the decades. In this special anniversary year, it is good to be reminded of how establishing HELCOM decades ago was a major step forward towards protecting our unique and vulnerable sea”, she continues.

Mr. Tomas Želvys has been selected as the Vice-Chair of HELCOM. He has i.a. worked in the private sector as well as the Environment Protection Agency, but most of his career in the Ministry of the Environment of the Republic of Lithuania as a Chief Specialist and as a Senior Adviser on water and subsoil issues in the Pollution Prevention Policy Group.

Read more about the Lithuanian priorities for HELCOM in 2024-2026

Contact

Communication division
Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development of the Republic of Latvia
+371 20 200 305
prese@varam.gov.lv
www.varam.gov.lv

Johanna Laurila
Communications Advisor, HELCOM
+358 40 7268648
johanna.laurila@helcom.fi
www.helcom.fi

The HELCOM Annual Report 2023 has been published. The report provides a comprehensive overview of our activities, including the achievements and challenges in the great range of working areas HELCOM deals with.

In 2023, these included Species and habitats, Spatial conservation and MPAs, Agriculture, Nutrients, Hazardous substances, Marine litter, Seabed, Underwater noise and energy, Shipping, Response to spills, Submerged hazards, Fisheries, Maritime Spatial Planning, Climate change, Economy and society, Monitoring and assessment as well as International processes.

The major events of the year for HELCOM included the launch of the holistic assessments of the state of the Baltic Sea (HOLAS 3) and the ongoing strategic pause of HELCOM.

“The publication of HELCOM’s Third Holistic Assessment of the Baltic Sea (HOLAS 3) in 2023 offered stark and startling new insights into what we are up against in seeking to protect our regional marine environment. [It] does not present a pretty picture. In a nutshell: there was little to no improvement of the Baltic Sea environment during the assessment period.

Yet HOLAS 3 is not all gloom and doom. While it underscores the urgency of transformative action in all socioeconomic sectors across the entire Baltic Sea region, it also shows that measures to reduce pressures on the Baltic Sea do have a beneficial effect, if duly implemented.”

Rüdiger Strempel, Executive Secretary of HELCOM

Download the full report here.

The new, openly available Harmonised Regional Seas Assessment Tool (HARSAT) has been presented this week to the HELCOM working group (WG) Source to Sea*, as it is an essential part in HELCOM indicator evaluations for hazardous substances.  

The release of the open source tool is another strong indication of the long-standing cooperation of the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) and the OSPAR Commission (OSPAR). The HARSAT tool greatly improves the efficiency of marine environment monitoring across adjacent sea areas, that facilitates applying resources available within the three organisations in a cost-effective and efficient manner, benefiting all parties. Moreover, the tool supports providing policymakers and users with a centralized platform for accessing critical and consistent information to support informed decision-making.

HARSAT is a statistical package that is publicly available on GitHub. A user community is being established to support the future maintenance, development and application of the tool – with potential for continuing the cooperation of the neighbouring sea regions in the necessary follow-up work.

AMAP, HELCOM and OSPAR are responsible for monitoring and assessing the state of the marine environment in adjoining, and partly overlapping, sea areas of the Arctic Ocean, Baltic Sea, and North-east Atlantic, respectively. All three organizations have a long history of expert-level collaboration, to streamline the work on monitoring the marine environment, not least in regard to harmonizing methods and protocols for monitoring and data analysis, and promoting common data management systems including using a shared, thematic data centre at the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).

The HARSAT tool is the latest collaborative effort between the Baltic, North-east Atlantic and Arctic Regional Seas Conventions, supported by ICES as well as consultants and members of the relevant expert groups, to upgrade the existing tools used for statistical analysis of data on contaminants in marine samples.

The developed tool facilitates local, national and regional evaluations of hazardous substances in the marine environment, including from different monitoring material (water, sediment and biota samples). These evaluations form the backbone of environmental health or status assessments across these three regions and these assessments in turn are catalysts for reviewing the monitoring carried out and the setting of measures to improve environmental status. The harmonised core of this tool allows strong comparability across all three regions.

