TALLINN - Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, and Sweden have signed a memorandum of cooperation to enhance national preparedness for major crises and military threats. The agreement also involves jointly planning the organization of cross-border movements and potential evacuations.
According to Minister of the Interior Igor Taro, the agreement is based on the understanding that modern crises do not stop at national borders. "Crises and threats spread quickly, and their impact is not contained within a country's borders. Therefore, cross-border cooperation in civil protection is essential. This memorandum provides countries with a common framework that allows for rapid and coordinated action in a crisis situation, protecting people while maintaining the operational capacity of the states," Taro said.
He noted that a key focus of the agreement is readiness for situations where a crisis could cause people to spontaneously move across borders. "Estonia is not planning to evacuate its residents to other countries. However, we must be realistic that in a crisis, people may move across borders on their own initiative. Our task is to be prepared for this-to cooperate with neighboring countries, exchange information operationally, and ensure that such movements are as safe and manageable as possible," the interior minister emphasized.
For Estonia, this memorandum is a significant addition to the existing civil protection cooperation among the Baltic states, which was established by Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in June 2025. While the Baltic agreement primarily focuses on cooperation and information exchange between the three nations, the new memorandum expands this cooperation to the entire Baltic Sea and Nordic region.
A high-level meeting was held in Stockholm on Tuesday and Wednesday, where representatives from the Baltic Sea states discussed the next steps for the signed memorandum. The discussions centered on civil protection and cross-border cooperation in crisis situations. The meeting, initiated by Sweden and Finland, was also attended by Tuuli Räim, Deputy Secretary General for Crisis Preparedness and Civil Protection at the Ministry of the Interior. She presented the progress made under the memorandum signed between the three Baltic states last June.
"The events of recent years and the security situation in Europe have shown that no country can handle major crises alone," Räim said. "It is therefore crucial that we cooperate and coordinate our actions uniformly throughout the Baltic Sea region. This will help us ensure the safety of our residents even in the most challenging situations. Common principles and effective cross-border solutions give us the confidence to act quickly, deliberately, and with people's needs in mind during a crisis."
She added that the Baltic states are already using a common platform to plan large-scale evacuations and cross-border movements, and they also participate in each other's crisis drills. According to the Deputy Secretary General, joint planning between civilian and military sectors is also vital and has been significantly strengthened in Estonia in recent years. "This type of planning and cooperation needs to be extended to the entire Baltic Sea region, as we are NATO members and neighbors dependent on each other for security. The recently signed memorandums of understanding express our desire to deepen regional cooperation and strengthen our collective preparedness," Räim emphasized.
The Stockholm meeting is part of a broader cooperative effort aimed at strengthening the preparedness of the Baltic Sea region countries and ensuring the protection of their populations in complex security situations.
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