Photo: Berit Roald, Scanpix/Statsministerens kontorThe CBSS was established in 1992 and includes all the 11 countries in the region and the European Commission. In addition, Romania and 8 other states are observer states. Since the CBSS is a council of foreign ministers, Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Jonas Gahr Støre will be the Chair of the CBSS during this period.
As per the agreed upon rotation of the Presidency, Norway took on the role July 1 and will pass the torch to Germany in July 2011. Norway will uphold the long-term priorities that the CBSS has laid down within itself:
• Environment
• Economic development
• Energy
• Education and culture
• Civil security and the human dimension
In addition, the Presidency will have three specific priorities:
• Maritime policy
• Fight against trafficking in human beings
• Further development of the CBSS as an organization to become more efficient, relevant and operative
More information on the Norwegian Presidency and the CBSS in general can be found at its homepage:
http://www.cbss.org/CBSS-The-Council/council-presidency