Finland, Estonia holding Baltic Sea NATO members summit on Tuesday
Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) and President of Finland Alexander Stubb will host a NATO summit on Tuesday (January 14) to tackle the security of critical underwater infrastructure and Russia's shadow fleet.
The meeting follows several incidents of suspected sabotage over the last 18 months that have damaged cables and pipelines in the Baltic Sea. The most recent was on December 25.
Representatives from all countries bordering the Baltic Sea, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Henna Virkkunen will attend.
A statement said security of the Baltic Sea region, especially measures required to secure the critical underwater infrastructure will be discussed.
Talks will focus on strengthening NATO's presence and responding to the threat posed by Russia's shadow fleet.
Look forward to co-hosting a high-level meeting of Baltic Sea NATO countries in Helsinki with @alexstubb next Tuesday.
— Kristen Michal (@KristenMichalPM) January 8, 2025
Our meeting will focus on strengthening the security of the Baltic Sea region and critical underwater infrastructure as well as deterring Russia's shadow… pic.twitter.com/a4U2iA03nq
The summit will take place in Helsinki on January 14.
It comes less than a month after the Joint Expeditionary Force meeting in Tallinn on December 17. The 10 members – Nordics, Baltics, UK and the Netherlands – agreed to impose more checks on Russia's unreliable shadow fleet vessels.
Next week, the UK, Iceland and the Netherlands will be replaced by Germany and Poland.
Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen, Federal Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz, President of Latvia Edgars Rinkevičs, President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda, Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk, and Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson will attend alongside Michal, Stubb, Rutte and Virkkunen.
On December 25, an electricity cable between Finland and Estonia was broken as well as several communications cables. A shadow fleet vessel is suspected of using its anchor to damage the infrastructure.
Over the past 18 months a gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia and data cables connecting Finland, Estonia, Germany, Lithuania and Sweden have been broken.
Watch Rutte, Michal and Stubb's press conference below at 12:15 p.m. on Tuesday.
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Editor: Helen Wright
