From Monday until June 30, 2025, Estonia will preside over the work of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), focusing on increasing security and sustainability in the Baltic Sea region and including Ukraine in the activities of the CBSS.
“Estonia takes over the CBSS presidency at a challenging time. For the first time, all the democracies around the Baltic Sea are NATO members; however, we must continue working together actively on increasing the resilience and sustainability of the Baltic Sea states on, so to say, soft security in everyday cross-border cooperation between agencies,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, who heads the presidency, said.
One of the main objectives of the Estonian presidency is to increase the crisis awareness of the region’s residents, improving early warning systems, and dealing with issues of extensive evacuations and shelter. Ways of including volunteers in civil protection is a cross-cutting issue we will address separately. Border guard cooperation is also in focus.
Estonia will also concentrate on preventing human trafficking, including by looking for solutions in cooperation with third countries and using the possibilities of artificial intelligence. Guidelines for the prevention of human trafficking targeting children and for helping victims will also be drawn up. Work will continue on creating green shipping routes in the Baltic Sea and on looking for options to create a digital twin of the Baltic Sea to get a better idea of the state of the sea.
In culture, the focus will be on preserving and protecting cultural heritage by both increasing the energy efficiency of buildings as well as by preventing the smuggling of cultural objects. An important priority of the Estonian presidency is the active inclusion of the youth of the Baltic Sea region in regional decision-making processes.
Established in 1992, the activities of the CBSS are carried out through political dialogue and practical cooperation. The members of CBSS are Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Germany, Poland, and the European Union / EEAS. The everyday work of the CBSS is supervised by a committee of senior officials representing the foreign ministries of member states, with Tõnis Nirk, ambassador at large for Baltic Sea cooperation, representing Estonia. Estonia takes over the presidency from Finland.
Source: BNS
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