Senior environment officials of the Baltic Sea countries to hold a joint press conference in Helsinki

Helsinki, 3 February (HELCOM Information Service) – Senior environment officials of all the Baltic Sea countries will hold a joint press conference in Helsinki on 9 March 2011 following their meeting at the HELCOM annual event. They will comment on the progress and challenges in the implementation of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan to radically reduce pollution to the sea and restore its good ecological status by 2021.

The press conference will take place at 12:00 (LT) on Wednesday, 9 March 2011 in the Marina Congress Center (2^nd floor, Fennia II), at Katajanokanlaituri 6, Helsinki.

Media representatives interested in attending should call +358 (0)46 850 9196 or send an e-mail with their name, affiliation and contact information to nikolay.vlasov@helcom.fi by no later than 11:00 (LT) on 4 March 2011 to register to participate in the event. Registration is open to representatives of bone fide news-gathering organisations and freelance media representatives on assignment for recognized news organisations.

Seating is limited and will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis, with one seat allocated per media. Journalists wishing to participate in the press conference are strongly advised to register at their earliest convenience.

Please note that the meeting of the senior environment officials will begin at 10:00 (LT) on Wednesday, 9 March 2011, at the same location. There will be a photo opportunity for photographers and cameramen in the beginning of the meeting.

A press release on the meeting will be issued approximately two weeks prior to the event.

For Daybooks 

Event: Meeting of the senior environment officials of the Baltic Sea countries (photo op)

Date: Wednesday, 9 March 2011

Time: 10:00 – 12:00 (LT)

Location: Marina Congress Center (2nd floor, Fennia II) Katajanokanlaituri 6, FI-00160 Helsinki, Finland

Event: Press conference of the senior officials of the Baltic Sea countries

Date: Wednesday, 9 March 2011

Time: 12:00 – 12:30 (LT)

Location: Marina Congress Center (2^nd floor, Fennia II) Katajanokanlaituri 6, FI-00160 Helsinki, Finland

Note to Editors:

The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, usually referred to as the Helsinki Commission, or HELCOM, is an intergovernmental organization of all the nine Baltic Sea countries and the EU which works to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from all sources of pollution and to ensure the safety of navigation in the region.

HELCOM is the governing body of the "Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area," known as the Helsinki Convention.

For more information, please contact:

Nikolay Vlasov

Information Secretary

HELCOM

Tel: + 358 (0)46-8509196

Fax: +358 (0)207 412 645

E-mail: nikolay.vlasov@helcom.fi