Hanseatic Parliament

The Hanseatic Parliament (Hanse Parlament) is an association of business chambers (Chambers of Crafts, Chambers of Commerce and similar) around the Baltic Sea Region with the common goal to promote the small and medium sized companies (SME’s) in the area. Even though there is a strong co-operation with the public sectors in the countries involved; it is a non-governmental organization with a non profit character. The Hanseatic Parliament has been established in the early 1990s and implements concrete projects and cooperation’s since 1994. Originally the office was located in Copenhagen, subsequently it moved to Hamburg.

Since the EU enlargement of 2004, the Baltic Sea has united the coastal states of north-central Europe in one economic region once again.

Role model for the cooperation is the former Hanseatic League, which has been successful over centuries. However, the countries participating in the Hanseatic Parliament concentrate on those countries around the Baltic Sea Region, whereas the former Hanseatic League was stretched out further west, involving cities like Brugge in Belgium.

Even though the Hanseatic Parliament is an association concentrating on the economy, it fosters a common identity in the Baltic Sea Region. For example it assembles universities, politicians, and businesspeople for the annual Hanseatic Conference often discussing culturally related topics.

See also

* Hanseatic League
* Small and medium enterprise

External links

* [http://www.hanse-parlament.eu Hanseatic Parliament] Homepage of the association, available in English, Polish, German
* [http://www.baltic-cooperation.eu/ Baltic Cooperation, virtual cooperation- and information website for SME's around the Baltic Sea Region]