On Friday, February 26, Prime Minister of Latvia Māris Kučinskis, Prime Minister of Lithuania Algirdas Butkevičius and Prime Minister of Estonia Taavi Rõivas met in Riga for an informal working session of the Baltic Council of Ministers (BCM). During the meeting, the Heads of Government discussed security issues and cooperation in the fields of transport and energy.
At the meeting, the officials discussed preparations for the Warsaw NATO Summit to be held in July 2016, as well as other topical issues such as the migration issue, the need to strengthen the EU’s external border, hybrid threat risks and solutions to eliminate them.
Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis stressed that the assessments of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia prior to the Warsaw NATO Summit are very similar - Russia’s behaviour is becoming increasingly unpredictable and the only solution to strengthening the security of the Baltic States is long-term presence of international forces in the Baltic States. He emphasized that the Baltic States need to cooperate closely at all levels to ensure the adoption of decisions compliant with the interests of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia at the upcoming Warsaw Summit.
The Prime Minister noted that in the current geopolitical context, migration is also an important problem: “We all agree that in response to the migration crisis in the European Union, our objective must be prompt suspension of migration flows, protection of external borders and preservation of the integrity of the Schengen area.”
The Heads of Government of the Baltic States also discussed issues relating to the development of the "Rail Baltica" project, the natural gas market and regional connections, the EU Energy Security Package and the "Nord Stream 2" project, as well as the electricity market with a focus on regional connections.
M.Kučinskis emphasized that energy security of the Baltic States needs to be strengthened by doing our own homework and playing an active role within the European Union.
“Strengthening energy security in the gas sector has been Latvia’s priority for the previous governments, and will also be the priority of my government,” said the Prime Minister.
In discussions on the Energy Security Package, he also pointed out that the Baltic States must stand together for greater transparency in contracts with third-country suppliers on the construction of strategic infrastructure.
More detailed information:
Andrejs Vaivars
Press Secretary to the Prime Minister
Phone: 29228678
E-mail: Andrejs.Vaivars@mk.gov.lv