Our Baltic Conference

The Baltic Sea is severely affected by general threats like biodiversity loss and climate change, and by specific local pressures such as eutrophication, overfishing, elevated levels of contaminants such as pharmaceuticals, and litter, in particular plastic waste. Concerned by the poor state of the Sea and its marine environment, EU Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius is organising a high-level conference on possible actions to redress the situation. The Our Baltic conference will take place on 28 September 2020 in Palanga, Lithuania, on the shores of the Baltic Sea, organised by DG ENV.

Our Baltic will gather ministers, decision makers, scientists and stakeholders from NGOs and industry in the region and across the EU to discuss the challenges faced by this sea. In line with the EU Biodiversity Strategy and the Zero Pollution ambition announced in the European Green Deal, the Conference will focus on how to reduce the pressure from fisheries and the input of pollutants, litter and contaminants, including pharmaceuticals. It aims to boost commitment to the existing goals for the area in EU legislation, and opens the way to further commitments and new actions to tackle these problems.

The event will combine a high-level Ministerial session and stakeholder discussions. Ministers for Environment, Agriculture and Fisheries from eight EU Member States in the region (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden) have been invited and are expected to sign a Ministerial Declaration at the Conference. A beach clean-up event will take place on the day preceding the Conference, on 27 September.

Link to the webstreaming: available on the day of the day of the Conference, 28 September