TransBaltic - with the intention for cluster cooperation

With the intention to function as an umbrella project for related Interreg projects TransBaltic conducted a first seminar in such a spirit. Six projects, covering the whole geographical area of the Baltic Sea Region from south to north and from east to west were invited to the seminar in Stockholm/Sweden. Mr Magnus Oldenburg from the Swedish Ministry of Energy, Enterprise and Communications, co-responsible for Priority Area 11 in the EU Baltic Sea Strategy, opened the seminar with presentation on the implementation progress and underlined importance of the gathered projects for a successful outcome of efforts to manage the transport flows in a smarter and greener way.

The purpose of the umbrella forum is to find synergies between the transport-related projects and pan-Baltic transport development initiatives towards ‘BSR blueprints'. Ongoing and proposed projects from both the BSR Programme as well as from North Sea & Barents Sea Programmes have several common components and at least 16 of them can demonstrrate possible thematic synergies. To streamline the work and share the findings would facilitate ambitions towards achievement of an integrated transport system in the BSR.

With an one year old agreement between the three green corridor projects, Scandria, EWTC II and TransBaltic, and the Swedish Ministry of Energy, Enterprise and Communications the umbrella function has already been put in practise. By joint workshops and seminars the three projects compliment each other's studies and formulate harmonised policy messages to the broader public. In the process of defining the concept of green corridors the agreement secures a division of workload and further implementation of the projects' individual findings.

For this occasion TransBaltic decided to widen the cooperation scope through inviting four other corridor initiatives, namely Rail Baltica Growth Corridor, North East Cargo Link II (Midnordic Green Transport Corridor), Bothnian Corridor and Northern Maritime Corridor. This is a right step towards future transport cluster cooperation stimulated by the BSR Programme authorities to synergise on each project's assets and strengthen communication to the decision-making levels.

The seminar participants agreed on an idea to sustain the umbrella cooperation and are ready to meet again back-to-back with Rail Baltica Growth Corridor's kick-off meeting in Helsinki in June 2011.