The Baltic Assembly sums up Latvia’s presidency

Today, the Estonian Delegation to the Baltic Assembly (BA) participates in the 41st Session of the Baltic Assembly and the 28th Baltic Council in Riga, where an overview of the achievements of Latvia’s presidency is presented and the Resolution of the Session will be adopted. At the end of the session, Latvia will hand over the presidency to Estonia, and the new President of the BA will be elected.

Deputy Head of the Estonian Delegation to the BA Sven Sester pointed out that since the beginning of Russia’s aggression, the Baltic States have distinguished themselves in the field of security. “This year will go down in history as the year when Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania took the lead in international defence cooperation and not only gave military assistance to Ukraine but also successfully conducted a persuasion campaign that resulted in Europe and NATO reassessing their relations with the aggressor,” he said. According to the Deputy Head of the Estonian Delegation, Estonia takes over the presidency of the Baltic Assembly with a strong will to continue building up a resilient, secure, reliable and sustainable Baltic region, which is especially important during the times there is a war going on in Europe. Sester underlined that the Ukrainian people had made and would continue to make untold sacrifices in that war, and therefore the international support for Ukraine must remain firm. “Russia’s defeat, restoring of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and post-war reconstruction is the only acceptable solution,” Sester said.

President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Jüri Ratas will also deliver a speech at the BA Session. He is sure that the Baltic States will continue giving Ukraine military, humanitarian as well as economic aid as long as needed. “We will also lend a hand in rebuilding Ukraine and give Ukraine our extensive support on their road to becoming a full-fledged member state of the European Union and NATO,” he said. Ratas added that besides resolving the security crisis, it was also necessary to find a clear and efficient solution to the largest energy crisis of the last decades, because this had a direct impact on the daily lives of the people in our region. “People must not be left without heating and we cannot accept a situation where they are forced to choose between buying bread or paying their electricity bill. We need to be ready for a situation where Russia disconnects us from its power grid, so that we could respond quickly and synchronise ourselves with the continental European network,” he said.

The 41st Session of the BA and the sitting of the 28th Baltic Council will hear the report of Latvia’s presidency, discuss how a strong and united Baltic society could be better prepared to face the challenges posed by external threats and look for short- and long-term solutions to ensure a common and resilient energy system in the Baltic States. Also, the Joint Statement of the Baltic Council will be signed, and the BA Resolution and the Final Document of the 41st Session will be adopted. Latvia will hand over the BA presidency to Estonia and Sven Sester will give an overview of the plans for Estonia’s presidency in 2023. In Friday evening, the Session will end with a ceremony where the BA Medals and the BA Prizes in Literature, the Arts, Science and Innovation will be awarded. The Baltic Assembly Prize in Literature was won by Estonian writer and poet Kai Aareleid for her novel “Vaikne ookean” (“Pacific Ocean”).

The 41st Session of the Baltic Assembly is attended by Deputy Head of the Estonian delegation Sven Sester and members of the delegation Mihhail Korb, Hele Everaus, Urve Tiidus, Kalvi Kõva, Helmen Kütt, Andres Metsoja and Anti Poolamets.

Source: Parliament of Estonia