Helsinki Convention

Signed in 1974 and then revised in 1992, the Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area, also called the Helsinki Convention, aims to fight against pollution of the Baltic Sea.

All the countries along the Baltic Sea, as well as the European Union, signed the Helsinki Convention, which entered into force in 1980. The revised version entered into force in 2000.

Objectives of the Helsinki Convention

This convention more particularly targets pollution by discharge of waste via watercourses, canals and pipes, as well as by dumping at sea. The convention also prohibits the introduction of certain toxic substances in the Baltic Sea: dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its derivatives (DDE and DDD), polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) and polychlorotriphenyls (PCTs).

The special case of nuclear waste and munitions dumped during the second world war is addressed by this convention.