URU, Alm.del - 2009-10 - Bilag 248: Henvendelse af 5/9-10 fra Baltic Sea NGO Network, vedr. erklæring fra NGO Forum 2010 i Vilnius, Litauen

We, the participants of the IX Baltic Sea Non-Governmental Organisations‘ (NGO) Forum, representing over 200 civilsociety organisations from Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia andSweden, have assembled 16 to 17 April 2010 in Vilnius, Lithuania, to discuss difficulties and challenges the civil societyin the countries of the Baltic Sea Region faces and highlight the necessity to ensure an active engagement of society inthe development of public policies, transparent and accountable governance and in decision-making processes atinternational and national levels.The Forum focused on the core areas of civil society empowerment, in particular interregional cooperation, fosteringinnovations and strengthening of the NGO sector.The participants of the Forum agreed that the will to democratisation and involvement of the civil society should alwaysbe matched with its political implementation. In building a socially responsible, inclusive, fair and democratic Europeansociety, we find it important that the dialogue related to the implementation of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Regionis not limited to the EU institutions, the Governments of the Baltic Sea Region and the Project implementers, and shallactively involve the civil society and business sector of the region. The civil society dimension shall constitute an integralpart of each element of the Strategy. Likewise, social responsibility of the business sector will be fostered andpartnerships with public institutions and NGOs enforced while actively engaging private sector actors in theimplementation of the Strategy.Being aware that not all countries of the Baltic Sea Region are members of the EU, we are convinced that it is essentialto establish instruments ensuring cooperation among all countries as equal partners. As a first step, we advocate theestablishment of a non-visa regime in the border areas of the EU with the third countries that would facilitate people topeople interaction.We believe that trans-national cooperation among NGOs themselves as well as between public bodies and NGOs in theBaltic Sea Region shall be given priority and support. Therefore we urge the European Parliament and the EuropeanCommission, the Council of the Baltic Sea States and the Governments to undertake specific measures that would helpadvance the region to the forefront of the international practices of civic participation and would become one of thehallmarks of the region. In view of the above, we appeal to the Council to include in its agenda the following measures:

To further promote intersectoral cooperation between academics, businesses, NGOs and public institutions andencourage their partnerships by improving and extending the conditions of the existing support instruments forthe region, i.e. European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument and the programs of the Nordic Council ofMinisters. To this end, shared interests have to be defined and relevant capacities and skills developed, alsobest practices of public-private partnerships, including those involving direct person-to-person contacts shouldbe exchanged. Also a common task group of representatives from the BS NGO Network and BalticDevelopment Forum shall be established to develop joint action plans;To establish specific measures that would enable NGOs, including small and grassroots organisations, from theregion, and in particular Russia, to participate in the implementation of the EU Baltic Sea Program;To urge Governments to approve national NGO development programs that would set up cooperation patternsand principles between government institutions and NGOs and ensure transparent representation of civilsociety interests at national and local levels;To encourage Governments to involve NGOs on an adequate footing in the development and implementation ofnational public policies throughout the entire process, starting from policy formulation, drafting documentation,consultations and evaluation; also to establish joint bodies at national and local levels to consider the issues ofpublic interest. In view of the above, we urge all countries to implement theCode of Good Practice for CivilParticipation in the Decision-Making Processadopted by the Council of Europe on 1 October 2009;To initiate regional surveys under the Council of the Baltic Sea States on the level of engagement of civilsociety in the decision-making processes at national and local levels and best practices in individual countries,the enforcement of the existing legislation, the public benefit of NGO activity and its input into national GDPsand the funding resources;To increase competitive capacities of NGOs not only by encouraging the use of new technologies, but also byfacilitating the design of innovations by NGOs that will enforce the sustainability of social developments;To support the official setting of the World NGO Day. Following the discussions among non-governmentalorganizations and members of the Baltic Sea NGO network fromBelarus Denmark, Estonia, Finland,Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia and Sweden,the Coordinating Committee onbehalf of the Baltic Sea NGO Forum 2010 (16 to 17 April 2010, Vilnius, Lithuania) has approved the necessityto promote the official setting of the “Worldwide NGO Day”, proposed by the Civic Alliance-Latvia. The WorldNGO Day is to be announced as an official UN observance day according to the UN resolution.