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Klaipėda, Lithuania, 17 October, 2003Dear Mr Per Boedker Andersen, President of the UBC, and dear Mr Rimantas Taraskevičius, Mayor of Klaipėda and host of this outstanding event,Honourable guests,Ladies and Gentlemen,It is a great honour for me to congratulate members of the Union of Baltic Cities with the start of the VIIth General Conference of your organisation. The Union of Baltic Cities is by right the oldest all-regional organisation around the Baltic Sea. The cities around the Baltic Sea got united more than ten years ago, in 1991, with the aim to create common understanding and fulfil joint tasks for the benefits of all cities and towns scattered across the region.It is a great honour not only for the city of Klaipėda, but for the whole Lithuania to host such an important event. Eight Lithuanian cities and towns are members of the UBC and this could illustrate a great interest of local authorities to take an active part in cross-border activities, twinning programs and other forms of sub-regional co-operation. The number of activities undertaken by the UBC are impressing. Business co-operation, transport, urban planning, culture, education, environment, health, social affairs, information society, sport and many more not covered by particular commissions but not neglected in a daily work of the UBC. I am particularly impressed by the UBC attention to the various problems of disabled people in the member cities and not only because the EU Council has declared year 2003 as the Year of the Disabled. The number of activities to draw attention of societies to everyday life of people with disabilities and create proper conditions for those members of our society is imposing across the region.I am convinced that the next year, the year of membership of four more countries from the Baltic Sea Region in the European Union, could provide a significant impact on cross-border activities not only among the cities and regions of the EU member states but also with the partners from the New Neighbourhood of the EU. Implementation of the new Northern Dimension Action Plan of the EU should provide additional impetus to boost neighbourhood activities within the Baltic Sea Region. It is solid approach that the UBC took an active part in elaboration of the latter document now under final stage of the adoption by the authorities of the EU.There is only a bit more than one hundred of kilometres from Klaipėda to Kaliningrad. The road, as in medieval times, passes a unique beauty of the Curonian Spit. The strip of land covered by sandy dunes and exposed to playful sea winds, not touched by environment disasters. We feel necessity to do our outmost in preserving this marvel for the future generations of Lithuania, of the Kaliningrad oblast of Russian Federation and for the rest of the world. We see the city of Kaliningrad as a window of opportunities for the EU – Russia co-operation, an example for the future approach to the solution of common tasks of an emerging new great neighbourhood in the Baltic Sea Region. Our task is to facilitate this co-operation by providing sufficient means and establishing new instruments to enhance New Neighbourhood not only between states, but first of all between people, cities and regions. Wider Europe should become wide enough for everybody. I wish a great success for the VIIth General Conference of the Union of Baltic Cities and good luck for all participants.