From 1 July 2025 to 31 December 2026, Poland will hold the chairmanship of the VASAB Committee on Spatial Planning and Development of the Baltic Sea Region (VASAB CSPD/BSR). The Chairmanship will be led by Ms. Emilia Malak-Pętlicka Deputy Director of the  Strategy Department at the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy of Poland.

The Polish Chairmanship will focus on strengthening spatial and territorial resilience, building on the developments by the previous Finnish and Estonian chairmanships. A key priority will be to advance territorial cohesion across different territorial scales and initiate a targeted analysis on measuring territorial resilience in the Baltic Sea Region.

In addition, Poland will organise a high-level VASAB Directors General meeting in 2026 to present the progress of ongoing VASAB work and achievements. Another highlight will be the 3rd VASAB Young Planners Summer School, to be held in August 2026 in Gdańsk, providing a platform for the next generation of spatial planning professionals to engage, collaborate, and co-create innovative territorial responses. As part of its priorities, the Polish Chairmanship will also seek to ensure that VASAB’s work meaningfully contributes to the follow-up of the Joint Warsaw Declaration, adopted by Ministers responsible for Cohesion Policy, Territorial Cohesion and Urban Matters in May 2025 under the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union – a declaration which sets a common vision for resilient, balanced and cohesive territorial development across Europe.

Poland takes over the Chairmanship from Estonia, whose leadership successfully concluded with adopted VASAB Ministerial Tallinn Declaration on Spatial Resilience – a key milestone that reaffirming of the Baltic Sea Region countries to strengthening resilience and cross-border cooperation in spatial planning and territorial development.