The Baltic Assembly awards prizes and convenes for its 44th Session

The 44th Session of the Baltic Assembly (BA) will begin tonight in Riga with the Baltic Assembly Prize and Medals Award Ceremony at the Brothers Kokari Hall of Mežaparks Grand Bandstand. The Prize in Science will be awarded to Estonian Professor of Political Theory Eva Piirimäe for her monograph “Herder and Enlightenment Politics”, the Prize in the Arts will be awarded to Latvian conductor Kaspars Putniņš for his performance with the Latvian Radio Choir in the concert program “The Dream Stream”, and the Prize in Literature will be awarded to Lithuanian poet, essayist, literary critic, and translator Tomas Andrius Venclova for his book of poetry “Už Onos ir Bernardinų”.

The medals of the Baltic Assembly will also be presented at the award ceremony. The BA medals are awarded to outstanding persons for upholding the unity and cooperation of the Baltic States. This year, the medals will be awarded to energy expert Reinis Āboltiņš, diplomat and writer Anna Žīgure, translator and diplomat Valvi Strikaitienė, zoologist Uudo Timm, former Prime Minister of Lithuania Gintautas Paluckas, Vice President of the Baltic Assembly Giedrius Drukteinis, Secretary General of the Baltic Assembly Agnija Antanoviča, Danish historian and retired officer Michael H. Clemmesen and Commander of the German Armoured Brigade in Lithuania Christoph Huber.

The Session of the Baltic Assembly will begin tomorrow at 10 a.m. in the Parliament of Latvia. The opening session will be chaired by President of the Baltic Assembly Jānis Vucāns (Latvia), as well as Vice Presidents of the Baltic Assembly Timo Suslov (Estonia) and Giedrius Drukteinis (Lithuania). Speaker of the Saeima of Latvia Daiga Mieriņa, President of the Riigikogu of Estonia Lauri Hussar, and Speaker of the Seimas of Lithuania Juozas Olekas will address the Session.

The 31st Baltic Council will focus on regional security and foreign policy. The sitting will be chaired by President of the Baltic Assembly Jānis Vucāns and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia and Chair of the Cooperation Council of the Baltic Council of Ministers Baiba Braže. The Council will also be addressed by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Margus Tsahkna, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Kęstutis Budrys, and Vice-President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Agnes Vadai. The Council will conclude with the signing of the Joint Statement of the Baltic Council of Ministers and the Baltic Assembly. It will be followed by a press conference starting at 1 p.m., which will be streamed online.

In the afternoon, the Session will continue with the discussion “Transport connectivity as a pillar of regional unity, economic development and security guarantee in the Baltic States”. The discussion will be followed by addresses by foreign delegations and guests.

The 44th Session will conclude with the adoption of the BA Resolution and Final Document, and the election of the President, Vice Presidents, and Chairs and Vice Chairs of the Committees for 2026. Latvia will transfer the presidency of the Baltic Assembly and the Baltic Council of Ministers to Estonia.

Head of the Estonian Delegation to the BA Timo Suslov said that the motto of the Estonian Presidency in 2026 will be “Unity through connectivity, progress through partnership”. “The continued success of the Baltic States is ensured by cooperation – at the level of ideas, people, as well as cross-border connections. The Baltic Assembly will work to ensure that the voices of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are heard. To achieve this, we are strengthening cooperation on defence issues and key projects, such as Rail Baltic, Via Baltica, and the Baltic Energy Strategy. We will continue to work for the development of science, culture, and education. We will also focus on ensuring the resilience of the Baltic States and promoting health, birth rates, and environmental resilience,” Suslov said.

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 that discusses issues of mutual interest. The Estonian Delegation to the BA is headed by Timo Suslov, Deputy Head of the delegation is Enn Eesmaa. Other members of the Delegation are Jaak Aab, Arvo Aller, Aleksei Jevgrafov, Meelis Kiili, Irja Lutsar, Tiit Maran, Helir-Valdor Seeder, Riina Solman, Margit Sutrop and Peeter Tali.

Riigikogu Press Service
Maris Meiessaar
+372 631 6353, +372 5558 3993
maris.meiessaar@riigikogu.ee
Questions: press@riigikogu.ee

Link uudisele: The Baltic Assembly awards prizes and convenes for its 44th Session

Source: Parliament of Estonia