German politicians and people are very well aware of current challenges faced by the Baltic countries in failing to shield the minds of their people against intrusive propaganda coming from its neighbour. German politicians raised this issue during all the meetings, and that clearly attests to their readiness to offer practical support in strengthening the media landscape of the Baltic countries and of Europe as a whole. This is how Inese Lībiņa-Egnere, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima, summarised her visit to Bavaria that concluded on Tuesday, 17 March.

“This is a very special day for me. I am standing in the very heart of a proud, beautiful and inspiring country. I feel the closeness of the warm blood which runs through its veins and has always linked us with you – the mighty Lithuanian nation. We are standing underneath the fluttering Baltic flags, recalling what has been achieved during the past quarter of a century and looking with confidence at future challenges,” said Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, on Wednesday, 11 March, in her address at the raising of the flags of the Baltic States at the Independence Square in Vilnius during the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Restoration of Independence of Lithuania. 

On Thursday, 5 March, Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima, at the opening of a high-level foreign policy and defence conference emphasised: “Europe has sobered up during the last year. Over a relatively short period, the international society realised that some international agreements are actually ineffective, as was the case with the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances signed in 1994, which, among other issues, stipulates Ukraine’s territorial integrity. The sanctity of its borders is violated. The values are challenged”. 

“I can only agree with High Representative Mogherini that the European Union is a global superpower. However, to be a real global player, the EU must look in all directions because we have neighbours in all four directions – north, south, east and west”, said Ojārs Ēriks Kalniņš, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Saeima on Thursday, 5 March as he opened the high-level conference on foreign policy and security in Riga. 

On Thursday, 5 March, Ainars Latkovskis, Chairman of the Defence Committee of the Saeima, opened the second session of a high-level foreign policy and security conference dedicated to better cooperation between the EU and NATO in view of new security challenges. He pointed out that since 22 of EU member states are also members of NATO, these states share one pool of defence resources in order to achieve the military goals of both organisations. Therefore, closer cooperation and coordination between the EU and NATO in areas such as planning of defence capabilities and military training are particularly important. 

International foreign policy experts will gather at the Conference on foreign and defence policy organised by the Saeima. This Interparliamentary Conference for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy held in Riga on 5–6 March is one of the six interparliamentary events organised by the Saeima within the framework of the parliamentary dimension of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU.

On 5-6 March in Riga, the Saeima will hold a conference on foreign policy which will gather nearly 300 parliamentarians from EU member states, high officials from the EU and NATO, as well as international foreign policy experts. The Interparliamentary Conference for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy will be one of the six interparliamentary events organised by the Saeima within the framework of the parliamentary dimension of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU.