May 22, Wednesday, Minister of National Defence Laurynas Kasčiūnas will host Ministers of Defence of Latvia and Estonia at the Palanga Kurhaus (Palanga Cultural Centre). L. Kasčiūnas, Hanno Pevkur and Andris Sprūds will discuss joint Baltic projects, security and defence, preparations of the NATO Summit in Washington and assistance to Ukraine. Ministers will traditionally conclude the meeting with a signature of a Joint Communique.
Lithuania chairs the Baltic Security and Defence Cooperation in 2024.
On May 23, Thursday, Minister of National Defence Laurynas Kasčiūnas will host Ministers of Defence of the Northern Group at the Palanga Kurhaus (Palanga Cultural Centre). Ministers of Defence of the 12 European countries will discuss the security situation in the Baltic Sea and the North Atlantic regions, assistance to Ukraine, agenda of the NATO Summit in Washington and other topics.
Northern Group meeting in Palanga will be attended by Defence Ministers and representatives of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Minister of Defence of Ukraine Rustem Umerov has also been invited to attend the Northern Group ministerial in Palanga
The Northern Group is a UK-led format established in 2012. It involves 12 countries – 3 Baltic countries, 5 Nordic countries, Poland, the Netherlands and Germany. The group acts as a consultative forum on European security issues, NATO-EU relations, and other topics relevant to the region, such as military mobility, the development of transformation technologies and climate change. Meetings are held in the formats of the Ministers of Defence and the Directors of Defence Policy twice a year.
