EU Baltic strategy in jeopardy?

In an opinion piece for the daily Helsingin Sanomat, Ville Itälä, a member of the European Parliament's budgetary committee, fears the EU's strategy for the Baltic could be hindered by financing problems. "The EU has finally woken up and realised that the Baltic, as the EU's only inland sea, requires its own special strategy. ... In view of its upcoming EU presidency starting next July, Sweden has undertaken to bolster this strategy. ... But at present it seems clear that opposition to funding [for the Baltic strategy] is so great that it is in jeopardy. ... The Mediterranean region receives over 200 million euros from the EU budget each year. Now the Mediterranean countries fear that the focus could shift to the Baltic. A Baltic action plan has already been drawn up between the governments of the Baltic states and the EU. The plan is aimed at developing the Baltic in an environmentally friendly way up to the year 2021. ... Concrete plans and objectives have therefore already been set down on paper, but the question is: How are the words to be followed by deeds?"

» full article (external link, Finnish)
More from the press review on the subject » EU Policy, » Environmental Policy, » Baltic States, » Northern Europe