European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region

Estonia holds the Strategy’s Presidency from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, during which we will focus on:

updating its Action Plan,
strengthening resilience and sustainability in the Baltic Sea Region, and
enhancing Ukraine’s involvement in relevant actions and projects under the Strategy.

Three main objectives

to protect the Baltic Sea;
to connect the region;
to increase well-being.

The Baltic Sea Strategy affects 80 million people and eight EU Member States (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland) working together to improve the competitiveness of the region, create new transport and energy connections, protect the environment, promote scientific cooperation and contacts, and ensure the safety of people and the environment. The strategy also makes it possible to involve the countries of the European Economic Area (Norway and Iceland).

The idea of the Baltic Sea Strategy started in 2006 in the European Parliament under the leadership of Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Alexander Stubb. The strategy was established in 2009. Following the example of the Baltic Sea Strategy, the EU has later developed strategies for the Danube, Adriatic, Ionian, and Alpine regions.

How does the strategy work?

The Baltic Sea Strategy is implemented on the basis of an action plan that has been updated three times since 2009. The last update was completed in February 2021 and refined cooperation activities, taking into account challenges such as climate change and pandemics, as well as the EU’s ambition to implement the digital and green transitions. It also established a clearer link between the funding of the strategy from EU funds and improved the management of the strategy. Among other things, the division of roles between the implementers of the strategy was clarified and the sectoral ownership of the ministries was increased.

The action plan sets out the priority directions for action in the coming years in each area. Each area has its own coordinator and a monitoring group composed of representatives of the Member States who jointly decide on the forms of cooperation to be used in the policies. These can be projects, networks, platforms, or even flagship projects (projects with an impact on the whole Baltic Sea region).

The financial resources needed for the cooperation mostly come from EU funds and programmes, but also from the budgets of the Member States, local governments, universities, international organisations, etc.

In the ongoing EU funding period 2021–2027, it is important to ensure the fulfilment of the objectives and activities of the Baltic Sea Strategy through the EU’s cohesion policy and territorial cooperation, as well as funding from other EU funds.

Areas of cooperation

innovation
bioeconomy
energy
transport
shipping
maritime safety
spatial planning

tourism
security
health care
nutrients
hazardous substances
education
culture

The activities of the areas also take into account the aspects of climate change.

The Baltic Sea Strategy and Estonia

In Estonia, issues related to the strategy are discussed in a national working group chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (national coordinator), which includes representatives of ministries and agencies who are also the Estonian representatives in sectoral monitoring groups.

Over the years, Estonian universities, cities, and companies have participated in more than 200 regional joint projects. Flagship projects DIGINNO and SCANBALT Health Region can be cited as examples of Estonian success stories.

Who does what?

At the European Union level

EU Member States develop and guide the strategy and the content of its action plan under the chairmanship of the presidency.
The European Commission has a coordinating role in implementing the strategy and securing its funding.

At the Baltic Sea Region level

The national coordinators oversee the overall implementation and development of the strategy.
The area coordinators lead and guide the areas on the basis of the action plan.
The implementing agencies of EU funds work together to secure funding at the programme level.

At the Member State level

The members of the monitoring group monitor activities and developments in the areas.
The implementing agencies of the EU funds, in cooperation with the members of the monitoring group, help to ensure funding at the national level.
The project partners work together and implement the strategy on a practical level.

Practical information

Baltic Sea Strategy projects can be initiated by public authorities, local governments, non-profit organisations, private companies, and universities. To begin, contact a member of the monitoring group of the area in the ministry and the area coordinator of the strategy. The corresponding contacts can be found HERE.
The database keep.eu or euro-access.eu can be used to find funding opportunities and project partners. Acter.global can also help you find partners.
Useful information on funding opportunities for regional cooperation can be found on the website of the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture and on the INTERACT website.
The functions of the Estonian coordinator of the Baltic Sea Strategy are performed and the activities of the Estonian authorities are coordinated by the Department for European Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, phone 637 7260.