The Rail Baltica project, development of the energy market, hydrogen perspective and higher education in the Baltic States were discussed at the 38th Session of the Baltic Assembly and the 25th Baltic Council held in Riga (Latvia) 29 November 2019. The priorities of Estonia’s Presidency of the the BA for 2020 are the Baltic partnership in defence and security, development of energy and transport connections and regional networks in research and education .
Head of the Estonian Delegation to the BA Aadu Must said that the Baltic Assembly had always had serious discussions on common national defence issues. “This does not mean only military national defence, but also other issues relating to it. Cross-border cooperation in its full extent is very important in medicine as well as generally in various cross-border joint procurements that have brought real financial benefits.”
Member of the Estonian delegation to the BA Sven Sester participated as a co-chair in the theme panels dealing with the development of the energy market and the hydrogen perspective. In his opinion, energy security in the Baltic States has been a major issue through the years, and different energy sources are also relevant. “We pay more and more attention to potential additional alternative energy sources and we are jointly tackling with creating a common interest in different renewable energy issues in the Baltic States, like the wind energy, hydro power, and why not also nuclear power in the future,” Sester said.
Member of the Estonian Delegation Signe Kivi co-chaired the panel discussing Baltic cooperation in higher education. She believes that the Baltic cooperation in education, culture and research is based on trust, partnership and view to the future. “Nothing can be more forward-looking than cooperation in education and research. Therefore, it is a great pleasure to take over the torch, and add some new aspects to it. I made a proposal that we should pay more attention to ecological footprint in cultural management.”