Baltic Assembly participating in the Thematic Session of the Nordic Council

On 30 June 2021, the members of the Baltic Assembly participated in Thematic Session of the Nordic Council on the topic of hybrid threats and cybersecurity. Top representatives and high experts from the Nordic and the Baltic countries joined the Session digitally.

Key conclusions from the conference

The importance of cooperation and drawing on each other’s experiences was highlighted, especially since nowadays the society cannot live without cyber networks. Digital services have become increasingly important during the pandemic, and new technologies have raised many security issues as well. During the Session, Vice President of the Baltic Assembly Jānis Vucāns elaborated on a particular form of hybrid threat - disinformation campaigns that are widespread in the Baltic states. He added that communication with society is extremely important, especially within a fragmented political landscape and about questions that unite the whole society. “We believe that a population trained to identify bias and with trust in their government is the best defense against harmful propaganda”, Jānis Vucāns stated.

Vice Chair of the Security and Defence Committee of the Baltic Assembly Urve Tiidus added that the Baltic states unfortunately are quite familiar with hybrid warfare and cyber threats. “We are always open to share our knowledge in these areas and also strongly believe that cooperation in the area of cybersecurity between the regions will serve the interests of all of our countries,” Urve Tiidus said. Vice Chair also elaborated more on the creation of the NATO Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence in Estonia and added that “we are very proud of this centre and understand very well the importance of investing in cybersecurity”. It was concluded that cooperation needs to be enhanced, because hybrid and cyber threats know no borders.

Priorities and recommendations of the Baltic Assembly in 2021

This year one of the priorities of the Baltic Assembly, as well as the Security and Defence Committee is strong security and defence community. Priorities with the Nordic Council include comprehensive foreign and security policy, that also includes climate and energy issues, societal security, and promotion of democratic values. Artificial intelligence has also been highlighted as a priority.