Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission – Helsinki Commission (HELCOM)

The Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission – also known as the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) – is an intergovernmental body whose work is based on the Helsinki Convention, a regional sea convention for the Baltic Sea area. HELCOM consists of ten Contracting Parties: the nine Baltic Sea countries Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden, plus the European Union. A platform for environmental policy making at the regional level, HELCOM works for a healthy Baltic Sea. HELCOM oversees the implementation of the Helsinki Convention. The HELCOM Secretariat is an international organization supporting the work of HELCOM and the Contracting Parties of the Helsinki Convention.