The Baltic Assembly calls on the parliaments and governments of the Baltic States, as well as the Baltic Council of Ministers, to devise cooperation mechanisms for the Baltic financial markets, to combat tax fraud and the spread of drugs, as well as to pursue joint energy projects and cooperation in the sphere of research. These areas of focus are included in the Resolution of the Baltic Assembly adopted on 9 November at the 31st Session of the Baltic Assembly held in Vilnius.

In its Resolution, the Baltic Assembly states that the financial crisis revealed the need to change financial stability arrangements, as well as supervisory and regulative mechanisms; thus it calls on the Baltic parliaments and governments, as well as the Baltic Council of Ministers, to harmonise legislation regarding financial markets of the Baltic States and to eliminate legal obstacles in sharing information among supervisory authorities of the Baltic States.

The Baltic Assembly underlines the need for a cross-border, multilateral and innovative approach to combating tax fraud that will not impede free movement and trade. In the Resolution, members of the Baltic Assembly call on the Baltic parliaments and governments, as well as the Baltic Council of Ministers, to intensify the cooperation of the Baltic States in combating VAT fraud, as well as to encourage regular cooperation and exchange of information among the tax administrations of the Baltic States.

With regard to the combating of the spread of drugs, the Baltic Assembly calls on the Baltic Council of Ministers to take effective and informative countermeasures against popularisation of opinions that threaten public health and safety. It also urges the Baltic Council of Ministers to defend a joint political position regarding the next EU Drugs Strategy without undermining national priorities and to urge law enforcement agencies to cooperate in implementing the Strategy. The Baltic Assembly also urges the Baltic Council of Ministers to allocate increased financial, human and technical resources for combating international and regional smuggling of narcotic and psychotropic substances, and the spread of these substances „on the street”.

With its Resolution, the Baltic Assembly also urges the Baltic Council of Ministers to develop a common long-term Baltic energy strategy that focuses on a regional approach and interoperability, to submit it to the national parliaments for approval, and to implement regional energy infrastructure projects according to the provisions of the Third Energy Package of the EU in gas sector, which are necessary for creating a sustainable and competitive gas market in the region. The Baltic Assembly also calls on the Baltic Council of Ministers to continue developing a coordinated regional approach to the issues of energy security and a common energy market and to lessen the dependence on fossilised fuels by exploring renewable energy sources. The Resolution urges dissemination of information in order to exchange best practices and to raise awareness of the importance of the environment, economic gains and ways to save energy, as well as promotion of green public procurement at all levels of public administration.

With regard to cooperation in the sphere of research, the Baltic Assembly calls on the Baltic Council of Ministers to establish a working group for conducting a feasibility study and implementing the Baltic Infrastructure for Research, Technology and Innovation (BIRTI) project.

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