Together with our Polish partners and the European Commission, it is great pleasure for me to present the first programme of the BDF Summit and the Commission’s Annual Forum on the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, 24-26 October 2011 in Gdansk, Poland.
The review of the EU Strategy is the main topic on the agenda in Gdansk but we will also display the many project activities taking place in the Baltic Sea Region. More than 30 stands will already join the networking village. We will also have a special business rendezvous with Polish and regional business organizations as well as private companies. The title of the consultations in Gdansk should be New Ambitions for the Baltic Sea Region. We need constantly to set new targets and aim higher. If not, integration will fade out. I am sure it will be a great days in Gdansk, and we all hope you will join us. Over the coming months you will receive updating newsletters and information on the different features of the meeting. Registration will open on mid August.
The need for higher ambitions is also the key messages in the two reports that Baltic Development Forum is presenting today: one on mobility of students and teachers, and one on women’s entrepreneurship.
1 July was the beginning of both the Polish EU Presidency and the German CBSS Presidency. Hopefully those two big countries of the region will put a positive fingerprint on regional developments. In this regard, we must not forget the biggest of the biggest, Russia, who will take over from Germany’s CBSS Presidency in 2012. We need all on board.