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Russia and the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region: bridging a (mis)connection gap 61with Russia should be intensified through the already existing platforms,such as the Northern Dimension, the CBSS, the Nordic Council of Ministers(NCM), the HELCOM, the Vision and Strategies around the Baltic Seanetwork (VASAB), the BSSSC, the UBC and BONUS — Baltic Sea Researchand Development Program. 15 More specifically, the Commission’s communicationsuggested closer cooperation with Russia for the Strategy's goals ofmore efficient and compatible maritime surveillance, as well as prevention,preparedness and response to disasters at sea and on land. It was also suggestedthat the positive example of joint surveillance in the Gulf of Finlandshould be extended to cover the entire Baltic Sea.As the BSSSC position paper emphasizes, the exclusion of Russia inthe development process of the EUSBSR remains a severe deficit of theStrategy. 16 Given the fact that Brussels did not develop any specific plan onhow to integrate Russia into the EUSBSR, the role of other regional andsub-regional organizations and programs, as well as sub-national actors,becomes more visible and important.EU–Russia cooperation in the BSR: sub-regionalinstitutions and mechanismsFirst of all, the Northern Dimension (ND) partnerships are promisingvenues for cooperation with Russia in the BSR. Under the NDEP a numberof important projects are being implemented: St Petersburg South-WestWastewater Treatment Plant and ten suburban WWT plants; improvementof the Leningrad Region, Gatchina, Kaliningrad, Novgorod, Petrozavodsk,Pskov, Sosnovy Bor and Tikhvin water and wastewater services; St. PetersburgNorthern Sludge Incinerator; St. Petersburg Flood Protection Barrier;15Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the EuropeanEconomic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions concerning the EuropeanUnion Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. Brussels, 23.3.2012. COM(2012) 128 final, pp. 6, 8. http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docoffic/official/communic/baltic/com_baltic_2012_en.pdf(Home page of European Commission; visited 10.05.2013.).; Council conclusions on the completionof the review of the European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. 3180th GeneralAffairs Council meeting, Luxembourg, 26 June 2012, p. 4. http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/EN/genaff/131228.pdf (Home page of Council of the European Union;visited 10.05.2013.).16The EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region. The second year of implementation. Adopted byEuropean Council 26 October 2009, Brussels, p. 9.