Press Accreditation BDF Summit 2010

The annual meeting of politics, business and civil society in the Baltic Sea Region, the Baltic Development Forum Summit, will take place in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 1-2 June. The Meeting is held in close cooperation with the Lithuanian government.

The Meeting provides a unique platform for leaders from business, government, media, academia and civil society to discuss the major events and drivers of growth in Baltic Sea Region. Under the theme, European Challenges – Regional Solutions: An Agenda for Jobs, Investments and Sustainable Growth, this year’s programme will focus on the Baltic Sea Region’s way out of the global economic and financial crisis.

A vast number of high-level speakers participate, among them the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso, the Deputy Director General of WTO Rufus H. Yerxa, the Prime Ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland, several CEO's of multinational companies in the region, the representatives of the Nordic Investment Bank, European Investment Bank, Nordic Council of Ministers and many others.

Baltic Development Forum’s annual State of the Region Report will be presented, this time taking a closer look at the Baltic countries and Poland. The Report is sponsored by the Nordic Council of Ministers and the European Investment Bank. The Meeting will present a regional input to the economic Strategy Europe 2020 presented by the European Commission, to be endorsed at the Spring European Council. Further business involvement in the implementation of the EU Strategy of the Baltic Sea Region will be advocated. Cooperation with Russia, and how to include Kaliningrad in the regional energy market, are other important subject matters. 

One City - Two Summits

At the same time Vilnius will host the bi-annual Baltic Sea States Summit organized by the Council of Baltic Sea States, which is the political forum for regional inter-governmental cooperation. The Members of the Council are the eleven states of the Baltic Sea Region – Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden as well as the European Commission. Media is invited to attend both events.

Journalists wishing to cover the events must submit their accreditation request on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania online registration website by Sunday 16 May 2010.

Contacts

Hans Brask, Director, Baltic Development Forum
Phone +45 60 21 85 81, email: hb@bdforum.org

Katarina Tafvelin, Head of Communication and Media, Baltic Development Forum
Phone +45 27 64 80 76, email: ktn@bdforum.org

About Us

Baltic Development Forum is a high level network for decision makers from business, politics, academia and media in the Baltic Sea Region. It was founded in 1998, and is still lead, by the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark Uffe Ellemann-Jensen. Our mission is to initiate and facilitate processes to create sustainable growth and a competitive Baltic Sea Region.