MUNIMAP Kick-off meeting Sopot

The MUNIMAP project kicked-off  with representatives of all project partners and many invited guests as international target users of the project results. The Policy Session at the Kick-off conference a number of international target users of the project results was invited. Most of them sent written statements or joint online.

Several encouraging statements were delivered during the Policy Session on the 22nd February. The former PL ministry of foreign affairs and now Eurodeputy, Anna Fotyga declared her full support to our project’s work and results. Having worked on the topic of marine munitions for many years, she was involved in the preparation of the 2021 EU Parliament Resolution on chemical residues in the Baltic Sea and the new Programme “Saving our Seas – reducing the impact of dumped munitions and oil cargo”.

Supporting statements were delivered remotely also by Louise Floman (PAC HAZARDS EU Baltic Sea Region Strategy), Grzegorz Poznański (Secretary General of the CBSS) and Vaidotas Verba (LT permanent representative to the UN, former representative to the OPCW). Richard Patrick (NC UXO Control) declared his support regarding cross-policy comparison with the UK. Markus Helavuori (HELCOM) presented his organization as institutional memory of the munitions’ remediation process, but stressed need for suitable laws and procedures which he is hopeful will be provided by the project. Anita Künitzer (UBA) outlined the long lasting process of mind change in Germany from leaving the dumped munition at the sea bottom to remediating it to protect the marine environment.