Commissioner Sinkevičius hosted the second edition of the ‘Our Baltic' Conference to address pressing environmental challenges in the Baltic Sea. The high-level conference gathered ministers and high-level officials in charge of fisheries, agriculture, and environment from eight EU countries (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Sweden).

Given the severe ecosystem problems of the Baltic Sea, the conference aimed to help strengthening and complementing short to medium-term actions that Member States can take to improve the Baltic Sea's ecosystem health, as well as the state of fish stocks. Such additional actions could be nature-based solutions like mussel farming to restore deoxygenated zones.

Removing submerged munitions to address environmental damage

Commissioner Sinkevičius and the ministers committed to safeguarding the delicate marine ecosystem of the Baltic Sea, with a special focus on the removal of submerged munitions that lie in its seabed since World Wars I and II.

In the morning segment of the conference, ministers agreed on the urgency of tackling this pressing problem that poses risks to marine life, coastal communities and their economic activities, including fishing.

In the afternoon, the ministers agree on joint commitments to safely clean and manage submerged munitions in the Baltic Sea, making it more sustainable for the generations to come.

The Commission is joining these important efforts by providing concrete financial support through an open call for proposals of €2 million aiming to identify key geographical areas and to conduct appropriate risk assessments.

Progress made in protecting the Baltic Sea since 2020

During the event, discussions also focused on the progress made in the implementation of the 2020 Ministerial Declaration from the first Our Baltic Conference. The first progress report on commitments shows significant progress in addressing some of the most pressing local pressures contributing to eutrophication and marine littering.

More information:

• Our Baltic Conference official website
• Conference programme and presentations
• News: Healthy seas: Commission leads common efforts to improve state of Baltic Sea (29/09/2023)
• List of commitments made to address the issue of unexploded munitions
• Progress report on the commitments from 2020 
• Our Baltic Conference - questions and answers