Better protection of the Baltic Sea: neighbors decide on the agenda

The Baltic states want to take action against plastic waste and the over-fertilization of the Baltic Sea.

The members of the Helsinki Commission (Helcom) unanimously agreed on this at their meeting in Lübeck.

With the updated Baltic Sea Action Plan, there is now a clear roadmap for improving the ecological status of the sea in the next ten years, said the Executive Secretary of Helcom, Rüdiger Strempel, at the presentation of the plan on Wednesday.

Lübeck - The plan, which includes around 200 points, updates the 2007 Baltic Sea Action Plan. Topics such as climate change, marine litter, pharmaceuticals, underwater noise and disturbances to the sea floor have been added, said Strempel.

Plastic waste in the Baltic Sea is to be reduced by at least 30 percent by 2025 and by 50 percent by 2030.

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Reception facility prepared for further refugees

Tents and containers are ready.

The atmosphere on the site is calm.

Laundry dries on fences.

Children play.

What the refugees experienced on their way before they landed in Eisenhüttenstadt can only be guessed at.

Reception facility prepared for further refugees

Poland: State of emergency at the border with Belarus extended

Warsaw accuses the Belarusian ruler Lukashenko of bringing refugees from crisis regions to the EU's external border in an organized manner.

There is no end in sight to the conflict.

Poland: State of emergency at the border with Belarus extended

Senate: Köhlbrand Bridge could have disappeared in 15 years

For many people in Hamburg, the Köhlbrand Bridge is a symbol of the city.

However, it will soon no longer be able to fulfill its actual function for traffic in the port.

The plans for the demolition of the bridge and the construction of a tunnel are becoming more concrete.

Senate: Köhlbrand Bridge could have disappeared in 15 years

In addition, the participants decided for the first time a science agenda for the Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP).

The countries bordering the Baltic Sea, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the EU are represented in Helcom.

Germany currently holds the chairmanship.

dpa