Letter from the Baltic Assembly on civil protection

Igor Taro

Minister of the Interior

Republic of Estonia

Vladislav Kondratovič

Minister of the Interior

Republic of Lithuania

Rihards Kozlovskis

Minister for the Interior

Republic of Latvia

17 April 2026

No. 1/0426-120

Dear Ministers,

On behalf of the Baltic Assembly, we would like to express our assurances of highest consideration to

the Baltic Council of Ministers.

On 15-16 January 2026, the joint meeting of the Education, Science and Culture Committee and the

Security and Defence Committee of the Baltic Assembly was held in Tartu. The parliamentarians,

governmental representatives and experts discussed ways to enhance military and defence research

and education cooperation among the Baltic States, highlighting the important role of the proposal

of the Baltic Assembly to establish a Baltic Science Fund. Experts and government representatives from

the defence sector supported the idea of a Baltic Science Fund and its initial focus on defence research.

During the meeting, we also assessed the implementation of the recommendations of the Baltic

Assembly and concluded that, in several cases lack of progress can be observed. We recommended that

the governments improve the procedures of the Baltic States regarding providing humanitarian aid, and

also develop a solution for accepting humanitarian aid in the region. The answers of the Baltic Council

of Ministers received in August 2025 indicate that the Baltic States have worked to improve the

provision and acceptance of humanitarian assistance; however, a regional solution has not been found.

We consider that regional approaches are of particular importance in the field of civil protection;

therefore, we would like to receive answers to the following questions:

⎯ What has prevented or disrupted the implementation of the recommendation?

⎯ What are the main obstacles to cooperation in this area?

⎯ What are the plans for the governments to move towards a more regional approach regarding providing and accepting humanitarian aid?

We would also welcome an update on the status of implementation of the following

recommendations in the area of defence cooperation:

⎯ to create a joint civil defence mechanism for the Baltic States that includes practical planning and cross– border cooperation among the municipalities in the Baltic States.

We would highly appreciate receiving clear and detailed answers to the aforementioned questions and

an update on the implementation of the recommendations by 18 May 2026.

Please accept the assurances of our highest consideration.

Sincerely,

Chair of the Security and

Defence Committee of the

Baltic Assembly

Vice Chair of the Security and

Defence Committee of the

Baltic Assembly

Vice Chair of the Security and

Defence Committee of the

Baltic Assembly

Peeter Tali

Republic of Estonia

Audrius Petrošius

Republic of Lithuania

Uģis Rotbergs

Republic of Latvia

Contact person: Agnija Antanoviča, [email protected]