We, the members of the Icelandic Parliament, the European
Parliament, the Norwegian Parliament, and the Federal Assembly of the Russian
Federation, with the participation of the Baltic Assembly, the Baltic Sea
Parliamentary Conference, the Canadian Parliament, the Conference of
Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region, the Nordic Council, the Parliamentary
Assembly for North West Russia and the West Nordic Council;
meeting in Reykjavík to discuss the development of the
Northern Dimension (ND) Policy, with focus on green energy, the sustainable
utilization of marine resources in the North, gender equality and social
wellbeing;
having regard to the fourth Senior Official Meeting of the
renewed ND held in Oslo on 8 April 2014 and the progress report on the
development of the Northern Dimension;
recalling the conference statements from the First ND
Parliamentary Forum held in Brussels on 25-26 February 2009, the Second ND
Parliamentary Forum held in Tromsø on 22-23 February 2011 and the Third ND
Parliamentary Forum held in Arkhangelsk on 11–12 November 2013;
confirming the importance of the ND cooperation in order to
improve the living conditions, opportunities and addressing the challenges for
the people living in the ND area;
stressing the importance of a deeper involvement of
indigenous peoples in the ND policy;
encouraging all the Partners to continue regional
cooperation enhancing mutual understanding in the interest of the peaceful and
sustainable development of the ND region;“
ask Partners and the governments of the ND cooperation;
Regarding the Development
of the Northern Dimension Policy, to
1. Increase the ND’s
contribution to cooperation in the European Arctic area and strengthen
coordination of activities with regional councils and organizations operating
in the North;
2. Further develop the ND and strengthen cooperation based
on common interests.
3. Support the ND Partnership on Culture (NDPC) as a focal
point for networks, projects and other cultural activities in the ND area and
encourage the Partnership to promote creative cultural industries and to
develop new projects in the field of cultural tourism.
4. Support the ND Partnership on Transport and Logistics
(NDPTL) as an efficient cooperation tool for the development of the transport
system of the region and improvement of the international logistics chains.
5. Support project implementation and the development of new
projects with high regional added value using the NDPTL's support fund and
enhance its general coordinating role in the field of transport and logistics
in the ND area.
6. Encourage the NDPTL to promote development of
environmentally friendly transport in the ND area.
7. Enhance synergies between all relevant regional
cooperation formats and programmes in the ND area in view of a more systematic
approach to cooperation in the Baltic Sea and European Arctic regions.
8. Use the full potential of the ND Institute, ND Business
Council, and the contribution of sub-regional and parliamentary cooperation in
support of the ND Policy.
9. Support the Northern Dimension Partnership in Public
Health and Social Well-being (NDPHS) as a highly valued and innovative regional
network, significantly contributing to the improvement of peoples’ health and
social well-being in the Northern Dimension area, including its efforts to
coordinate the new NDPHS 2020 Strategy and its Action Plan.
10. Continue the work of the EU-Russia Working Group on
Cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region, aiming to define common themes for
cooperation based on joint priorities identified in the “Strategy of Social and
Economic Development of the North-Western Region up to 2020” of the Russian
Federation and the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region;
11. Use the full potential of the Northern Dimension
Institute and its coordinators to develop appropriate studies in the ND area.
Regarding Environmental
Protection, Climate Change and Green Energy, to:
1. Support technological
development in renewable energy, energy storage, and energy efficiency in
Northern regions and set renewable energy targets that support sustainable
economic growth in the ND area.
2. Work towards an effective, ambitious, durable international
climate agreement in Paris in December 2015 that is applicable to all, with the
determination to work to limit the increase in global average temperature to
below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
3. Support the ND Environmental Partnership´s (NDEP) efforts
on energy efficiency and environmental protection in the ND area.
4. Recognise the key role of the NDEP in successfully
implementing projects with high cross-boundary environmental benefits in the ND
region in its environmental and nuclear windows, contributing significantly to
the health of the Baltic Sea and reducing the risk of nuclear hazards in the
Barents region.
5. Support effective implementation of NDEP projects, noting
that as NDEP projects have led to 98.5% of wastewaters in St Petersburg now
being treated, the closest attention must be drawn to the swift completion of
the Kaliningrad Wastewater Treatment Plant.
6. Take actions for the mitigation of black carbon emissions
due to their detrimental impact on the Arctic ice shelf and consider utilizing
NDEP experience for the implementation of concrete measures for cutting the
black carbon emissions by modernization of heating facilities in the Barents
region.
7. Call on International Financial Institutions to find solutions
to continue with the financing of new projects with environmental cross-border
effect in the whole region within the Northern Dimension Environmental
Partnership.
Regarding Sustainable
Utilization of Marine Resources in the North, to:
1. Encourage
mutual understanding of the rights of the communities of the North to utilize
their resources in a sustainable way, and the importance of safe guarding their
livelihoods by providing access to the markets for traditional products, such
as seal products, in line with applicable legislation.
2. Stress the importance of implementing an Ecosystem Based
Management approach in the coastal, marine and terrestrial environments of the
North.
3. Reinforce regional cooperation of coastal states in order
to secure long-term sustainable management and utilization of joint fish
stocks.
4. Highlight the detrimental consequences of ocean
acidification for global food security, as well as the need to halt ocean
acidification, in the current negotiations for a new global climate agreement.
5. Initiate and carry out projects that contribute to the
realization of the goals and objectives of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan,
aiming at achieving good ecological status of the Baltic marine environment by
2021 at the latest.
Regarding Gender Equality
and Social Wellbeing, to:
1. Focus on human health and
well-being with an emphasis on preventative measures and food safety among
peoples of the ND area.
2. Recommend that gender based analyses are used in the
development, implementation and assessment of relevant policies in the region,
as part of creating preconditions for social wellbeing.
3. Conduct research on the causes of the evident emigration
of womenfrom some areas in the North and build up policies preventing
this trend.
Regarding Human Health, to:
1. Give priority to the implementation of the NDPHS 2020
Strategy and its Action Plan and ensure their active engagement and sufficient
financial resources.
2. Take determined action based on scientific knowledge and
exchange best practices to promote healthy lifestyles in order to avoid early
mortality and chronic conditions leading to the loss of human and economic
potential.
3. Work to prevent alcohol related harm, diseases and
accidents as use of alcohol represents the biggest health challenge in the
Northern Dimension area.
4. Take due note of the threat to social well-being caused
by high unemployment, particularly among the young, and look at the
possibilities to increase the cooperation to fight this problem.
The Fourth Northern
Dimension Parliamentary Forum:
asks Partners and the
governments of the ND cooperation to report at the next Parliamentary Forum on
the general development of the policy of the ND;
asks the Chairs of the Partnerships supported by the
Partnership´s secretariats to report at the next Parliamentary Forum on the
results of the Partnerships;
acknowledges the interest and presence of parliamentary
observers and representatives from governments and non-governmental
organizations at this Conference and recognizes their important role in
conveying the relevant messages to their governments and supporting the actions
herein discussed;
acknowledges the importance of, and supports, the active
participation of indigenous
peoples throughout ongoing and future activities;
suggests that the possibility of arranging annual
conferences of the Northern Dimension Parliamentary Forum is explored;
suggests that the Forum works on developing practical
guidelines for the ND Parliamentary Forum that will be put forth at the next
conference in 2017;
welcomes and accepts with gratitude the invitation of the
European Parliament to host the Fifth ND Parliamentary Forum in 2017.