23rd SESSION OF THE BALTIC ASSEMBLY
FINAL DOCUMENT
Riga, 17 - 19 December 2004
The Baltic Assembly,
having convened on 17 19 December 2004 in Riga, the Republic of Latvia, for its 23rd Session;
having discussed mutual information exchange and co-ordination of matters among the Baltic States with regard to the EU and NATO, development of co-operation in rendering assistance to and sharing reform experience with third countries, as well as social aspects of migration,
adopted the following documents:
1. Resolution on Labour Market Policy and Migration in the EU Context,
2. Resolution on the System of Financing Health Care in the Baltic States,
3. Resolution on Cooperation between the Baltic States and Nordic Countries with Regard to the Quality of Education,
4. Resolution on Cooperation among the Baltic States in Implementing the Schengen Action Plan,
5. Resolution on the Need to Assess the Damage Inflicted on the Baltic States by the Occupation,
6. Resolution on the Situation in Ukraine,
7. Resolution Regarding Accusations by the State Duma of the Russian Federation,
8. Decision on Amendments to the Baltic Assembly Statutes,
9. Decision on Amendments to the Regulations on the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly;
approved the Baltic Assembly Budget Report for 2003 and the Baltic Assembly Budget for 2005;
defined the following priorities of the Baltic Assembly for 2005:
Co-operation with the new EU neighbouring countries,
Improvement of living standards and the quality of education in the Baltic States after their joining the EU and NATO,
The role of NGOs in forming civil society. Integration into society of people with special needs;
defined the following priorities for co-operation between the Baltic Assembly and the Baltic Council of Ministers in 2005:
Development of the Baltic Sea economic region,
Development of civil defence and civil security in the region,
Protection of the marine environment and enhancing maritime safety; and
decided that the 24th Session of the Baltic Assembly will take place on 24 26 November 2005 in Tallinn, the Republic of Estonia.
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President of
the Baltic Assembly
Jānis REIRS
Republic of Latvia |
Vice President of
the Baltic Assembly
Andres TAIMLA
Republic of Estonia |
Vice President of
the Baltic Assembly
Valerijus SIMULIK
Republic of Lithuania |
Riga, 19 December 2004
RESOLUTION
On Labour Market Policy and Migration in the EU Context
The targets of the EU employment policy were set in the employment policy strategy defined at the Lisbon and Stockholm European Councils and in the European Employment Guidelines.
The EU employment strategy has defined three overarching targets: - full employment;
- quality and productivity of work;
- social cohesion and inclusion.
In March 2004 the European Council indicated that efficient measures have to be taken in order to create more and better work places because, as it is already clear, the EU will not meet the objective of the transitional period for 20052010 to ensure the set employment level requiring the creation of additional 15 million new work places.
The new member states are preparing their National Employment Plans. All the Baltic States closely relate the implementation of these plans in 2004 2006 to the use of resources from the European Social Fund.
In order to provide an additional contribution to efficient solving and analysing of labour market-related problems, the Baltic Assembly recommends to carry out in the Baltic States research in the following areas:
- monitoring of the labour market short-term and long-term forecasts of supply and demand in the labour market, and recommendations on the possible geographic mobility of the labour force;
- improvement of mechanisms for balancing work with family life under the conditions of a free market economy;
- establishment of a support system for creating work places in less-favoured border areas, as well as possible mechanisms of co-operation among those areas;
- impact of the Baltic States tax policy on the development of the labour market and the impact of tax policy on the migration of qualified labour force;
- working conditions and occupational risks and their interrelation in the Baltic States;
- impact of demand in the labour markets of the Baltic States and the European Union on study programmes and their financing in institutions of higher education;
- widening the range of measures for promoting employment in order to integrate problem groups of the unemployed into the labour market.
Riga, 19 December 2004
RESOLUTION
On the System of Financing Health Care in the Baltic States
The Baltic Assembly,
taking into account the fact that every inhabitant of the state might need health care services,
considers it necessary that the following main aims should be set: - to ensure access to high-quality health care services,
- to ensure effective use of resources in the health care sector, and
proposes that: - in order to ensure purposeful use of available funds, the Baltic States should jointly invite tenders for procuring expensive medicines, for example, those needed for treatment of hepatitis C, HIV, AIDS and osteoporosis;
- in order to plan long-term investments for introducing state-of-the-art medical technologies, the Health Care Ministries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania should agree on locating these technologies in one of the three states and on guaranteeing the inhabitants of all three states equal access to services;
- Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania should agree on the modes of providing health care services to their inhabitants after joining the EU.
