GDANSK, Poland (Chatnewstv.com) — Interior ministers from nine Baltic Sea countries met Monday to intensify cooperation in countering the growing hybrid threats emanating from Russia and Belarus, focusing on protecting critical infrastructure and developing anti-drone capabilities.
The high-level meeting in Gdansk brought together representatives from Finland, Norway, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Germany, Sweden, and Denmark, underscoring regional unity in the face of an increasingly tense geopolitical climate.
Finnish Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen stressed the urgency of addressing airborne threats, noting recent incidents across the region.
“Recent events in Poland, Denmark, Germany and Lithuania have shown that now there are also attempts to influence Europe from the air,” Rantanen said. “The EU Member States must have tools to detect and counter such activities.”
The ministers’ discussions focused on measures to enhance regional resilience, including protecting critical infrastructure, combating the instrumentalization of migration, and improving anti-drone capabilities.
Rantanen specifically called for swift support from the European Union to fund defenses against drone and other airborne threats for countries on the EU’s eastern external border.
“Particularly the Member States on the EU’s eastern external border play a key role when it comes to the security of Europe as a whole,” she stated. “That is why the Union’s support for countering drones and other airborne threats is essential during the current funding period, which will end in 2027. What we need now is decisions and concrete actions.”
In addition to countering active threats, the ministers reviewed national practices and cooperation related to the evacuation of the population. Although authorities noted the Baltic Sea region does not face an immediate military threat, they emphasized the need to prepare for all scenarios. The Finnish Ministry of the Interior, for example, updated its own evacuation planning instructions in January 2024.
The meeting is expected to conclude with a joint statement where the countries commit to strengthening their crisis preparedness and resilience against hybrid threats.
