Euroregion Baltic

The ERB Executive Board met on Monday 28th January 2008 at the Teleborg Castle near Växjö in Sweden. Main points of the agenda included the preparations for the ERB Council meeting and 10th Anniversary in Elblag, Poland, 22 – 23 February 2008: change of ERB Presidency from Sweden to Denmark, approval of the ERB Action Plan 2008 2009, change of the ERB statutes allowing the extension of the Board to include representatives from all 8 members as well as the Chairperson of the new Youth Board.

17 year-old Sebastian Bloch Jensen from Gudhjem on Bornholm has been elected today as the Bornholm representative to the ERB Youth Board, to be established in connection with the ERB Council meeting on 6 December 2007 in Gdansk (See the photo: Sebastian Bloch Jensen).

Sebastian is a student at the Bornholm Grammar School, and participated in the ERB Youth Conference organised in April 2007 in Elblag, Poland. He was elected at a public meeting organised by Europe Direct Bornholm during which more than 20 participants were informed about the EU “Active Youth” programme, the European Voluntary Service component for young people and the youth activities taking place in Euroregion Baltic, Baltic Seven Islands and Four Corner Cooperation.

In its 2007-2008 Strategy the ERB Council decided to establish a Youth Board and all ERB member regions are expected to elect a young representative. At the nex ERB Council meeting the ERB Statutes is expected to be revised in order to fully integrate the Youth in the ERB decision-making structures.

The ERB Board have met today in Brussels at the premises of the Pomerania Region. Main focus was to prepare the ERB Council meeting on 6 December and the final Seagull II conference, both taking place in Gdansk.

At the Council meeting the Board will propose establishment of a Youth Board to become a permanent part of the ERB structure, to be fully integrated in the ERB decision-making structures and to have its own annual budget to co-finance joint youth activities.

Changes to the ERB Statutes were agreed in order to include the Youth Board, and at the same time the Board will propose the Council to approve an extension of the Board, allowing each ERB member region to be represented. One of the main arguments are that regions contributing to the joint budget should also be represented in the Board, which is responsible for the implementation of the budget.

2007 and 2008 budgets were approved and all member regions confirmed having accepted an increase of 15% of their membership fee as of 2008, due to inflation since 2004 when the current membership fee level was agreed.