The Baltic Assembly (BA) is a regional organisation that promotes intergovernmental cooperation between

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, and

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. It attempts to find a common position in relation to many international issues, including economic, political and cultural issues. The decisions of the assembly are advisory. The budget of the BA is funded by the three members' governments. The official languages of the Baltic Assembly are Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian. The headquarters and secretariat of the organization are located in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

History

32nd session of the Baltic Assembly meeting in Latvia in 2013

Formation

The organisation was formed after a decision to establish it was made in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

on 1 December 1990. It works under regulations approved on 8 November 1991 in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

. On 13 June 1994, the three countries agreed to the structure and rules of the organization.

Achievements

The BA claims the following as its achievements between 1991 and 2003: *Withdrawal of Russian troops from the member States, *Formation of the Baltic Council of Ministers as an institution of governmental co-operation, *Development of common Baltic economic, educational and information technology policies, *Harmonisation of legislation in conformity with requirements of the European Union, *Improvement of border-crossing procedures, *The establishment of the Baltic Assembly Prizes for Literature, the Arts and Science.

Cooperation with other geopolitical regions

In 2017, the Baltic Assembly, the

Benelux The Benelux Union (; ; ; ) or Benelux is a politico-economic union, alliance and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighbouring states in Western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The name is a portma ...

, and three of the members of the

Nordic Council The Nordic Council is the official body for formal inter-parliamentary Nordic cooperation among the Nordic countries. Formed in 1952, it has 87 representatives from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as from the autonomo ...

(

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, all EU-member states) sought intensifying cooperation in the Digital Single Market and discussing social matters, the

Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union The economic and monetary union (EMU) of the European Union is a group of policies aimed at converging the economies of member states of the European Union at three stages. There are three stages of the EMU, each of which consists of progressi ...

, the

European migrant crisis The 2015 European migrant crisis was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and Human migration, migrants into Europe, mostly from the Middle East. An estimated 1.3 million people came to the continent to request Right of asyl ...

and defense cooperation. Relations with

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

was also on the agenda.

Structure

The BA comprises sixty members. Each of the parliaments of the three States appoints twenty of its members to the Assembly. Each of the national parliaments appoints two of the members to be head and deputy head of the national delegation. The six head delegates and deputy head delegates form the BA's Presidium. The Chairman of the Presidium is the head of the national delegation of the country hosting the next session of the BA. The heads of the other two national delegations are Vice Chairmen of the Presidium. The Presidium controls the BA between sessions. The Chairman acts as the coordinator of the work of the BA, is its representative with other bodies and liaises with the three members’ governments.

Sessions

There are ordinary and extraordinary Sessions. The ordinary Session is convened once a year, as a concluding forum of a country's presidency, which proceeds according to a yearly rotation principle in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Before 2003 there were two Sessions a year – in spring and autumn, and countries - participants had half a year presidency. Any national delegation may propose that an extraordinary session is held. On 8–9 February 1998 in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, following to the 2nd Joint Meeting of the

and the Baltic Assembly, the first Extraordinary Session of the Baltic Assembly took place. The second Extraordinary Session of the Baltic Assembly was held on 27–29 April 2005 in Pärnu,

, following to the 5th Joint Meeting of the Baltic Assembly and the

Committees

The following are the standing committees: *Budget and Audit *Economics, Energy and Innovation *Education, Science and Culture *Natural Resources and Environment *Security and Defence Each member of the Baltic Assembly participates in at least one committee.

Political groupings

The 20 members of the BA from each country are chosen so that their political make-up reflects the proportions within their home parliament. The members may then form cross-national party groupings of at least five members from at least two nations.

Baltic Assembly Prize for Literature, the Arts, and Science

The idea on establishment of the Baltic Assembly Prize was conceived in 1992. The establishment of the Baltic Prize was inspired by the tradition of the Nordic Council Prizes. On 31 October 1993 in Tallinn, Resolution on the Establishment of the Baltic Assembly Prizes in Culture, Arts and Science was adopted. Main aim of establishment of the Prizes was to "promote further cooperation among the three nations, provide new opportunities for exchanging cultural values and stimulate better understanding of the history and cultural heritage of the countries". The aim of the Prize is to support outstanding achievements in literature, the arts and science; demonstrate the common interests of the countries in this region in upholding of their national identity and self-esteem; create an opportunity to learn about the achievements of the neighbouring countries; maintain a continuous interest among the people in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania about developments in the Baltic States; strengthen cooperation among the Baltic States in the fields of literature, the arts and science; encourage more and more people to become interested in the intellectual values and languages of the Baltic nations; and raise the level of literature, the arts and science in the Baltic States.

Medal of the Baltic Assembly

The Medal of the Baltic Assembly is an award given by the organization to individuals that have contributed to upholding the unity and cooperation of the Baltic States, outstanding contribution and cooperation in implementing joint cooperation projects, promoting regional cooperation in an enlarged Europe.

Baltic Innovation Prize of the Baltic Assembly

The Baltic Innovation Prize is an annual award given to the most innovative company in the Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The prize given to demonstrate the mutual interest of the Baltic States to support implementation of achievements in innovation and modern technologies.

References

External links

* *
Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania
{{Authority control Baltic states Baltic organizations Foreign relations of Lithuania International political organizations Parliamentary assemblies Politics of Estonia Politics of Latvia Bottom-up regional groups within the European Union