*full name: HELCOM Working Group on Source to Sea Management of Nutrients and Hazardous Substances and Sustainable Agricultural Practices (WG Source to sea)

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Background

The HARSAT work was financially supported by resources from AMAP, HELCOM and OSPAR, including resources from external projects, such as the Nordic Council of Ministers HARSAT project and the NEFCO Baltic Sea Action Plan Fund co-financed PreEMPT project, as well as supported by a close working cooperation with the Baltic Data Flows Project that was co-financed by the Connecting Europe Facility of the European Union.

For further information, please contact the [AMAP|HELCOM|OSPAR] Secretariat.

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About HELCOM

The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, usually referred to as the Helsinki Commission or HELCOM, is an intergovernmental organization of the Baltic Sea coastal countries and the European Union. HELCOM has worked since 1974 to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution and to ensure safety of navigation in the region.

HELCOM is the governing body of the “Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area,” more usually known as the Helsinki Convention.

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Contact

Johanna Laurila

Communications Advisor
johanna.laurila@helcom.fi
+358 40 647 3996

To mark the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Convention and HELCOM, Latvia, currently holding the Chairmanship of HELCOM, hosted a celebration on 25 April 2024 in Riga.

The online stream of the event is now available at the event webpages, along with the keynote speeches, videos, photos, and congratulatory remarks and greetings from the event.

The guests of the 50^th anniversary event, including representatives of the HELCOM Contracting Parties, observers and other friends of HELCOM past and present, enjoyed a special programme reflecting on the achievements of the first 50 years of HELCOM while looking forward to future challenges.

The event was preceded by the 2024 Ministerial Meeting on the Baltic Sea Marine Environment in the morning of the same day.

We are delighted to announce that a photo gallery as well as the opening film, Motion, are now published from the 50th anniversary event of HELCOM which was held in Riga, Latvia on 25 April 2024. Latvia, currently holding the Chairmanship of HELCOM, hosted the celebration on the occasion of 50 years since the signing of the Helsinki Convention, preceded by a Ministerial Meeting of the Contracting Parties in the morning of the same day.

The guests, including representatives of the HELCOM Contracting Parties, observers and other friends of HELCOM past and present, enjoyed a special programme reflecting on the achievements of the first 50 years of HELCOM while looking forward to future challenges. The list of keynote speakers can be found here. The recording of the online streaming will shortly be made available.

Event webpage

Photo gallery

MOTION – 50th anniversary film

Yesterday, the ministers and high-level representatives of the Baltic Sea coastal states and the EU gathered in Riga, Latvia, for the 2024 Ministerial Meeting on the Baltic Sea Marine Environment. They reaffirmed their strong commitment to continued joint efforts to reach a healthy Baltic marine environment. A Ministerial Declaration, as well as a statement on the geopolitical situation, are the outputs of the meeting, convened under the auspices of the current Latvian Chairmanship of HELCOM.

“Acknowledging the 50th anniversary of the 1974 Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area and the vital role of the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), we have underscored our commitment to addressing the pressing environmental challenges facing the Baltic Sea. Despite the progress made since the adoption of the first Baltic Sea Action Plan in 2007, the current state of the marine environment remains unsatisfactory due to human activities. However, notwithstanding the highly challenging geopolitical situation, the work to protect our fragile common sea continues with even stronger vigor,” said Inga Bērziņa, Minister for Environmental Protection and Regional Development of the Republic of Latvia.

The Riga Ministerial Declaration recognizes the interconnectedness of environmental health and economic prosperity and the importance of stressing the economic benefits of preserving the Baltic Sea ecosystem. As shown by the latest Holistic Assessment of the Baltic Sea (HOLAS 3), achieving good environmental status by the year 2040 can yield economic benefits of 5.6 million euro per year for people around the Baltic Sea.

The ministerial debate focused on better targeting and prioritizing efforts to implement the 2021 Baltic Sea Action Plan, based on the new insights gained from HOLAS 3 and on continuing to successfully implement the HELCOM goals against the background of the challenging geopolitical situation in the Baltic Sea region.

“This high-level meeting took place at a crucial time, as we take stock of the achievements of HELCOM in its 50-year history while also determining how to integrate the findings from HOLAS 3 in shaping and defining HELCOM policies and priorities going forward,” says Rüdiger Strempel, Executive Secretary of HELCOM, adding: “It also sends a strong signal of continued cooperation of the EU and those HELCOM Contracting Parties that are also Member States of the EU in the framework of HELCOM and underscores the organization’s key role in addressing the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution in our region and beyond.”

