The European Parliament,

–  having regard to the European Council’s Second Northern Dimension Action Plan 2004-2006,

–   having regard to the forthcoming Northern Dimension Ministerial Meeting to be held on 21 November 2005,

–  having regard to its previous resolutions on the subject, in particular its resolution of 17 November 2003 on the Northern Dimension(1),

–  having regard to the Commission’s 2004 Annual Progress Report on the Implementation of the Northern Dimension Action Plan of 20 May 2005 (SEC(2005)0688),

–  having regard to the debate on the Northern Dimension with Commissioner Louis Michel in the plenary of the European Parliament on 8 September 2005,

–  having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A.  whereas, since its creation in 1999, the Northern Dimension has proved to be an efficient framework for regional and cross-border cooperation in one of the most challenging regions of Europe,

B.  whereas the principal objective of the Northern Dimension policy is to improve cooperation in the northern part of Europe on a wide range of policy areas and in particular to involve the Russian Federation in developing and implementing these policies,

C.  whereas the Northern Dimension policy addresses the opportunities and challenges posed by the historic event of enlargement, which has extended the EU border with Russia and made Belarus and Ukraine new neighbouring countries of the EU, and whereas several of the Northern Dimension partner countries have become Member States of the EU,

D.  whereas the European Union needs to develop its neighbourhood and partnership policies and their instruments in order to connect the Union’s different dimensions in a coherent way,

E.  whereas the Northern Dimension should receive the same attention as other regional cooperation models, and decisions have to be taken to ensure the continuation of the Northern Dimension policy after 1 January 2007,

1.  Welcomes the fact that the Northern Dimension policy provides most suitable building blocks for the future development of the region; acknowledges that the existing partnership, in particular in environmental affairs with the support of EU funds of EUR 225 million, has initiated projects worth EUR 2 billion which are currently at various stages of implementation; takes the view that, in order to narrow the gap in living standards within the Northern Dimension, the partnership in social and health affairs should be more adequately supported;

2.  Underlines that the successful accession of ten new countries, including those involved in the Northern Dimension, has taken the Northern Dimension into a new phase; calls on the Commission to allocate adequate resources to the Northern Dimension policy in order to envisage new future partnerships – among other things – in the fields of transport, logistics, energy and culture;

3.  Suggests that a discussion should take place as soon as possible on the new financial requirements for developing and implementing these future partnerships;

4.  Recalls that it is important to encourage organisations and individuals around the Baltic Sea to work together in their common interest; calls on the parliaments of the Member States involved, along with the European Parliament, to cooperate more actively by establishing a parliamentary dimension to a strengthened cooperation framework;

5.  Welcomes the fact that agreement with Moscow on the roadmaps covering each of the four common spaces provides for an updated framework for the relationship between the EU and Russia; underlines that the Northern Dimension would reflect the regional aspect of these spaces; emphasises that this process needs to be carried out in real cooperation with Russia;

6.  Reiterates that the Northern Dimension is an essential part of the EU’s foreign policy; emphasises, however, that attention must be given to maintaining the coherence of the EU’s foreign policy by involving all Baltic Sea states as well as all EU institutions involved;

7.  Calls on the Commission to involve the European Parliament fully in the establishment and implementation of a new Action Plan for the Northern Dimension starting in 2007;

8.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the governments of the countries in the Northern Dimension partnership (Russia, Norway and Iceland), Belarus and Ukraine.

(1) Texts Adopted, P5_TA(2003)0521