On 18 October 2024, Vilnius, Lithuania, will host the 30th Baltic Council, which is a joint meeting of the Baltic Assembly and the Cooperation Council of the Baltic Council of Ministers, at which the Chair of the Cooperation Council (the Foreign Minister of the Presidency) provides a report on the work accomplished during the year. Latvia will be represented at the meeting by the Minister of Justice, Inese Lībiņa-Egnere.
At the meeting, the Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian delegations will discuss current matters and future prospects of Baltic cooperation.
The President of the Baltic Assembly, Andrius Kupčinskas, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis, will look back at the Baltic cooperation over 2024, when Lithuania holds the Presidency of the Baltic Assembly and the Baltic Council of Ministers.
Inese Lībiņa-Egnere, for her part, will inform the participants about Latvia’s priorities for the Baltic Council of Ministers in 2025, because as from 1 January Latvia will take over the presidency functions in this cooperation format for a year. Latvia has set out the following priority lines of action for Baltic cooperation next year: security and resilience of the region, support to Ukraine, improvement of regional connectivity, strengthening of energy security, and attracting investment.
At the end of the 30th Baltic Council, the President of the Baltic Assembly and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania will sign a joint statement on the most important aspects of Baltic cooperation the current year and the priority directions next year.
The Baltic Council will be concluded with a joint press conference of the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly and representatives from the Governments of the Baltic States.
The 31st Baltic Council will take place on 14 November 2025 in Riga.
Background information
The Baltic Council of Ministers (BCM), established on 13 June 1994, is an institution for governmental co-operation between Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. The Baltic Council of Ministers is tasked with ensuring the continuity of co-operation at the executive level of the states. The presidency of the Baltic Council of Ministers is rotated annually among the Baltic States.
The Baltic Council is a joint meeting of the Baltic Assembly and the BCM Cooperation Council, at which the Chair of the Cooperation Council (the Foreign Minister of the rotating Presidency) presents a report of the past year’s work, whereas the Foreign Minister of the incoming presidency (or other delegated representative of the government) outlines the priorities and plans for next year’s presidency, which are then included in the Joint Statement of the Baltic Council.
The Baltic Assembly (BA) is an institution for parliamentary co-operation among Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania established on 8 November 1991.