Gunnar Lassinantti
Turku NGO Forum, May 8 2003.

Comments for the First Plenary Session: Northern Dimension - Human Dimension? Strengthening Civil Society in the Baltic Sea Region.

It is more than a decade since the Iron Curtain divided the Baltic Sea Region. The Baltic Sea is now the Sea of Tranquillity and no longer the Sea of Wrath. The Baltic Sea region now enjoys stability and common security without menacing threats lurking in the background, as in the Balkans at the end of the Cold War. At the same time, the welfare gap between western and eastern parts of the Baltic Sea Region still constitutes a serious problem that could create tensions and a crisis through the flow of refugees and cross-border criminality. It is not at all certain that EU expansion eastward will solve all the problems.

One of the main tasks for northern Europe is to integrate Russia with the rest of Europe in as many areas as possible and not to isolate the country. The EU Northern Dimension is a blueprint for achieving this. One of the problems with the Northern Dimension, as well as not having a budget line, is the lack of support for the project, at least outside of Finland. After an upward swing in Sweden during Swedish chairmanship of the EU in 2001, the Northern Dimension seems once again only to interest a handful of diplomats and other people and is hardly ever mentioned in the Swedish press. This is all rather ominous as the EU prepares a second period for the Northern Dimension.

The main problem at least does not seem to be Russia. One of the main priorities in President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy is said to be in achieving an equal partnership (with the emphasis on equal) with the EU and Europe that covers a wider agenda than the global agenda he agreed on with President Bush, which chiefly concerns nuclear weapons and international terrorist activities.

Democracy, rule of law, human rights and civil society have taken priority since the end of the Cold War. Functioning civil societies are seen as providing the impetus for changing and improving society from the bottom upwards at a time when the old national states are losing their significance. Security is also under constant review. From military security to less emphasis on the security of the state and more on the security of the individual, so-called human security.

I want to conclude my comments by asking the keynote speakers a few questions:

To Grigory Yavlinsky: Isn't it strange for Russia to be upgrading the nuclear weapon component of its defence policy now that the West no longer poses a threat? Do you see any solution to the Chechenya conflict? What can be done to stimulate the growth of more and stronger NGOs throughout Russia?

To Erkki Tuomioja: What can Finland do to blow new life into the Northern Dimension?

To Helle Degn: Do you see any possibilities for improving relations between Estonians, Latvians and Russians and between Estonia, Latvia and Russia?

To Tarja Cronberg: We talk about new and old NGOs. Social movements such as Attac belong to the new. In your view, what are the tasks facing old and new NGOs in supporting a better functioning civil society in the eastern and southern Baltic Sea regions.

Can old and new NGOs cooperate in this work?