Speaker of the Seimas: ‘Today the unity and cooperation between the Nordic and Baltic countries is exceptional’

Press release, 23 August 2022

Photo by Olga Posaškova, Office of the Seimas

According to Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, Speaker of the Seimas, today the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) has become an outstanding example of open, modern and results-oriented cooperation and an illustration of how working together in a coordinated manner can lead to building a safer, smarter, stronger and more competitive region. This has become particularly evident in the context of the war in Ukraine. The integration of the Nordic and Baltic countries, the strengthening of the region’s security and defence, and the prospects for the future of the region were the main issues discussed at the meeting of the Speakers of the NB8 Parliaments held in Kaunas.

The Speaker of the Seimas noted that the best way to safeguard our common achievements is to work more closely together, as there are opportunities to harness the region’s potential more effectively.

‘The stronger the region becomes in terms of economic development, political cooperation, common defence and social relations, the more competitive, secure and prosperous the Nordic-Baltic region and each of its countries will be. By working together, we uphold and promote our values and common interests, and also strengthen and increase the visibility of the Nordic-Baltic political brand. The decision of Sweden and Finland to join NATO offers new security and defence prospects,’ said Ms Čmilytė-Nielsen at the NB8 meeting.

The Speaker of the Seimas believes that the security challenges and the war in Ukraine have demanded most of the attention and somewhat overshadowed other objectives. But there are other issues besides support for Ukraine and stopping Russian aggression on which we could be more coordinated.

‘The integration of the NB8 is a work in progress and there are still areas to work on. The differences in electricity prices in the region, for one, show this evidently. That is why today we have discussed how to strengthen integration for the benefit of the NB8 as a whole and of each country individually. We have talked about politics, economics, including energy, security and other matters,’ said Ms Čmilytė-Nielsen.

Ilona Petrovė, Spokesperson to Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, Speaker of the Seimas, tel.+ 370  5 239 6030, mob. + 370 698 42071, e-mail: [email protected], www.lrs.lt