Riga, 19 December 2004
RESOLUTION
On Cooperation between the Baltic States and Nordic Countries with Regard to the Quality of Education
In order to reach the goal set by the European Council in Lisbon in March 2000 so that the European Union would become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economic area in the world, one that is capable of sustainable economic growth and that can ensure better and more job opportunities and greater social cohesion,
the Baltic Assembly recommends:
paying attention to the motivation of learning by pupils and to eliminating the reasons why pupils do not attend school;
improving the quality of secondary education which would meet societys demand and ensure the opportunity to continue education and enter the labour market;
increasing the number of graduates in mathematics, natural sciences and new technologies;
increasing the number of the persons (from 25 to 64 years old) who are engaged in life-long education programmes;
promoting the improvement of general and professional education teachers through various forms of cooperation (exchange of experience, working groups, joint production of instructional materials and teaching aids, study programmes, etc.);
working out criteria for evaluating the quality of branches of foreign higher education institutions and ensuring that these criteria comply with the Bologna process and with the international principles of the Best Cooperation Practices Code;
improving the quality of education by applying research findings and modern technologies;
facilitating information exchange between education policy makers and education quality specialists in the Baltic States and Nordic countries.
Riga, 19 December 2004
RESOLUTION
On Cooperation among the Baltic States in Implementing the Schengen Action Plan
The Baltic Assembly,
taking into consideration that since 1 May 2004 Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are full-fledged members of the European Union;
emphasizing that successful coordination of action taken by the parliaments and the governments of the Baltic States will promote more efficient implementation of the national action plans for adopting the Schengen acquis in order to create the opportunity for citizens of the Baltic States to move freely within the Schengen area;
expressing concern that insufficient cooperation between the Baltic States after the abolition of checks at the internal borders will reduce the efficiency of efforts by the states to fight against illegal migration, organised crime, trafficking in human beings and drugs,
calls on the parliaments and the governments of the Baltic States to:
- introduce necessary amendments to the intergovernmental agreements on the border-crossing points in order to harmonize these agreements with the accession treaties and their annexes;
- agree as soon as possible on signing bilateral cooperation agreements that would stipulate development of police cooperation, trans-border surveillance and pursuit;
- implement as soon as possible the Naples Convention in the Baltic States;
- in order to ensure control on the EU external border and uniform application of customs procedures, to renew the work of the Committees of Senior Officials of the Baltic States;
- ensure the exchange of information and experience between the institutions involved in border control;
- take all necessary measures in order to introduce the Schengen Information System as soon as possible.
Riga, 19 December 2004
RESOLUTION
On the Need to Assess the Damage Inflicted on the Baltic States by the Occupation
The Baltic Assembly,
recognising that the criminal Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which was concluded between the Soviet Union and Germany in 1939 and which provided for the division of the Eastern European countries and the Baltic States between the Soviet and German spheres of influence, brought about far-reaching negative consequences for our three countries;
recalling that:
- in 1940 the Soviet Union occupied Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and this was followed by communist terror and repeated deportations of people, as a result of which tens of thousands perished;
- in 1941 Germany attacked the Soviet Union and occupied Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania;
- after the end of World War II, the Soviet occupation of the Baltic States continued, together with a new wave of terror;
- during the occupation, the totalitarian Soviet regime committed genocide against the native inhabitants by significantly altering the ethnic composition of the population of the Baltic States;
- the occupation inflicted enormous damage on the economy, education, culture and intelligentsia of the Baltic States, and as a result the Baltic States seriously lag behind their European neighbours;
calls on the Governments of the Baltic States
to initiate negotiations with Russia and Germany on compensating damage caused by the occupations and
to invite the countries that participated in the Yalta Conference the UK and the USA to mediate in the recovery of the movable cultural values and the archives removed from the Baltic States during their occupation.
