PRELIMINARY DRAFT TO BE DICUSSED / SUGGESTIONS

Models for Cross-border Co-operation
- focus on the Pskov Region
Conference in Pskov, 19 - 20 May 2006

Pskov City Cultural Center
Ploshad Pobedy 1, Pskov

1^st Day, Thursday 18 May
Bus transportation from Tallinn and St. Petersburg to Pskov
(scheduled arrival in Pskov late in the evening)

2^nd Day, Friday 19 May

8.15 Registration opens

Bus transportation to conference venue departures from hotel Rizhkaya

at 9 - 12 High-level opening session:

Northern Dimension & Good Neighbourly Relations

Chairs and opening address: Heikki Järvenpää, Director & Vice-chair of The Finnish Committee for European Security (STETE) and Dmitry Shakhov, Vice Governor of The Pskov Region

High-level representatives from Russia, Finland, Sweden, Estonia & Latvia:

from Russian Federation Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Mikhail Margelov, the Council of Federation
from Finland Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paula Lehtomäki
from Estonia, Jaan Õunapuu, Minister for Regional Affairs
from Sweden, Gunnar Klinga, Consul General of Sweden in St. Petersburg
from Latvia, Arina Andreicika, Director of Programme Department, Ministry of Regional Development and Local Governments of Latvia

10.30 – 11.00 Coffee break

from Council of the Baltic Sea States CBSS, Christer Persson, Ambassador, Swedish member of the CBSS Committee of Senior Officials, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sweden
from Russian Federation Evgeni Makarov, Advicer of the Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative to the Northwest Federal District
from Konrad Adenauer Foundation in St. Petersburg, Elisabeth Bauer, Head of the Office

Pskov presents itself

from Administration of Pskov Region, Dmitry Shakhov, Vice Governor
from City of Pskov, Valentin Ivanov, First Deputy of Mayor of the Pskov City Administration

at 12 - 13:30 Lunch

at 12 - 12:40 Press-conference for representatives of mass media
(Pskov Cultural Center, Big Hall)

at 13:30 -15 Plenary session:

Political perspectives & every day life at the borders

Chairs: STETE's Vice-chair MP Outi Ojala and Nikolay Mezhevich, Professor, St. Petersburg State University, Faculty of International Relations

Introduction to the theme:

Challenges and perspectives of cross-border co-operation / Under-secretary of State Mart Laanemäe, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia
The role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia in coordination of international and cross-border co-operation / Representative of MFA of Russia in Pskov Sergey Efimenko
Future cross-border co-operation under the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument / Ministerial Councellor Pekka Järviö, Ministry of the Interior of Finland
Incoherent EU border policies / Professor Eiki Berg, University of Tartu
From defence to security around the Baltic Sea / Senior Reseacher Arto Nokkala, University of Tampere
Problems and prospects of cross-border co-operation in the Northwest Russia / Chairman of the Board Slava T. Khodko, North-West Development and Investment Promotion Agency

at 15.00 – 15.20 Coffee Break

at 15.20 – 17.40 Plenary session continues

Maris Kucinskis, Minister of the Ministry of Regional Development and Local Governments, Latvia
High Politics and daily life / Senior Researcher Fellow Jakub Godzimirski, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, NUPI
Typology of Pskov Region’s cross-border co-operation / Professor Nikolay Mezhevics, St. Petersburg State University, Faculty of International Relations

Concrete cross-border cases:

Baltic Euroregional Network (BEN)-project / Main coordinator of BEN-project Šarunas Radvilavicius, Nordic Council of Ministers
Euregio Karelia today / Regional development Manager Sisko Kaarto, Regional Council of North Karelia & Regional structure 2000+ -project / Architect & Project Manager Anja Röpelinen, Council of Oulu Region
NGOs co-operation in transboundary Chudskoye Lake Region / Chair Olga Vasilenko, NGO “Lake Peipsi Project Pskov”
Eurogio “Pskov – Livonia”, Latvian Experiences / Executive Director Juris Annuskans, Euregio “Pskov – Livonia”, Section Latvia
Co-operation between South-East Finland and St. Petersburg: the corridor project / President and CEO Tom Hultin, Lappeenranta City Holding Company LTD

at 18.00 – 19.30 City tour in Pskov

at 19.30 – 21.30      Evening reception at Pskov Regional Administration, hosted by Consulate
                                General of Finland in St. Petersburg & Pskov Regional Administration,
                                address: Ul. Nekrasova 23

