The seminar „Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia: cooperation and outlooks in the context of security challenges for the region and the EU” was held on November 25 in Riga jointly organized by Institute of Public Affairs (Poland) and the Centre for Public Policy PROVIDUS (Latvia). The seminar introduced the results of an opinion poll conducted by the Institute of Public Affairs in Poland and the three Baltic States about opinions in the society on current international and regional affairs. The presentation was be followed by a debate of experts from the four countries focusing the results of the poll as well as the reactions in the society to the refugee crisis and threat of terrorism.
Helga Kalm spoke on a panel dedicated to discussing ways of strengthening regional security cooperation in reaction to developments in Ukraine and in dealing with the refugee crisis. The panel was moderated by Dace Akule from PROVIDUS (Latvia) and also included distinguished experts Justyna Frelak from the Institute of Public Affairs (Poland), Maria Golubeva from PROVIDUS (Latvia) and Greta Monika Tuckute from the Centre for Geopolitical Studies (Lithuania). All the panellists agreed that the countries could benefit from further cooperation in a number of areas, including energy, defence procurements as well as pushing for common goals in European foreign policy discussions. The discussion was concluded by a general agreement that the refugee crisis highlights the need for a stronger and more resilient civil society that can inform the public about the issues without allowing the debate to be dominated by political propaganda.