Baltic Assembly and Nordic Council agree cooperation priorities

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President of the Baltic Assembly (BA) and Head of the Estonian Delegation to the BA Timo Suslov said September 22 that between 2024 and 2026, the cooperation of the BA and the Nordic Council will mainly focus on cyber defence and the Eastern Partnership, according to a release from the Estonian parliament.

“The Baltic States and the Nordic Countries hold a common opinion that Russia’s aggression in Ukraine is a threat to our region and to the whole Europe. Therefore, we first agreed that we will help Ukraine in post-war reconstruction. We also need a comprehensive defence cooperation policy that includes cyber security as well as increasing the resilience of the Baltic and Nordic societies to the fake news and propaganda coming from authoritarian regimes,” Suslov said.

On behalf of the Nordic Council, the document was signed by President of the Nordic Council Jorodd Asphjell.

The agreement states that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a threat to global security and that the Baltic and Nordic countries, with their proximity to Russia, are particularly vulnerable. The Nordic and Baltic countries should continue to strongly support Ukraine and work towards ending the Russian aggression and bringing about peace.

“Now, more than ever, we must show our strength and unity – together we should continue to demonstrate strong support for Ukraine for as long as it’s needed,” said Jorodd Asphjell.

The list of cooperation priorities also includes supporting transition to democracy in the Eastern Partnership countries, energy security of the region, alignment of the transport and energy infrastructures and ensuring digital interoperability, mitigation of climate change and sustainable, energy efficient circular economy, as well as compatibility of education systems, including mutual recognition of higher education diplomas.

The annual summit of the BA and the Nordic Council was held September 21-22 at the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) in Tallinn. Before the official start of the summit, the delegations of the BA and NC visited the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn.

The Baltic Assembly is an international organisation for cooperation among the parliaments of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, founded in 1990.

The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary co-operation formed by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland. It was formed in 1952.

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