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Expert article 860 Baltic Rim Economies, 21.12.2011 Quarterly Review 5�2011 The Turku process – promoting concrete cooperation with Russian partners By Aleksi Randell Commissioner for Regional Policy Mr Johannes Hahn, addressing the Baltic Sea Annual Forum in Gdansk 25 October 2011, noted “the very constructive cooperation with Russia” in relation to the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR). He referred to the active participation of many stakehold-ers with Russian partners in areas like environmental protection, water quality or innovation, in all our interest. The City of Turku, in cooperation with the Regional Council of Southwest Finland, is active in this co-operation. I may even say that in many ways we are pioneers on this path, which we believe is in the interest of everyone. In 2010, we launched a new cooperation drive, today known as the Turku process. According to a joint statement by its partners, it has a clear and concrete goal: It aims at bringing together partners “across the border” in the Baltic Sea Region, with special emphasis on cooperation with regional Russian partners. It is informal and action-oriented process of doing things together. The tripartite coordination group consists of representatives of the Cities of St. Petersburg, Hamburg and Turku/Region of Southwest Finland as the coordinator and secretariat. The European Commission/DG REGIO supports the initiative and participates to facilitate the process and resulting actions as requested by the coordinator. The first Round Table (Turku, 23 – 24 September 2010) brought together a number of invited repre-sentatives from the Russian Federation, the European Commission, EUBSR programme coordinators and the host country, with the aim of getting introduced to each others work and to discuss possibili-ties for concrete joint projects. Themes discussed included environment, innovation and university cooperation, safety and tourism. Participants from St. Petersburg included prominent representatives of the City administration (For-eign Affairs Committee, Committee for Environment), Vodokanal, Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as universities, i.e. key partners. Delegation of the European Commission was led by Mr Dirk Ahner, Director-General, DG REGIO. Excellent informal atmosphere, common goals, will to work in the spirit of equality and recognition that only together we can solve our common challenges and exploit the full potential of our region led to the conclusion that a goal-oriented process should be developed and deepened. The spirit of the first Round Table of Turku was to “translate good intentions into concrete action”. The second Round Table of the Turku process was organised as part of the traditional Turku Days in St. Petersburg 25 and 26 May, 2011. Participation of Vice- Governor Mikhail Oseevski and Member of City Government, Chairman of External Affairs Committee Alexander Prokhorenko testified about the commitment of the City of St. Petersburg to this cooperation. The themes of St. Petersburg Round Table included the Baltic Sea innovation space, employment and professional training as well as environment – both land-based threats from agriculture (Leningrad region) and water cycle issues (Vodokanal of St. Petersburg). Expert presentations were followed by intensive discussion about priorities of action. 8 Trustful bilateral city relations can serve broader regional interests Importantly, the second Round Table broadened the scope of cooperation, bringing the Region of Len-ingrad and the City of Hamburg – as a member of the coordination group – into the process. This fur-ther enhances the potential of the Turku process. The planned third Round Table, to he hosted by the City of Hamburg during Spring 2012, will concen-trate on implementation of practical projects in key areas. We believe that the Turku process – and its goal, deepened and action-oriented, mutually beneficial cooperation with Russian partners – has great potential and is of great importance. Naturally, cooper-ation with Russia must be pursued on several levels in parallel: international (Northern Dimension, CBSS, Helcom), national/bilateral and sub-national. From our experience, we can say that the munici-pal and regional partners are maybe best placed without delay to identify and implement practical examples of successful cooperation. Cooperation requires mutual trust and shared interests. The Turku process is born out of a long and fruitful cooperation between the cities of Turku and St. Petersburg. Actually, Turku was the first city in the world to establish sister city relations with St. Petersburg. It is no coincidence that also Hamburg was also one of the first pioneers to establish twinning relations with St. Petersburg. In this way, sister city relations are serving also broader regional interests. Turku and St. Petersburg are currently preparing to celebrate the 60th anniversary of sister city rela-tions in 2013 with high-level events such as economic forums, business meetings, exhibitions etc. The-se celebrations are included in the new Agreement of Cooperation between Turku and St. Petersburg for the years 2012 – 2016, which is in process of being finalised. The new permanent Turku Center – our “city embassy” in St. Petersburg – which is run in cooperation with the Regional Council of South-west Finland and the Turku universities, as well as our close cooperation in multilateral organisations – notably the Union of Baltic Cities UBC – create further boost to our links. Further, the presence of the General Consulate of the Russian Federation in Turku has also proven to be a significant positive factor in developing city-to-city relations. The Centrum Balticum Foundation – a think tank specialising in the Baltic Sea issues – has an increas-ingly important role as an essential partner in our drive to deepen cooperation with Russia and to en-hance the role of Turku/Southwest Finland as an active resource centre and crossroads in the Baltic Sea Region. In this way, we are implementing in practice the proposal by the City of St. Petersburg in the first Turku Round Table, namely to become a Baltic Sea centre “for collecting information, for evaluating problems by experts and defining levels of their solution.” The active endorsement and participation of the European Commission/DG REGIO and its Director-General Mr Dirk Ahner personally in the Turku process and the two Round Tables has been of great significance. We appreciate Mr Ahner´s view (BRE 2/2011) when he, referring to cooperation with Russia, stated that “the most � Pan-European Institute � To receive a free copy please register at www.tse.fi/pei �
Expert article 860 Baltic Rim Economies, 21.12.2011 Quarterly Review 5�2011 advanced example is the use of the long-standing association between St. Petersburg and Turku, and also between St. Petersburg and Hamburg, to create a ´Round Table´ for cooperation on specific projects… This exercise, in which the Commission has also participated, may be the most successful approach to launching effective cooperation, at least in the short term”. However, he reminds that even here there is the challenge of converting words into concrete action. We fully share this view and are working to do just that. Momentum of cooperation must be continued During Turku´s tenure as the European Capital of Culture in 2011, many successful activities have been organised with partners from St. Petersburg. In the coming years, this cooperation will continue. An important example of fruitful cooperation with the state level is the forthcoming meeting of Finnish-Russian intergovernmental Economic Commission in Turku (February, 2012) and the related meetings organised by the City of Turku and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on modernisation, maritime cluster and the Russian Pharma 2010 –strategy. The EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region is an experiment, the first of its kind in Europe. Other regions are keenly watching to see how this macroregional approach works and whether it can bring new impetus into regional cooperation. It is important to show concrete results and 9 thus keep up the momentum. This calls for initiatives and contribution from all potential stakeholders. The City of Turku, with its partners, believes in the benefits of cooperation. By promoting the Turku process, as well as through our bilateral and multilateral relations at national and international levels, we want to give our contribution to the shaping of a prosperous, sustainable Baltic Sea Region. ------- www.turkuprocess.fi Aleksi Randell Mayor, City of Turku Chairman, Centrum Balticum Foundation Finland � Pan-European Institute � To receive a free copy please register at www.tse.fi/pei �
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