The Senate Committees on Foreign Affairs and on Climate and Environment deliberated in Tricity on the safety and protection of the waters of the Baltic Sea. The first of the invited experts to speak was the UG Rector, prof. dr hab. Piotr Stepnowski. After the meeting, the shipowners of Polish oceanographic vessels belonging to public institutions signed a letter of intent to strengthen cooperation between the units. After the meeting, shipowners of Polish oceanographic vessels belonging to public institutions signed a letter of intent to strengthen cooperation between the units.

‘When the Senate was established 35 years ago, we did not think that the word ‘security’ would be discussed at length in so many contexts. The always neutral Sweden and Finland have joined NATO. The Baltic Sea is becoming an internal sea of the alliance and this is of great importance,’ the Senate Speaker Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska opened the meeting. ‘Therefore, in order to reject threats in the Baltic Sea region, we must be solidary and not spare resources to strengthen NATO in the Baltic.

Those gathered were also welcomed by the Marshal of the Pomorskie Voivodeship, Mieczysław Struk, and the Mayor of Gdynia, Aleksandra Kosiorek.

Introductory speeches were given by representatives of research and diplomatic institutions. Experts talked about the safety and use of the Baltic Sea, the foreign perspective and the dangerous remains from World War II on the seabed.

‘We very often say that the Baltic is a sensitive, fragile sea, and this is only because its exchange with ocean waters is very limited. The full exchange of Baltic waters statistically takes place every 30 years,’ said the Rector of the UG, prof. Piotr Stepnowski, as part of the speech ’Pollution of the Baltic Sea: causes, scale of threats, and prospects for improvement’. ‘The sea itself is surrounded by tributaries of 250 rivers, including 7 very large ones, and by 9 heavily industrialised countries. As a country, 99.7% of Poland lies within the Baltic Sea catchment area, so everything that happens on the territory of the Republic, both in terms of point sources and diffuse sources - sooner or later ends up in the Baltic Sea.

The Rector of the university, prof. dr. hab. inż. kpt. ż.w. Adam Weintrit, talked about environmental research conducted by Gdynia Maritime University. The scientist also touched upon the spatial development of Polish maritime areas, which includes the construction of offshore wind farms. ‘The windmills we are going to install are not the ones we see driving along motorways or national roads, they will be the largest windmills in Europe, the size of the Palace of Culture. The transportation of these parts alone will be a huge challenge,’ said the Rector of the Maritime University of Gdynia.

After the representatives of the academic community, the floor was taken by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Latvia in the Republic of Poland Juris Poikāns, who presented his country's perspective and activities regarding the Baltic Sea. ‘For Latvia, at the Baltic Sea, we currently have the best situation in the history of our region because, apart from Russia, all Baltic Sea states are members of NATO and the European Union,’ the diplomat said.

The President of the International Centre for Chemical Safety and Security (ICCSS) Amb. Krzysztof Paturej presented a complex analysis of the chemical weapons and munitions dumped in the Baltic Sea - from the defence problem to economic, environmental and social issues. The President's thesis was that until the problem of dumped weapons is solved, it is impossible to build wind farms.

The speeches concluded with a presentation by the former Polish Ambassador to Latvia and Armenia, Jerzy Marek Nowakowski, who argued the need for a European Union Commissioner for the Baltic Sea and the creation of a specific NATO Baltic Strategy with provisions for the defence of the sea.

Senators discussed the information presented and the way forward. During the discussion, proposals were made for the creation of a Baltic fund or a research station in the Baltic. Both committees then unanimously adopted a common position on the Baltic Sea.

‘All problems related to the Baltic Sea, in every dimension, can and should be connected to the programme project of the entire Presidency [of Poland in the Council of the European Union - editor's note], which will concern multidimensional security,’ said the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Grzegorz Schetyna. ‘Everything we have talked about today can be included in the theme of the debate to be held in the next six months.’

Following the committee's meeting, representatives of scientific institutions took new steps towards more effective research in the Baltic. Shipowners of oceanographic vessels from the University of Gdańsk, the Maritime University of Gdynia, the Institute of Oceanology of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Maritime Institute of Fisheries signed a letter of intent for better and more effective cooperation. The document covers, among other things, joint voyage planning, emergency assistance and joint scientific publications, and is expected to serve as a basis for the establishment of a Scientific Baltic Fleet in the future.

The letter of intent concerns the vessels r/v Oceanograf, r/v Oceania, r/v Baltica, r/v Horyzont II, r/v IMOR and s/v Dar Młodzieży and was signed by:

• Rector UG prof. dr hab. Piotr Stepnowski,
• Rector of the Gdynia University Prof. Dr. hab. inż. Capt. Ż.w. Adam Weintrit,
• Director of IO PAS prof. dr hab. Jan Marcin Węsławski,
• Director of the Maritime Institute of Fisheries dr Piotr Margoński.

After the ceremonial signing of the document, the participants boarded the UG ship r/v Oceanograf, on which they sailed to the headquarters of the Gdynia Maritime Institute, the Offshore Centre. The newly established facility consists of two buildings and about 500 metres of quay and employs about 200 people.

The senators' study visit also celebrated the 35th anniversary of the reborn Senate. On 4 July 1989, the Senate of the Republic of Poland, elected in completely free elections, sat for the first time since 1945. To mark the anniversary, an exhibition devoted to the Upper House of the Polish Parliament was displayed in the foyer of the Danuta Baduszkowa Music Theatre. The exhibition presents its history, the changing powers, functions, elections to the Senate and the profiles of its senators.