Riga, 19 December 2004
RESOLUTION
On the Situation in Ukraine
The Baltic Assembly,
considering free elections to be a cornerstone of democratic values and condemning all attempts to break up the territorial integrity of the state of Ukraine;
welcoming the decision of the Supreme Court of Ukraine to repeat the second round of the presidential elections, a decision that was already adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine by taking into consideration the will of voters, in order to stabilise the situation in Ukraine;
highly appreciating the leading role in mediatory activities in Ukraine by the Presidents of the EU member states the Republic of Lithuania and the Republic of Poland together with the High Representative of the European Union;
condemning any illegal intervention by third countries into the internal affairs of Ukraine as this does not comply with the principles of peaceful co-existence of nations;
particularly emphasising the role of Ukraine as the most important partner of the European Union in implementing the European Neighbourhood Policy;
stressing that events in Ukraine affect the stability in that region and in Europe, which again emphasises the importance of implementing a strategy for integrating this country into European and Euro-Atlantic cooperation structures;
affirms its solidarity with the Ukrainian people who are striving towards democracy and expresses its conviction that in the repeated second round of the presidential elections the people of Ukraine will demonstrate the maturity of their civil society and their adherence to generally accepted democratic standards.
Riga, 19 December 2004
RESOLUTION
Regarding Accusations by the State Duma of the Russian Federation
The Baltic Assembly,
regarding that the accusations made by the State Duma of the Russian Federation in its resolution of 23 November 2004 regarding the Baltic States are highly regrettable and once again indicate unwillingness to evaluate objectively the history of the Russian state, its neighbours and the world;
emphasizing that the end of World War II on 8 May 1945, which signified the victory over Nazis and fascism in Europe, at the same time marked for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania the entrenchment of occupation and the continuation of genocide, which considerably changed the ethnic composition of the population of these countries;
recalling that as a result of this occupation hundreds of thousands of children, women and men were deported from the Baltic States, and many of them perished as a result of the actions of the repressive Soviet regime even years after the end of World War II;
confirming that honest evaluation of historical processes is an important prerequisite for successful international cooperation and initiation of the reconciliation process,
calls upon the members of the State Duma of the Russian Federation to give an objective and just evaluation of the crimes committed by the Soviet regime which caused millions of victims both in Russia and in the Baltic States. This will promote continuation of cooperation based on mutual respect within organisations of the Nordic countries and the countries of the Baltic Sea region.
Riga, 19 December 2004
REGULATIONS
On the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly
1. The present Regulations shall determine the structure, the principles of activities, responsibility and the powers of the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly.
2. The Regulations on the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly and any amendments to them shall be approved by the Session of the Baltic Assembly.
3. The headquarters of the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly (hereinafter, the BA Secretariat) shall be located in Riga, Latvia.
I. Principles of the activities of the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly
4. The BA Secretariat shall follow the principles of organisational work which, in the course of the execution of the duties and responsibilities of the BA Secretariat, would guarantee:
1) observance of the interests of Baltic Assembly member states, as well as lawful use of the property and funds of the Baltic Assembly;
2) strengthening of the co-operation with other regional, international and inter-parliamentary organisations.
3) ensuring the functioning of structural subunits of the Baltic Assembly;
4) facilitating the continuity of the work of the Baltic Assembly.
II. Structure of the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly
5. The BA Secretariat shall comprise:
1) the head of the BA Secretariat;
2) secretaries of the national delegations of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia;
3) the staff of the BA Secretariat.
6. For selecting a candidate for the post of the head of the BA Secretariat, the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly shall hold an open competition. The candidate for the post of the head of the BA Secretariat has to meet the following requirements:
1) to have Latvian, Lithuanian or Estonian citizenship;
2) to have a command of one of the national languages of the Baltic Assembly and at least two foreign languages (English and Russian);
3) to have knowledge in the sphere of organisational work;
4) to have an understanding of the political situation, political processes going on in the member states of the Baltic Assembly and the countries with whose organizations the Baltic Assembly maintains close relations.
7. The person who is the winner of the competition shall be presented to the Session for approval.
8. The head of the BA Secretariat shall be appointed to the post in compliance with the principle of consensus of the national delegations. On the basis of the decision of the Session of the Baltic Assembly, the President of the Baltic Assembly shall conclude an employment contract with the head of the BA Secretariat.
9. The head of the BA Secretariat shall be approved for a four-year term with the right to be appointed for a second term.
10. Employment relationships between the head of the BA Secretariat and the Baltic Assembly shall be governed by the present Regulations, the employment contract, the legal acts in effect in the Republic of Latvia and the job description of the head of the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly, which is an integral part of the present Regulations.
11. The secretary of the national delegation of a member state of the Baltic Assembly (hereinafter, secretary of the national delegation) shall be appointed to the post and shall be responsible for his/her work in compliance with the legislative acts of the relevant member state of the Baltic Assembly and the present Regulations.
