In the Final Document adopted at the 31st Session of the Baltic Assembly held in Vilnius, Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian parliamentarians agreed that the priorities of the Baltic Assembly for 2013 will be stimulation of competitive and innovative development of the economies of the Baltic States, coordination of approach to development cooperation when using EU resources, as well as energy and transport.

Parliamentarians also defined the joint priorities for cooperation between the Baltic Assembly and the Baltic Council of Ministers for 2013, namely, increasing competitiveness and improving the business environment in the region, energy, transport and infrastructure, as well as strengthening cooperation with the Nordic countries.

In 2013, Latvia will be the presiding country of the Baltic Assembly, and Raimonds Vējonis, head of the Latvian delegation to the Baltic Assembly, was elected as President of the Baltic Assembly for 2013. “The Baltic Assembly is one of the most powerful cooperation tools of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. During its presidency of the Baltic Assembly and the Baltic Council of Ministers, Latvia will act in the common interest of the Baltic States and pursue their joint policy. We will do our best in order to bring heads of parliaments, governments, enterprises and nongovernmental organisations to the same table and thus promote working towards the main goal, namely, a sustainable, prosperous and competitive Baltic Sea region,” emphasised Vējonis.

Members of the Baltic Assembly decided that the next Session of the Baltic Assembly will take place on 28 – 29 November 2013 in Riga.

In Vilnius, Baltic members of parliaments also adopted the Statement on the Forthcoming Baltic States’ Presidencies of the Council of the European Union, in which they emphasised that in order to change the traditional perception of the Baltic States as small countries that have no significant political and economic clout, the Baltic States have to use their presidencies efficiently and strategically by acting jointly on the parliamentary, governmental and non-governmental level. The Statement declares: “Our interests overlap in most cases, and more vigorous activities will certainly facilitate the process of ensuring a successful presidency of the Council of the European Union”.

The Baltic Assembly is an inter-parliamentary 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 form the event are available at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/saeima/sets/72157631962056489/with/8169300744/
When using the material, please give credit to the Saeima Chancellery.


Saeima Press Service