Brussels, 29/10/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 29 October, the European Commission proposed a new seven-year project, called “Bonus-169”, enhance the Baltic Sea region research capacity to ensure a more sustainable development of the region. Under the terms of the proposal, the EU will Contribute €100 million, with the Commission providing half of that sum, and the other half coming from eight EU member states which border on the Baltic (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden). “The Baltic Sea is facing serious natural and man-made pressures. Research not only holds a key to address ecological and socio-economic challenges, it also creates a positive agenda for the Baltic Sea countries to work together,” said Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potoènik. The sea and the coasts of the Baltic Sea are particularly affected by the combined and increasingly negative impact of pollution, climate change, acidification, overexploitation and biodiversity loss. BONUS-169 will bring together the national research programmes and activities of the 8 Baltic Sea states in a single joint research programme, mainly focused on environmental research. The programme will be implemented in two phases: during the initial 2-year strategic phase, a Strategic Research Agenda and implementation modalities should be defined, followed by an implementation phase of 5 years, during which at least three joint calls should be launched. The Commission proposal will now be submitted to the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament.