Nordic-Baltic regional unity is our biggest advantage - Vucans

RIGA - The regional unity of the Nordic and Baltic countries is our greatest advantage, Baltic Assembly President Janis Vucans (Greens/Farmers) stressed while addressing the participants of the 77th session of the Nordic Council in Stockholm, Sweden.

As the Saeima press service reported, Vucans said the Nordic countries have the advantage of being able to act together - to build trust across borders, to take decisions based on shared values and to defend a rules-based international order.

"We share a vision of a free, secure, sustainable and democratic Europe," Vucans said in his address, noting that Baltic-Nordic cooperation has grown over the past decades into a solid partnership that delivers practical results.

Vucans also stressed that the support of the countries of the region to Ukraine is not just a sign of solidarity, but an important step in defending a rules-based international order. "This cooperation shows that parliaments, working together, can strengthen not only national priorities, but also the common voice of our region in the European and global arena," the politician stressed.

The agenda of the session included issues related to strengthening the security and defense of the region. Participants also discussed the protection of democracy and shared values, including by strengthening citizens' resilience.

The Baltic Assembly is a cooperation body of the parliaments of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, established on November 8, 1991. Each Baltic parliament is represented in the Assembly by 12 to 16 members. The Assembly is a coordinating and consultative body. It is entitled to express its views to national parliaments, governments and the Baltic Council of Ministers in the form of resolutions, decisions, declarations and recommendations, and to request answers on the way in which topical cross-border issues on the Baltic Assembly's agenda are dealt with.