12. National delegations of the Baltic Assembly shall inform the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly and the head of the BA Secretariat about appointment or replacement of their secretaries.
13. The head of the BA Secretariat shall make the list the staff of the BA Secretariat and submit it to the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly for consideration. The list of the staff of the BA Secretariat shall be made by taking into account the planned activities, the set priorities and the existing budget of the Baltic Assembly. The list of the staff of the BA Secretariat shall be approved by the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly.
14. The staff of the BA Secretariat shall be hired and dismissed by the head of the BA Secretariat on the basis of the structure and budget of the BA Secretariat.
15. The staff of the BA Secretariat shall be subordinate to the head of the BA Secretariat. Their employment relationships shall be stipulated by employment contract, job description, the present Regulations, the Statutes of the Baltic Assembly and the legal acts in effect in the Republic of Latvia.
16. The head of the BA Secretariat shall prepare a job description for each member of the staff of the BA Secretariat. The job description shall set forth the duties and rights of each staff member.
III. Tasks of the head of the BA Secretariat
17. The head of the BA Secretariat shall be directly subordinate to the President of the Baltic Assembly.
18. The tasks of the head of the BA Secretariat shall be as follows:
1) to manage and organise the work of the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly and to facilitate inter-parliamentary relationships with the secretariats of other international, regional and parliamentary organisations;
2) to set duties for the staff of the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly in accordance with functions set forth in the Regulations on the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly and to ensure coordinated and efficient work of the staff in fulfilling their duties;
3) to hold meetings with the secretaries of the national delegations and with the staff of the BA Secretariat, as well as with other secretariats of international, regional and parliamentary organisations;
4) to collect, summarise and disseminate the information received from international and parliamentary organisations with which the Baltic Assembly has signed agreements or in whose work the Baltic Assembly participates as an organisation, as well as to exchange information and to furnish it to the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly and the secretaries of the national delegations;
5) to co-operate and exchange information with the Secretariat of the Baltic Council of Ministers, as well as to furnish the received information to the secretaries of the national delegations of the Baltic States;
6) to prepare for publication the documents of the Session and materials on the activities of the Baltic Assembly;
7) to perform the duties of secretary at the meeting of the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly and to take minutes of the Presidium meetings;
8) to render assistance, if required, to members of the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly during official negotiations with co-operation partners and with organisations in whose work the Baltic Assembly participates;
9) to ensure implementation of the information strategy of the Baltic Assembly;
10) to compile and keep the archives of the Baltic Assembly (documents, minutes, etc.);
11) to approve and sign financial documents (orders, accounts, etc.) as the budgetary funds of the Baltic Assembly and its Secretariat, as well as the powers of the head of the BA Secretariat permit;
12) to draw up, together with the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly, an initial draft budget of the Baltic Assembly;
13) to insure that book-keeping and its records comply with the requirements and the procedure stipulated in the legal acts of the Republic of Latvia and by the Budget and Audit Committee of the Baltic Assembly;
14) to keep and lawfully use the property and funds of the Baltic Assembly;
15) to supervise the lawful use of the Baltic Assembly symbols;
16) to co-ordinate joint events with partners of the Baltic Assembly.
IV. Tasks of the Secretary of a National Delegation to the Baltic Assembly
19. Tasks of the secretary of a national delegation shall be as follows:
1) to prepare, to co-ordinate and to render assistance in solving technical issues for the events of the Baltic Assembly which are held on the territory of the state he/she represents;
2) to render assistance to the chairman and deputy chairman of the national delegation in directing the work of the delegation;
3) to render assistance to the members of the national delegation by solving technical issues;
4) to participate in meetings of the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly and in meetings of the Presidium with its co-operation partners;
5) to render assistance, if required, to members of the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly during official negotiations with co-operation partners and with organisations in whose work the Baltic Assembly participates;
6) to maintain relations and exchange information with the head of the BA Secretariat;
7) to co-ordinate and organise the public information activities of the Baltic Assembly in the state he/she represents;
8) to maintain relations and co-operate with senior officials of the Baltic Council of Ministers in the state he/she represents;
9) to prepare and take minutes of the joint meetings of the national delegations and foreign delegations;
10) to organize, to render assistance in solving technical issues and to take minutes of the official meetings of the committees of the Baltic Assembly during visits in foreign states;
11) to organise and prepare the Session of the Baltic Assembly in the state he/she represents and to participate in the work of the national delegation at sessions held in other Baltic States;
12) to organise the work of the National Judging Committee of the Baltic Assembly Prizes for Literature, the Arts and Science;
13) to render assistance in solving technical and organisational issues in the work of the Joint Judging Committee of the Baltic Assembly Prizes for Literature, the Arts and Science;
14) to supervise the lawful use of the Baltic Assembly symbols in the state he/she represents;
15) to keep and lawfully use the property and funds of the Baltic Assembly entrusted to him/her.
