The Presidents of the Baltic States discussed regional security and cooperation within the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), joint strategic infrastructure projects, and the fight against climate change.
According to the President, in the current period, the Baltic States’ unity and mobilization on strategic issues are more important than ever. The Lithuanian leader stressed that another worrying factor was the full integration of Belarus into the Russian military system. This, as Gitanas Nausėda pointed out, should prompt NATO to adjust its plans, strategy and tactics in the region bordering Belarus. The Lithuanian President also emphasized that the Ostrovets nuclear power plant remained a clear threat to the region and that it was important to continue keeping pressure on the regime and to halt electricity imports from Belarus.
The Presidents of the Baltic States also met virtually with Polish President Andrzej Duda. The four leaders discussed tensions on the Belarusian border. During the meeting, the President stressed that the situation required urgent solutions and action at the international level.
“A growing threat on the border with Belarus is not just a problem for Poland, Lithuania or Latvia. We protect the external borders of the EU and NATO and, therefore, the response to the hybrid attack launched by the Lukashenko regime must be collective and the support must be real, not declarative. Both the EU and NATO collectively need to take decisive action,” the President of Lithuania said.
The Presidents of the Baltic States and Poland agreed on the importance of maintaining a particularly close relationship with NATO Allies at this time and of demonstrating a clear political stance towards the hybrid attack by the Lukashenko regime. The leaders also agreed to actively seek agreement on common EU goals: to ensure a real protection of the EU’s external border, to speed up the process of reviewing the EU’s migration and asylum policy and to secure EU funding for the construction of a physical barrier at the external border.
The Presidents of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia adopted a joint statement on the situation on the EU’s external border with Belarus. In the statement, the Baltic leaders express their full support for actions taken by the Republic of Poland to protect the EU’s external border. The Presidents call on the European Commission to implement the European Council conclusions of 21 and 22 October 2021 without delay by proposing the necessary changes to the EU legal framework on migration and asylum policy and providing adequate EU financial support for building physical infrastructure.