3^rd Day, Saturday 20 May

at 8.30 Bus transportation to the conference venue departures from hotel Rizhkaya

at 9.00 – 11.00 Division to the parallel working groups I, II & III
11.30 – 13.00
11.00 – 11.30 Coffee break

Working group I: Business co-operation creates stability

Chairs: Heikki Järvenpää, Director, STETE’s Vice Chair and Vadim Petroukhin, Chairman of State Committee of Pskov Region on Economic Development and Property Relations

Introduction to the theme:

Chairman of the Board Slava T. Khodko, North-West Developmet and Investment Promotion Agency, St. Petersburg

Speakers:

Inter-governmental and inter-chamber co-operation as a factor of economic relations development / Vladimir Zubov, Head of the Chamber of Commerce and Trade in Pskov

How business creates cross-border understanding – practical view from a small company / Ulf Grönlund, Director, ROXOR, Sweden

Fazer Bakeries in Russia / Juha Karimaa, Vice President of International Projects, Fazer Group, Finland

The role of the Pskov Model Forest Project for sustainable forest management in cross-border co-operation / Elena Yablochkina, Coordinator of Public Relations, WWF Russia

Business education as a tool of integration and co-operation / Eduard Moppel, Rector of the Pskov Volny Institute

Working group II: Environmental safety: Focus on Transboundary Waters

Chair: Olga Vassilenko, "Lake Peipsi Project, Pskov", Chair and Vladimir Afanasjev, Chair of State Committee on licensing and nature use of Pskov Region

Introduction to the theme:

Environmental co-operation in the Baltic Sea Region: the role of non-state actors / Director Esa Kokkonen, Baltic Institute of Finland

CBSS Environmental co-operation in the Baltic Sea Region / Dr Gabriele Kötschau, Director, CBSS Secretariat
Main problems connected with the development of transport network of oil and gas in the Baltic region / Ljudmila Pljush, Expert, NGO “Belluna”
Ecological state of the Russian side of Chudskoye lake / Zoja Kyrbatova, Professor, Velikie Luki Agricultural Academy
Ecological projects in cross-border region of Chudskoye lake / Sergey Timofeev, Project Manager, NGO Chudskoe Project
Natalia Alexeeva, Executive director, Centre for Transboundary Cooperation, St. Petersburg

Working group III: Human Security

Chairs: Director Boris Kuznetsov, The Center for International and Regional Policy, CIRP and Mikhail Gorny, Executive Director, Center “Strategy” in St.Petersburg

Introduction to the theme:

Northern Dimension Partnership (NDP) in Public Health and Social Well-being/ Head of Division of Foreign Affairs Viktoras Meizis, Ministry of Health of the Republic of Lithuania

Speakers:

Health knows no boundaries - on collaboration between Russia and Finland /

Senior Expert, International Development Collaboration Anneli Milen, National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health of Finland (STAKES)

Concrete cross-border case: Finnish-Russian Network of Social and Health NGO's / Co-ordinator Anna Skvortsova , Finnish-Russian Network of Social and Health NGOs
Social security as one of the forms of soft security / Mikhail Gorny, Executive Director, Center “Strategy” in St. Petersburg

at 13.00 - 14.00 Lunch break

at 14.00 - 15.00 Closing session

Conclusions of the working groups presented by the chairs of the groups

Closing words by Special Adviser Gunnar Lassinantti, Olof Palme International Centre

at 15.00 - 18.00 Excursion to the Holy-Pechory Assumption Orthodox Monastery

19.00 – 21.00 Evening reception in Restaurant “Bavaria”, address Ul. Sovjetskaya 83

4^th Day, Sunday 21 May

at 7.00 Departure of the bus transportation to Tallinn
(estimated arrival around 14 o'clock)

at 8.00 Departure of the bus transportation to St. Petersburg
(estimated arrival around 14 o'clock)

The Conference is organised by

The Nordic Forum for Security Policy

(Finnish Committee for European Security - STETE
Olof Palme International Centre, Sweden)

In co-operation with

                                                    NGO "Lake Peipsi Project" Pskov,
                                                       Center for International and Regional Politics (CIRP)
                                                                                  St. Petersburg

And supported by

                                                    Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
                                     Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA)
                                                     Ministry of Environment of Finland
                                                        Ministry of Education of Finland
                                K. Adenauer Foundation Representative Office in St. Petersburg
                                                         Pskov Regional Administration
                                   Institute of Inland Water Management and Waste WaterTreatment
                                                        (the RIZA, the Netherlands)
                                              Consulate General of Finland in St. Petersburg
                                                                    Stora Enso