Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-01-15-Speech-3-190"
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"en.20030115.11.3-190"2
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". – Mr President, I will try to live up to that request. We turn now from one end of Europe, as it were, to another. The Northern Dimension continues to occupy an extremely important place on the Commission's external relations agenda. The Commission has been working hard to implement the Northern Dimension Action Plan that was endorsed by the European Council at Feira in June 2000, and to prepare for a new action plan. We are determined to continue to take a leading role in carrying forward this important initiative.
There is still a lot of work to be done. The Commission is willingly taking the lead in preparing this new Action Plan. But I want to make it clear that success will require an active contribution of all partners concerned with the region and I am sure that the European Parliament will want to play its part in this process. I am certainly looking forward to hearing the contributions which Members have to make in ensuring that the Northern Dimension, which has begun so well, can go on from strength to strength, particularly after the enlargement of the Union.
Last year saw significant progress in all nine sectors encompassed by the Action Plan. The Commission's 2002 Annual Progress Report on the implementation of the Northern Dimension action plan presents a complete overview of these results. I would like to pick out a few concrete examples. The Commission has actively contributed to launching the Northern Dimension environmental partnership, with its support fund for environmental and nuclear projects in Northwest Russia. The Commission is by far the largest contributor to the fund, with EUR 50 million over three years, mainly for nuclear-related projects. The Northern Dimension environmental partnership is a clear example of how cooperation in the Northern Dimension region can achieve tangible results in very sensitive areas, calling for urgent action.
In this context much attention is also being devoted to resolving the remaining details of the Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Programme for the Russian Federation, the so-called MNEPR. I hope that we are now very close to a solution and that this key agreement can be signed very soon.
Much attention has also been devoted to the Northern Dimension, energy issues, transport, infrastructure, business and trade cooperation and to cooperation in the fight against organised crime. We have continued to support cross-border cooperation through the Tacis programme, with a total assistance to Northwest Russia between 1996 and 2003 of about EUR 122 million, about half of this being for border crossings.
The Commission has also attached great importance to enhancing the coordination and interoperability between its principal programmes operating in the region (mainly Tacis, Phare and Interreg) in order to facilitate the implementation of joint projects in the Northern Dimension area. This has already helped bring about a considerable increase in the number of joint projects being presented for Tacis/Interreg or Tacis/Phare funding in 2001-2002.
The past year has also seen continued dialogue with the most important actors involved in the Northern Dimension. The final agreement with Russia and Lithuania on the issue of transit to and from the Kaliningrad region is a good example of a concrete success in the EU-Russia relationship that should bring benefits for the wider Northern Dimension region. We have already provided more than EUR 40 million to the development of Kaliningrad and an additional EUR 25 million is planned for the coming years. We are determined to assist the Russian authorities in improving living standards and addressing the challenges it poses to the wider region.
The Commission has also been closely following the work of the intergovernmental organisations of the Northern Dimension region, including the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) and the Arctic Council itself. Building on the positive results already achieved, the Northern Dimension will be further strengthened in the near future. In the coming years, the Northern Dimension will have to address the impact of European Union enlargement, and focus on enhancing links with the Russian Federation as a neighbour.
Two ministerial meetings were organised by Denmark in the last six months, both focussing on the next Action Plan. On the basis of Guidelines
adopted by the Council in October last year, the Commission is preparing the next Northern Dimension Action Plan for the period 2004-2006.
We are carrying out an extensive consultation process involving Member States, Partner Countries, and regional bodies, as well as the business world, academia and civil society. Our objective is to have a consolidated draft of the Action Plan (which will replace the current one on 1 January next year) tabled by the middle of this year at the latest."@en1
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