On January 15 research fellow Henrik Praks gave a briefing at the working meeting of the heads of delegations to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly from the Nordic and Baltic states. The meeting, which was held in the Conference Hall of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia), focused on the security threats and defence cooperation in the region. It was attended by Members of Parliament from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The participants included the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Mr Ilkka Kanerva (Finland).
In his briefing Henrik Praks spoke about the evolving security environment of the Baltic Sea region. He considered the role of region in the general strategic context of European and global security, the challenges stemming from Russia and the role of the Nordic and Baltic countries and of the NATO alliance in strengthening regional security. He stressed the importance of closer strategic co-operation and mutual co-ordination among the countries of the region in countering common security challenges and threats.
The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is the parliamentary dimension of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe with the primary task to facilitate inter-parliamentary dialogue.