2024 Ministerial Meeting on the Baltic Sea Marine Environment
The 2024 Ministerial Meeting on the Baltic Sea Marine Environment took place in Riga on 25 April 2024, and it was hosted by Latvia as the current HELCOM chairmanship.
The focus of the Ministerial Meeting was on the results of the third holistic assessment (HOLAS 3) of the Baltic Sea, and how these can be used to strengthen implementation to reach the objectives and goals of Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP). In addition, the Ministerial Meeting reflected on the 50th anniversary of the signing of the original Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area.
Ministerial declaration
State of the Baltic Sea 2023
The results of the third HELCOM holistic assessment (HOLAS 3) were presented at the Ministerial Meeting. The assessment, which culminated in the publication of a synthesis report State of the Baltic Sea 2023 in October 2023, provides a comprehensive overview of the Baltic Sea’s ecosystem health during 2016 to 2021 and enables tracking progress in implementing the Baltic Sea Action Plan. The Ministerial Meeting was an opportunity to decide on the following steps towards reaching the vision of a healthy Baltic Sea environment and to ensuring continued cooperation in the region.
About
Ministerial Meetings are the highest decision-making level of the Helsinki Commission and are usually held every three years. The Ministerial Meetings are attended by the highest representatives of our Contracting Parties, and the 2024 Ministerial Meeting on the Baltic Sea Marine Environment (Baltic Sea MM 2024) is expected to be attended by Ministers of the Environment, of Climate and of Maritime Affairs of the Baltic Sea coastal states that are also Member States of the European Union and the Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries of the European Commission.
Proud past, promising future
2024 is a special year for HELCOM as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the original Helsinki Convention and, consequently, 50 years of fruitful cooperation within the framework of HELCOM.
The Ministerial Meeting concluded with a celebration of this occasion, themed “Proud past, promising future”. More information on this celebration can be found here.
Provisional list of participants
For more information about the list of participants, please visit here.
Supporting document
Background document
Contact
Laura Meski
Associate Professional Secretary
HELCOM Secretariat
laura.meski@helcom.fi
Johanna Laurila
Communication advisor
HELCOM Secretariat
johanna.laurila@helcom.fi
+358 40 647 3996