V. Duties of the staff of the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly
20. Duties of the staff of the BA Secretariat shall be as follows:
1) to adequately fulfil their duties in compliance with their employment contracts and job descriptions;
2) to render assistance to other staff members of the BA Secretariat, as well as to the members of the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly, committees and national delegations, whenever the assistance is required;
3) to keep and lawfully use the property and funds of the Baltic Assembly entrusted to them.
VI. Final provisions
21. The present Regulations on the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly shall be an annex to the Statutes of the Baltic Assembly and shall enter into force as of the moment they are approved at the Session of the Baltic Assembly.
22. All amendments or supplements to the present Regulations shall be approved at the Session of the Baltic Assembly.
DECISION
On Amendments to the Regulations on the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly
The Baltic Assembly decided to make the following amendments to the Regulations on the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly:
1. To introduce numbering in the Regulations on the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly.
2. To amend Point 2 and to set it forth to read as follows:
"The Regulations on the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly and any amendments to them shall be approved by the Session of the Baltic Assembly."
3. To add the following Sub-points 3 and 4 to Point 3:
"3) ensuring the functioning of structural subunits of the Baltic Assembly;
4) facilitating the continuity of the work of the Baltic Assembly."
4. To delete in the heading of Section II the words "of the apparatus".
5. To amend the introductory part of Point 5 and to set it forth to read as follows:
"The BA Secretariat shall comprise:".
6. To replace in Sub-point 1 of Point 5 and throughout the entire text of the Regulations the words "the BA Secretary" with the words "the head of the BA Secretariat".
7. To delete throughout the entire text of the Regulations the words "of the apparatus".
8. To replace in Point 8 the words "the chairman of the Presidium" with the words "the President".
9. To amend Point 9 and to set it forth to read as follows:
"The head of the BA Secretariat shall be approved for a four-year term with the right to be appointed for a second term."
10. To replace in Point 10 the words "the legal acts of the Baltic Assembly member states" with the words "the job description of the head of the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly, which is an integral part of the present Regulations."
11. To amend Point 17 and to set it forth to read as follows:
"The head of the BA Secretariat shall be directly subordinate to the President of the Baltic Assembly."
12. In Point 18:
to amend Sub-point 1 and to set it forth to read as follows:
"1) to manage and organise the work of the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly and to facilitate inter-parliamentary relationships with the secretariats of other international, regional and parliamentary organisations;";
to add a new Sub-point 2 to read as follows:
"2) to set duties for the staff of the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly in accordance with functions set forth in the Regulations on the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly and to ensure coordinated and efficient work of the staff in fulfilling their duties;";
to add to Sub-point 3 the following text:
"as well as with other secretariats of international, regional and parliamentary organisations;";
to add to Sub-point 7 the words "and to take minutes of the Presidium meetings;";
to add new Sub-points 8 and 9 to read as follows:
"8) to render assistance, if required, to members of the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly during official negotiations with co-operation partners and with organisations in whose work the Baltic Assembly participates;
9) to ensure implementation of the information strategy of the Baltic Assembly;".
13. In Point 19:
to replace in Sub-point 1 the words "to provide technical services" with the words "to render assistance in solving technical issues";
to replace in Sub-point 2 the words "the head and deputy head" with the words "the chairman and deputy chairman";
to amend Sub-point 3 and to set it forth to read as follows:
"3) to render assistance to the members of the national delegation by solving technical issues;";
to replace in Sub-point 4 the words "its meetings" with the words "meetings of the Presidium";
to replace in Sub-point 10 the words "to provide technical services" with the words "to render assistance in solving technical issues";
to introduce a new Sub-point 13 to read as follows:
"13) to render assistance in solving technical and organisational issues in the work of the Joint Judging Committee of the Baltic Assembly Prizes for Literature, the Arts and Science;".
14. To delete the former heading and the entire text of the section "Responsibilities of the Secretary of the National Delegation of the Presiding State".
15. To delete in Section V the words "of the apparatus".
Riga, December 19, 2004
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