External meeting
Informal consultation session of the Helsinki Commission
March 15, 2023
External meeting
Informal consultation session of the Helsinki Commission
Start date: March 15, 2023
End date: March 16, 2023
Place: Helsinki and online
Address:
Official meetings of all HELCOM Working and Experts Groups and other subsidiary bodies are postponed due to the HELCOM strategic pause until further notice, however, informal consultation sessions, without Russian participation, are organized and hosted by a Contracting Party.
The informal consultation sessions process and discuss documents and provide guidance and recommendations as to how to progress work.
The informal consultation sessions process and discuss documents and provide guidance and recommendations as to how to progress work.
Description
The European Union and the Contracting Parties to HELCOM that are also Member States of the European Union (H 9) met for an informal consultation session at the Commission level of the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission - Helsinki Commission (IC HELCOM 1-2023) from 15-16 March 2023 in Helsinki, Finland hosted by the Latvian Chairmanship of HELCOM.
The Session was attended by participants from all Contracting Parties except for Russia, by Observers from Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB), Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO), NorthernDimension Partnership on Transportation and Logistics (NDPTL) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
The Session was attended by Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB).
CCB participants in the session:
- Mikhail Durkin, CCB Executive Secretary
Outcomes of the session:
- The Session took note of the WWF and CCB Guidelines for Planning “Offshore Renewable Energy go-to areas” (ORE go-to areas) in the Baltic Sea.
- The Session took note of the fact that the mentioned needs for input and output data improvement, harmonization and Basemaps portal development are also regularly discussed in the BSR MSP Data Expert Sub-Group, most recently on 7 March 2023, and reported to the HELCOM-VASAB MSP WG. The Session further noted that HELCOM is involved in a number of new projects which also consider matters related to the WWF and CCB Guidelines, e.g. eMSP NBSR, MSP4BIO and ReMAP.
- The Session took note of the suggestion by CCB to classify the guidelines as a BAT/BEP document. The Session concluded that the original classification should be retained, but that making the guidelines into BAT/BEP guidelines could be explored in the future.
-The Session took note of information provided by CCB on potential environmental impacts of the Lynetteholm project in Denmark.
- The Session welcomed the offer by CCB to review Recommendation 17/3 and submit a document for consideration to WG Sea-based pressures and the HELCOM-VASAB MSP Working Group, with a view to clarifying procedures related to informing about large infrastructure projects in the Baltic Sea area that have transboundary effects.
Documents related to the session:
-2_Guidelines for Planning “Offshore Renewable Energy go-to ar
-3-1 Add. WWF and CCB Guidance document on responsible offshor
-3-1 WWF and CCB Guidance document on responsible offshore ren
-9-1 Add. Additional information about potential environmental
Participation supported by
CCB's participation in the event was supported by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor CINEA can be held responsible for them.
The Session was attended by participants from all Contracting Parties except for Russia, by Observers from Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB), Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO), NorthernDimension Partnership on Transportation and Logistics (NDPTL) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
The Session was attended by Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB).
CCB participants in the session:
- Mikhail Durkin, CCB Executive Secretary
Outcomes of the session:
- The Session took note of the WWF and CCB Guidelines for Planning “Offshore Renewable Energy go-to areas” (ORE go-to areas) in the Baltic Sea.
- The Session took note of the fact that the mentioned needs for input and output data improvement, harmonization and Basemaps portal development are also regularly discussed in the BSR MSP Data Expert Sub-Group, most recently on 7 March 2023, and reported to the HELCOM-VASAB MSP WG. The Session further noted that HELCOM is involved in a number of new projects which also consider matters related to the WWF and CCB Guidelines, e.g. eMSP NBSR, MSP4BIO and ReMAP.
- The Session took note of the suggestion by CCB to classify the guidelines as a BAT/BEP document. The Session concluded that the original classification should be retained, but that making the guidelines into BAT/BEP guidelines could be explored in the future.
-The Session took note of information provided by CCB on potential environmental impacts of the Lynetteholm project in Denmark.
- The Session welcomed the offer by CCB to review Recommendation 17/3 and submit a document for consideration to WG Sea-based pressures and the HELCOM-VASAB MSP Working Group, with a view to clarifying procedures related to informing about large infrastructure projects in the Baltic Sea area that have transboundary effects.
Documents related to the session:
-2_Guidelines for Planning “Offshore Renewable Energy go-to ar
-3-1 Add. WWF and CCB Guidance document on responsible offshor
-3-1 WWF and CCB Guidance document on responsible offshore ren
-9-1 Add. Additional information about potential environmental
Participation supported by
CCB's participation in the event was supported by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor CINEA can be held responsible for them.