Political dimensions

Sustainable labour markets are only possible if politicians and governments implement political recommendations. Therefore, the BSLN gives politicians and governments the possibility to collaborate with the social partners and to make use of the knowledge of labour market experts.

The BSLN has several political dimensions. The project is linked to political decision makers and to regional political bodies through Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC) and Council of Baltic Sea States (CBSS) and the European Union Baltic Sea Strategy.

EU Baltic Sea Strategy

The BSLN has been chosen as a “flagship project” of the EU Baltic Sea Strategy. “Flagship projects” are special projects with high significance that are presented in the Commission Action Plan. The Baltic Sea Strategy should be instrumental in ensuring fair and well-functioning labour markets.

The special status of the BSLN provides a good possibility to influence policies concerning the Baltic Sea labour markets by means of the EU Baltic Sea Strategy.

Council of Baltic Sea States (CBSS)

The Council of Baltic Sea States (CBSS) is a partner organization of the BSLN. It provides direct contacts to the governments of the Baltic Sea Region and thus creates one of the most important political dimensions of the BSLN.

The CBSS is actively working with the communication and organization involved in  the BSLN high level conferences. It helps find possible links and ideas for cooperative activities during the project duration.

Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC)

The BSPC is an associate partner in the project and has given strong support to the Baltic Sea Labour Network (BSLN). The BSPC is represented in the BSLN Steering Committee and the Facilitator Team. The BSPC works as a link to the parliamentarians in the Baltic Sea Region.

The Baltic Sea parliamentarians have set a good example for other political bodies in terms of dialogue with the social partners. The resolutions of the 18^th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference in 2009 were based on hearing the representatives from the Baltic Sea Trade Union Network (BASTUN) and Business Europe.

The recommendations of the conference can be used as a starting point for future political discussions to identify solutions to the challenges facing the Baltic Sea labour markets.

Link to the conference resolution of the 18^th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference (BSPC)