During the morning working sessions, ministers, with the participation of the United Nations and NATO representatives, discussed how the defence and security sector can contribute to global efforts to mitigate climate change and how to respond to the challenges emerging to the operational environment due to climate change. Ministers agreed unanimously on the need for the defence sector to clearly identify areas and make predictions about which areas of the defense sector are most affected, how these changes affect EU missions and operations.
"We need to develop capabilities that can be used to eliminate the effects of climate change, without affecting their primary purpose – to ensure defence capabilities," Minister Karoblis said at the meeting. The Minister also mentioned the NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence in Vilnius, which is developing various projects aimed at contributing to a more efficient use of energy by the armed forces in performing its functions. The activity and added value of this center were also welcomed by Poland, which recently joined the center.
Ministers also discussed the challenges of climate change for EU missions and operations. It has been emphasized that efforts have been focused on energy protection and efficiency by reducing greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency improvements.
Given the recent tensions and insecurity in international waters, and in particular the unstable security environment for merchant vessels, at the closing session Ministers were invited to discuss the possibility of better coordination of Member States' activities in the maritime domain. According to this initiative, called the Coordinated Maritime Presence, Member States should improve the coordination, exchange of information and support in the areas of operations of their national military capabilities patrolling in international areas. Ministers agreed that this initiative could contribute to solving threats of piracy, terrorism and reducing political tensions in some regions. It was agreed to continue discussions on the development of this initiative.
During a working lunch with EU foreign ministers EU efforts, results, possible new initiatives to improve hybrid threat detection and timely identification and countermeasures, as well as a Lithuanian-led cyber security project were discussed. The Rapid Response Team and Mutual Assistance Project, under the EU Permanent Structured Cooperation Concept (PESCO), is mentioned an excellent example of improving the EU resilience and capability to fight against hybrid threats.
