The programme of Baltic Business Arena 2012 is now ready. BBA 2012 will be opened by Karin Hallerby from Swedish Agency of Economic & Regional Growth and Stephan Müchler, Vice Chairman of BDF. We are proud to announce that Walter Deffaa, Director-General of DG Regio, European Commission, will close the BBA 2012 together with BDF Chairman Hans Skov Christensen. In…

Europe needs new growth initiatives! Inspired by Estonia’s Prime Minister Mr. Andrus Ansip, BDF and BCCA (Baltic Sea Chamber of Commerce) early 2012 initiated a project to investigate how the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) can contribute to the development of a Digital Single Market in Europe. The aim is to develop a Strategy or Action Plan for BSR initiatives that…

Danish Presidency takes first step towards agreement on administrative relief for listed companies in the EU. The administrative burdens on listed companies are being reduced in order to make it easier for businesses to raise capital and contribute to growth and employment in the EU. This is at the heart of changes to the so called Transparency Directive. The Danish…

The European Commission is inviting comments on the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR). The EUSBSR was launched in 2009.  It aims to make the Baltic Sea Region cleaner, more connected and more prosperous. The Strategy is a pilot initiative where the Macro-regional concept is tried and tested in a specific geographic area. The EUSBSR was followed by…

The Baltic Business Arena that will take place during the Summit and Annual Forum is expected to gather about 100 companies from all countries in the Baltic Sea Region. At this event the companies will discuss future business opportunities, new project ideas and new technology. There is a “green thread” among the chosen sectors for the event: Cleantech, Sustainable Construction,…

Economic growth and competitiveness is the order of the day as an answer to the present economic crisis. Europe is, however, divided between the North and South on how to create growth. One question is whether the Baltic Sea Region countries are ready to act as a model and to present projects of common interest when new funds and opportunities…

The BSR Innovation award is the most distinguished award in the Baltic Sea region for cross border innovation within sustainable growth and global development. The award goes to a project that has proved itself to be innovative and reached across not only national borders but also crossing different fields of science and industry sectors. The aim of the award is…

The Ministers responsible for Energy in the Baltic Sea states – at a meeting this week in Berlin – have committed themselves to use 1 million Euros for special projects the next three years to meet global energy policy challenges: i.e. security of energy supply, increased energy efficiency and use og renewable resources including integration of fluctuating wind power into the electricity…

The business matchmaking event Baltic Business Arena will take place as an integrated part of the Summit and Annual Forum. At the Baltic Business Arena small and medium sized companies from the entire Baltic Sea Region will have the opportunity to book face-to-face meetings with other companies in a specially designed meeting arena. The first event of this kind was…

One of the founding fathers of the Baltic Sea Strategy, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of Estonia, in an exclusive interview with BDF, is calling for more integration to match the protectionist tendencies in the European Union. “The countries around the Baltic rim are willing to do it, and I think it will make life better for the citizen and decrease…