Danish, German, and Swedish unions set up interregional council for Southern Baltic Sea

In August 1998, German, Danish and Swedish trade unions set up an interregional union council for the "Southern Baltic Sea" area.

On 19 August 1998, an interregional trade union council for the "Southern Baltic Sea" area (Interregionaler Gewerkschaftsrat Südliche Ostsee) was established by: the regional organisations of the German Federation of Trade Unions (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, DGB) for Nordmark and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern; the Danish Confederation of Trade Unions (Landsorganisationen i Danmark, LO); and the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (Landsorganisation i Sverige, LO). Peter Deutschland, chair of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern DGB, was elected the first chair of the new council.

The interregional council intends to develop joint concepts for the future of the regions of the Southern Baltic Sea. According to Mr Deuschland, in recent years the Baltic region has developed more and more into an inland sea within the European economic area. However, the different actors involved have different historical experiences and different economic and social structures. This might involve threats of social dumping and of competition, but also raises opportunities, due to high levels of education and infrastructure in the area. One of the main aims of the new union network would be to agree on "social and ecological minimum standards as well as developing joint policy goals".