The meeting in Jūrmala, which marks the end of the Council’s Latvian presidency, was mainly devoted to discussions on the organisation’s reform. The participants called for greater synergy in the region, avoiding overlaps between the various formats of Baltic cooperation, and better preparing organisations to address the challenges facing the region. There was consensus on the need to strike a balance between the use of the Council as a platform for political dialogue and a sectoral cooperation organisation that strengthens practical cooperation between its member states.

“We should create a platform for regional Baltic dialogue that would allow us to raise all issues relevant to the region’s future,” said Minister Czaputowicz at the Council ministerial meeting. He also stressed the importance of sectoral cooperation within the organisation. “Comprehensive sectoral policy cooperation would increase the effectiveness of the Council’s actions,” observed the chief of Polish diplomacy. 

Minister Czaputowicz recalled that Poland hosts the tenth jubilee annual EU Strategy Forum for the Baltic Sea Region in Gdansk on 12-13 June. The Forum will focus on closed-loop economy as a response to the demographic and environmental challenges of the Baltic Sea region. 

At the end of the meeting, the participants adopted a declaration and a roadmap on the Council’s reform.

The Council of the Baltic Sea States is the most important organisation of intergovernmental cooperation in the Baltic Sea region. It was established in Copenhagen in 1992 at the conference of foreign ministers of the region’s countries. The Council brings together all Baltic countries (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden) as well as Iceland, Norway, and the EU. The Council keeps political dialogue in the region and runs thematic expert cooperation groups. It also supports the implementation of local multilateral projects and provides a forum for the exchange of good practices.

While in Latvia, the chief of Polish diplomacy also met with Director of NATO Strategic Communications Centre Stratcom Jānis Sārts for talks on hybrid threats, the use of social media for disinformation purposes, and the risks of external interference in elections. Minister Czaputowicz also took part in a meeting with representatives of Polish communities in Latvia.  

 

MFA Press Office

 

Photo Gabriel Piętka / MFA