The 2024 Ministerial Meeting on the Baltic Sea Marine Environment was attended by the ministers and high-level representatives of the Ministries of the Environment, respectively of Climate, of Infrastructure and of Maritime Affairs of eight Baltic Sea coastal states and the European Union.

Key documents:

Ministerial Declaration of the 2024 Ministerial Meeting on the Baltic Sea Marine Environment

HELCOM Statement on the geopolitical situation

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About HELCOM

The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, usually referred to as the Helsinki Commission or HELCOM, is an intergovernmental organization of the Baltic Sea coastal countries and the European Union. HELCOM has worked since 1974 to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution and to ensure safety of navigation in the region.

HELCOM is the governing body of the “Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area,” more usually known as the Helsinki Convention.

The Helsinki Commission’s member states are the contracting parties to the Helsinki Convention: Denmark, Estonia, the European Union, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden. Due to the current geopolitical situation, the EU and the Contracting Parties to HELCOM that are also member states of the EU (H9) have, however imposed a “strategic pause” in HELCOM operations. This pause entails the postponement of the meetings of all official HELCOM bodies, with meetings being carried out as so-called informal consultation sessions involving H 9 participants only and Russian involvement restricted to correspondence procedures.  

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About Ministerial Meetings

Every three years, HELCOM arranges a Ministerial Meeting, gathering ministers responsible for environmental or maritime affairs from the Baltic Sea countries and the EU Commissioner for the Environment. These Meetings serve as crucial forums for engaging in shared discussions and reaching agreements at a high political level. They further reinforce HELCOM’s objectives in protecting the Baltic marine environment.

Ministerial meetings result in the adoption of political declarations, through which Contracting Parties commit to taking further actions to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea and agree on the future agenda for HELCOM. The declarations complement the Helsinki Convention and HELCOM Recommendations.

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About HELCOM Holistic Assessments

HELCOM carries out holistic assessments every six years. They focus on how the Baltic Sea ecosystem is doing and, importantly, on following up on how well the agreements – namely, the measures set in the 2021 HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) – are functioning. The holistic assessments cover ‘moments’ in time over the dynamic life history of the Baltic Sea.

The third HELCOM holistic assessment (HOLAS 3) focuses on the years 2016-2021 and includes results at various levels of detail, including monitoring data, indicator reports and thematic assessments.

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Contact

Johanna Laurila
Communications Advisor, HELCOM
johanna.laurila@helcom.fi
+358 40 647 3996

Communication division
Ministry of Environmental Protection and
Regional Development of the Republic of Latvia 
+371 20 200 305
prese@varam.gov.lv
www.varam.gov.lv

Joint press release by HELCOM and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development of the Republic of Latvia

​On 25 April 2024, ministers and high-level representatives of Baltic Sea coastal states and the European Union will gather in Riga, Latvia at a joint meeting within the Latvian Chairmanship of HELCOM, for the 2024 Ministerial Meeting on the Baltic Sea Marine Environment. They will discuss the way forward in protecting the Baltic Sea marine environment.

Emphasizing the current state of the Baltic Sea, the discussions will focus on leveraging the results of the latest HELCOM holistic assessment of the Baltic Sea (HOLAS 3) to further strengthen the scientific basis for determining key priorities and shaping the trajectory of future work.

“This ministerial meeting is the culmination of Latvia’s two-year chairmanship of HELCOM. It has been an eventful and challenging period shaped by the current geopolitical landscape,” says Inga Bērziņa, Minister for Environmental Protection and Regional Development of the Republic of Latvia. “However, even in this tense period, we have been able to achieve the objectives of the Latvian Presidency, which are aimed at improving the state of the Baltic Sea environment,” she continues. Latvia currently holds the rotating Chairmanship of HELCOM and is the proud host of the 2024 Ministerial Meeting on the Baltic Sea Marine Environment, as well as HELCOM’s 50^th anniversary event, which will also take place in Riga on 25 April 2024.

“Our primary goals during this Chairmanship have been to reinforce HELCOM’s position as an effective and well-functioning regional organization for regional cooperation even in unforeseen or force majeure situations, to implement the 2021 Baltic Sea Action Plan and to strengthen the role of regional cooperation in international ocean governance. I am gratified to note that we have met these objectives, with HELCOM continuing to fulfill its role as the key player in regional environmental cooperation and notable progress in the ongoing implementation of the Action Plan,” says Evija Šmite, the HELCOM Chair.

