“We need to do better, and in a smart way” This morning Lene Espersen, Chairman of Baltic Development Forum (BDF) opened the 16th Baltic Development Forum Summit in Turku, Finland. EU Commissioner for Regional Policy Johannes Hahn, Minister for Economic Affairs Jan Vapaavuori, and Mayor of Turku Aleksi Randell also took part in the opening session attended by more than…

Russia is the world’s fourth largest energy consuming country with energy intensity several times higher than of the developed world. This provides a huge potential for Energy Efficiency (EE) savings. Tapping into this potential requires a substantial scaling of EE projects financing. According to various estimates around 230 billion EUR are needed to reach 40% reduction of energy intensity in…

During the one-day networking conference on “The Baltic Sea Region identity, branding and Communications” on 9 December in Helsinki, Finland, a new report “Facets of Identity?” was unveiled and served as the basis for discussion on the topic of identity by a panel consisting of representatives from the fields of branding, culture and communication as well as authors of the…

On 9 December, the Baltic Sea Region identity, branding and communications were discussed at a one-day networking conference and kick-off-event of HA Promo* in Helsinki, Finland. The countries and regions around the Baltic Sea Region have come closer during recent years. Is it only due to a community of interests or do we share more than that – values, norms…

The “Baltic Sea Conference 2013 – Blue Growth, Sustainability and Water Industries”, held in Copenhagen on 3 October 2013, brought together high-level participants from the European Commission and Danish government, and actors from throughout the Baltic Sea Region – from different sectors and levels of decision making – in order to chart the way forward for an environmentally sound and…

Applying Nordic Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Solutions in Kaliningrad Oblast Baltic Development Forum acts as the Lead Partner of RENSOL project, “Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Solutions in Kaliningrad Oblast”. The project was started with the identification of feasible energy efficient and renewable energy solutions in Nordic countries that could also be adapted to Kaliningrad region. Possibilities to improve housing energy…

Christian Ketels , Principal Associate Harvard Business School and Author of the State of the Region Series, in the first part of the Report provides a discussion of the recent trends in competitiveness across the Baltic Sea Region. The first part looks at the current economic climate in the Region, an important influence on the policy environment for long-term competitiveness…

The 2013 Political State of the Region Report “Trends and Directions in the Baltic Sea Region” is a fresh take on answering amongst other things the question of: In what state is the Baltic Sea region (BSR) in 2013? What are the current challenges and opportunities? What are the current priorities of its countries? How has the EU Strategy for…

In what state is the Baltic Sea region (BSR) in 2013? What are the current challenges and opportunities? What are the current priorities of its countries? How has the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) developed since 2011? The third Political State of the Region Report does a fresh attempt to answer these and other questions and to…

BDF is pleased to present the general outcome and the different features from the thematic sessions, speeches, debates and activities that took place during the the European Commissions Annual Forum on the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region and the BDF Summit 17-19 June in Copenhagen in Conference Report 2012. The conference turned out to be a very timely reminder to…