Finnish President Tarja Halonen, Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen and the NGO Baltic Sea Action Group (BSAG) have taken the initiative to host the Baltic Sea Action Summit (BSAS) 10 February 2010 in Helsinki. All participants - private companies, business leaders or NGOs - have made a commitment to take concrete actions to restore the status of the Baltic Sea. BDF has also made a commitment to the process and encourages others to do the same. More information can be found on the summit's website.

Northern Dimension Business Council (NDBC) is an initiative from the Russian business community in our region and it is a new platform for dialogue with Russian business. The two co-chairmen: Mr. Tapio Kuula (CEO of Fortum) and Mr. Alexey Mordashov (CEO of Severstal) will take the lead in organizing business communities of Northern Europe, including working groups for cooperation, negotiation and information exchange. The groups are in the process of being created and the biggest demand lies in the field of electricity, oil and gas, R&D, logistics, automotive industries, ecology and clean tech, banking and finance, healthcare and pharmaceutics, forestry, and SMEs. Other areas can also be selected in case of a clear demand. For more information on the NDBC's visit their web page. (link below)