This spring’s Ministerial Meeting will chart the course for HELCOM work over the next three years. “The main findings of HOLAS 3, summarized in the State of the Baltic Sea 2023 report, will impact the implementation of the 2021 Baltic Sea Action Plan. They will inform the decisions of Contracting Parties in implementing the Plan and help shape the policies of our organization as we progress towards the Plan’s target year of 2030, says Rüdiger Strempel, HELCOM Executive Secretary.

The Meeting is expected to adopt a  Ministerial Declaration reflecting the priorities and ambitions of HELCOM in working towards a healthier marine environment for the Baltic Sea, in line with the longstanding tradition of regional cooperation upheld by the organization.

The celebratory session of the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Convention can be watched live if you register in advance. Apply by April 23 at this link.

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About HELCOM

The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, usually referred to as the Helsinki Commission or HELCOM, is an intergovernmental organization of the Baltic Sea coastal countries and the European Union. HELCOM has worked since 1974 to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution and to ensure safety of navigation in the region.

HELCOM is the governing body of the “Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area,” more usually known as the Helsinki Convention.

The Helsinki Commission’s member states are the contracting parties to the Helsinki Convention: Denmark, Estonia, the European Union, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden and Russia. Due to the current geopolitical situation, the EU and the Contracting Parties to HELCOM that are also member states of the EU (H9) have, however imposed a “strategic pause” in HELCOM operations. This pause entails the postponement of the meetings of all official HELCOM bodies, with meetings being carried out as so-called informal consultation sessions involving H 9 participants only and Russian involvement restricted to correspondence procedures.

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About Ministerial Meetings

Every three years, HELCOM arranges a Ministerial Meeting, gathering ministers responsible for environmental or maritime affairs from the Baltic Sea countries and the EU Commissioner for the Environment. These Meetings serve as crucial forums for engaging in shared discussions and reaching agreements at a high political level. They further reinforce HELCOM’s objectives in protecting the Baltic marine environment.

Ministerial meetings result in the adoption of political declarations, through which Contracting Parties commit to taking further actions to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea and agree on the future agenda for HELCOM. The declarations complement the Helsinki Convention and HELCOM Recommendations.

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About HELCOM Holistic Assessments

HELCOM carries out holistic assessments every six years. They focus on how the Baltic Sea ecosystem is doing and, importantly, on following up on how well the agreements – namely, the measures set in the 2021 HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) – are functioning. The holistic assessments cover ‘moments’ in time over the dynamic life history of the Baltic Sea.

The third HELCOM holistic assessment (HOLAS 3) focuses on the years 2016-2021 and includes results at various levels of detail, including monitoring data, indicator reports and thematic assessments.

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Contact

Johanna Laurila
Communications Advisor, HELCOM
johanna.laurila@helcom.fi
+358 40 647 3996

Communication division
Regional Development of the Republic of Latvia  
+371 20 200 305
prese@varam.gov.lv
www.varam.gov.lv

Joining the distinguished roster of speakers for the commencement of HELCOM’s 50th anniversary celebrations in Riga, Latvia on 25 April 2024 are:

• Pekka Haavisto, Member of the Parliament of Finland.
• Karen Ellemann, Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers.
• Leena Ylä-Mononen, Executive Director of the European Environment Agency.
• Alan Haynie, General Secretary of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.

Hosted by Latvia, which currently holds the Chairmanship of HELCOM, the event will be opened by the Ministers of the Environment of Latvia and Finland, Inga Bērziņa and Kai Mykkänen.

You can also participate in the festive event online by registering here (provided link). The event will take place on Thursday 25 April 2024, from 14:30 to 18:45 (EET).

The 2024 Ministerial Meeting on the Baltic Sea Marine Environment will convene in the morning of 25 April 2024, preceding the 50th anniversary celebrations. Additionally, a side event called “Waves of Change – Accelerating action and finance to save the Baltic Sea,” organized by Coalition Clean Baltic and WWF, is scheduled to take place in Riga the day before on 24 April 2024.

Invited guests onsite include representatives from the HELCOM Contracting Parties, observers, and other past and present associates of HELCOM. The programme highlights the achievements over the past 50 years, while also addressing future challenges. You can access the preliminary programme on the dedicated web page.

