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On Friday, 24 October, the Baltic Assembly during its 33rd Session defined the following main priorities for 2015: developing a growing, credible and secure Baltic region; sustainable and competitive society in the region; and development of regional networks.
The representatives of the Baltic legislative and executive branches prioritised enhancement of regional security measures in cooperation with NATO allies and implementation of the Readiness Action Plan approved by leaders of NATO member countries, as well as cooperation in implementing the EU’s Eastern Partnership policy. Likewise, the participants of the Session agreed on priorities such as acceleration of integration and connection of the Baltic States into EU networks and markets, strengthening of energy security of the Baltic States and development of the Baltic regional energy market, as well as improvement of information security of the Baltic States.
In the conclusion of the Session, a resolution was adopted whereby the parliamentarians called on the parliaments and governments of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as the Baltic Council of Ministers, to further implement the Rail Baltic/Rail Baltica project, to synchronise the development of energy policy, to coordinate the implementation of an e-health system, to prepare action plans for strengthening cooperation in education, research and innovation, as well as to harmonise the monitoring of food safety.
It is also underlined in the resolution that the upcoming Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2015 will facilitate sustainable growth, competitiveness and welfare of all European nations, as well as initiatives of the EU’s Eastern Partnership.
The parliamentarians agreed that by introducing the euro as of 1 January 2015, Lithuania will facilitate regional economic growth and competitiveness, increase the volume of investments and exports, reduce currency-exchange-related costs, and ensure greater resilience of the region to economic shocks.
It was decided that the 34th Session of the Baltic Assembly will take place on 19–20 November 2015 in Vilnius, Lithuania. As Lithuania takes over the Presidency of the Baltic Assembly next year, Giedre Purvaneckienė, Head of the Lithuanian delegation to the Baltic Assembly, was elected as the President of the organisation.
About the Baltic Assembly:The Baltic Assembly is an interparliamentary cooperation organisation of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania established on 8 November 1991. Each national parliament of the Baltic States is represented in the Baltic Assembly by 12 to 20 members of parliament. It is a coordinating and consultative organisation which has a right to express its opinion to the national parliaments and governments of the Baltic States, as well as the Baltic Council of Ministers, in the form of resolutions, decisions, declarations and recommendations; it also has a right to request the above-mentioned bodies to provide information on cross-border issues that are high on the Baltic Assembly’s agenda.
Photos from the Session are available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/saeima/sets/72157648880710296
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Saeima Press Service