The Baltic interior ministers have signed a memorandum aimed at strengthening regional cooperation in cross-border evacuations planning, developing joint mass evacuation plans, and ensuring the timely exchange of information.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have pledged to cooperate in the event that a large-scale evacuation is required across the region. This includes sharing data on evacuation capacities, potential evacuation corridors, and border crossing points, Lithuania's Interior Ministry said Friday.
The countries also aim to further develop the necessary tools and resources to support evacuations, with a particular focus on assisting vulnerable groups.
“It is important for the Baltic states to take a unified approach and coordinate actions in the event of threats to ensure the safety of our people – especially if large-scale evacuations are needed,” said Interior Minister Vladislavas Kondratovičius.
“It is crucial to have clear protocols and rapid information sharing to implement effective preventive, preparedness and mitigation measures, as well as to ensure coordinated public communication, so as to avoid impulsive behaviour both in preparing for and responding to crises,” he added.
The memorandum comes amid heightened regional concerns over security, energy infrastructure, and hybrid threats, with the Baltic states seeking closer coordination both among themselves and with broader EU partners.
In late May, the interior ministers and civil protection officials from eight EU countries – Belgium, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden – issued a joint declaration in Brussels calling for urgent action to bolster civil protection, emergency preparedness and resilience at both national and EU levels.
The joint declaration stressed that national security depends not only on military capabilities, but also on the readiness of internal security systems and their ability to maintain stability, anticipate, respond to, and withstand various crises.
