News

Advancing VASAB Vision 2040, VASAB Ministerial Tallinn Declaration and Strengtening Planners’ Network The year 2025 has proven to be an intensive and productive period for VASAB Secretariat, marked by significant events and contributions across various initiatives. A highlight of the year was the successful 5th Baltic Maritime Spatial Planning Forum held in Riga, which provided […]

NESB project news Under the Venetian sun, experts, innovators, and policymakers convened to explore the future of marine spatial planning through the lens of Mariparks — an emerging framework for offshore multi-use zones. The workshop on 2 July 2025 in Venice, Italy, organised by The Blue Cluster in partnership with ORG Permanent Modernity, marked the […]

The State Digital Development Agency announces an open competition for the position of Project Manager at Secretariat of the “Vision and Strategies around the Baltic Sea” (VASAB)   VASAB Secretariat is looking for a Project Manager for Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme project platform “Baltic Climate-Resilient Coastal Planning Network – Baltic PlaNet” for a period from […]

The Northern European Sea Basins project (NESBp) has successfully completed its initial phase – gap analysis and strategy development phase – and is now entering its next stage: implementation at the mapping phase. During the gap analysis phase, project partners worked across four thematic work packages to assess existing conditions, identify critical challenges, and lay the […]

On 13 October in Helsinki at the premises of the HELCOM Secretariat (Katajanokanlaituri 6 B, FI-00160, Helsinki) special joint session of MSP data experts from the North Sea and Baltic Sea regions will take place. This session is supported by the Northern European Sea Basins Project (NESBp) and Policy Area Spatial Planning of the EUSBSR, […]

On 29 June 2025, the Ministers responsible for spatial planning and development of Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, and Estonia adopted the VASAB Ministerial Tallinn Declaration on Spatial Resilience. The declaration was adopted through a written procedure during the Estonian Chairmanship of the VASAB Committee on Spatial Planning and Development of the Baltic Sea […]

From 1 July 2025 to 31 December 2026, Poland will hold the chairmanship of the VASAB Committee on Spatial Planning and Development of the Baltic Sea Region (VASAB CSPD/BSR). The Chairmanship will be led by Ms. Emilia Malak-Pętlicka Deputy Director of the  Strategy Department at the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy of Poland.

What kind of cross-country cooperation can support spatial planners in the Baltic Sea Region? The Land-Based Planners’ Forum project is exploring it right now.

The State Digital Development Agency announces an open competition for the position of Head of the Secretariat of the “Vision and Strategies around the Baltic Sea” (VASAB)  

On May 22–23, 2025, the city of Cork, Ireland, became the heart of Europe’s maritime conversation as it welcomed over 1,000 participants from across the continent and beyond for European Maritime Day (EMD). This year’s edition took on particular importance, taking place just one month before the official launch of the Ocean Pact—a bold new […]

From April 28 to 29, the Blue Mission Banos project hosted the 4th Mission Arena in Sopot, Poland, bringing together over 200 stakeholders from across the South Baltic region. The event focused on key challenges within the blue economy, including shipping and ports, maritime security, and sustainable food production.

International crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and increasing climate change issues has brought many new realities in the Baltic Sea Region. In these constantly changing times macro-regional spatial planning faces new challenges as new topics shift the focus of decision-making in the Baltic Sea Region, highlighting the importance of […]