The session will begin on Thursday, 23 November, with a ceremony where the Baltic Assembly prizes will be presented. This year, the Baltic Assembly Prize in the Arts was awarded to Estonian artist Peeter Laurits for his outstanding and diverse artistic work and the project ‘Biotoopia’. The Prize in Literature was awarded to Lithuanian translator and poet Antanas A. Jonynas for his collection of sonnets “Naujieji sonetai”. The Prize in Science was awarded to Latvian musicologist Arnolds Laimonis Klotiņš for his monographs on music and creative life in post-war Stalinist Latvia and the Latvian music life in exile in Europe during the same period. The ceremony will take place at 7 p.m. at the Concert Hall of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre.
On Friday, 24 November, the meeting of the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly and the speakers of the national parliaments of the Baltic States will take place in the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia). After that, at 10 a.m., the 42nd Session of the BA will be opened. At the opening of the Session, the speakers of the parliaments of the Baltic States will deliver speeches. The Session will be chaired by the President of the Baltic Assembly Timo Suslov and Vice-Presidents of the BA Andrius Kupčinskas and Jānis Vucāns.
The Baltic Council, the cooperation assembly of the governments and the parliaments of the Baltic States, will also meet on Friday. The 29th Baltic Council will be chaired by Chairman of the Co-operation Council of the Baltic Council of Ministers, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Margus Tsahkna and President of the Baltic Assembly Timo Suslov. Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis and Latvia Krišjānis Kariņš will also deliver speeches.
The impacts of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine's economy as well as effective civil defence will be discussed. At the end of the session, the new President of the Baltic Assembly will be elected, and the Resolution and the Final Documents of the 42nd Session of the Baltic Assembly will be signed. After the end of the Session, Estonia will hand over the presidency of the Baltic Assembly and the Baltic Council of Ministers to Lithuania.
The Baltic Assembly (Interparliamentary Assembly of the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Latvia and the Republic of Lithuania) is a consultative cooperation organisation of the parliaments of the three Baltic States which discusses issues of mutual interest. In 2023, the presidency of the Baltic Assembly was held by Estonia; in 2024, Lithuania will hold the presidency and then in 2025 it will again be Latvia's turn.