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In 2024, it will be 50 years since the original Helsinki Convention was signed.

HELCOM, or the Helsinki Commission, was established at the same time, for the purposes of the Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area – in essence, to ensure that all the coastal states pursue the many commitments presented for a healthier Baltic Sea. It was a historical moment, as environmental concerns were only starting to shift closer to the mainstream thinking.

HELCOM is a true pioneer in international environmental protection. As the awareness of the massive challenges, particularly climate crisis and biodiversity loss, has since significantly risen, we have much to share about cooperation through changing geopolitical situations.

Join us for a full year of celebrations! We are proud to have come this far.

(Save the Baltic Sea campaign press release)
A team of environmental activists will begin their hike around the Baltic Sea, with a series of educational events, discussions and workshops organized in 8 countries, aiming to accelerate action in tackling critical Baltic Sea pollution issues.

March 11, 2024 will mark the date when a team of 13 environmental activists will depart from Klaipėda, Lithuania, to begin their 6,000 kilometer-long journey on foot along the coastline of the Baltic Sea, one of the five most polluted seas in the world. During their 9 month hike, the historic “Save the Baltic Sea” expedition will invite citizens, governments, organizations and businesses to take active measures in order to preserve the sea for future generations.

“The Baltic Sea is in a critical state, which puts the benefits it provides to our region in danger,” says the expedition’s science engagement coordinator Laura Stukonytė. “Unsustainable human activities have put our marine ecosystems under extreme pressure, from excessive nitrogen and phosphorus inflow, to marine litter and hazardous substances reaching the sea from land. At the same time, the Baltic is also being affected by climate change” she adds.

In 2007, the Baltic Sea countries and the European Union (that together form the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, or HELCOM) adopted the Baltic Sea Action Plan – a strategic programme of measures and actions that would lead to a healthy Baltic Sea state by 2030. While some environmental improvements have been seen since the adoption of the plan, HELCOM reports that more than 50% of the agreed-upon joint actions have yet to be implemented.

In support of the Baltic Sea Action Plan, the “Save the Baltic Sea” expedition seeks to accelerate these actions in order to tackle our region’s marine pollution issues. “Each of us living in the Baltic Sea basin contributes to the state of our marine environment, often without even knowing. But it means each of us also has the power to make a change,” says Giedrius Bučas, “Save the Baltic Sea” expedition leader who hiked 1200 kilometers around Lithuania in 2019, collecting litter with a team of volunteers.

Through its unique communication campaign, educational activities and workshops organized with partners in 8 Baltic Sea countries, the current expedition will highlight marine pollution issues, showcase existing innovations and best practices, and inform citizens about actions they can take to reduce their negative impact.

“While our hiker team will dedicate the next 9 months of their lives for this mission, we also welcome everyone to join our events and hike with us in sections of the route, which can be seen on our website at www.savebaltic.eu,” says Bučas.

On March 11, the team of hikers and the expedition’s supporters will officially begin the hike. This first leg will start from Smiltynė – the Northernmost point of the Lithuanian Curonian spit. More information about this and other public events can be found on the expedition’s website and social media channels.

Support the “Save the Baltic Sea” expedition by donating here: https://savebaltic.eu/support/

Contact

info@savebaltic.eu

Save the date! We are happy to invite the entire extended HELCOM family to join online the 50^th anniversary celebrations of the Helsinki Convention and HELCOM. Latvia, currently holding the Chairmanship of HELCOM, will host the celebration event on 25 April 2024 in Riga, starting at 14:00 (CET), with many special guests.

Ministers of the Environment of Latvia and Finland, Inga Bērziņa and Kai Mykkänen, will open the event.

An impressive list of keynote speakers, representing major stakeholder organizations, will also honour the celebrations with their presence. The names of the representatives will be announced soon – stay tuned!

The 50^th anniversary celebrations will be preceded by the Ministerial Meeting of the Contracting Parties in the morning of 25 April 2024, and a side event organized by Coalition Clean Baltic and WWF, Waves of Change – Accelerating action and finance to save the Baltic Sea, will take place in Riga the day before.

The guests invited en site include representatives of the HELCOM Contracting Parties, observers and other friends of HELCOM past and present. The special programme reflects the achievements of the first 50 years of HELCOM while looking forward to future challenges. Please find the preliminary programme on the dedicated web page.

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