The 35th BSPC, which took place from Sunday until today, brought together parliamentarians from democratic countries around the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Assembly delegation participated in discussions on the future of the youth, democratic resilience to cyber and information threats, and Baltic Sea security.
The speech by the President of the Baltic Assembly Timo Suslov focused on the changed security environment of the Baltic Sea, where physical and digital threats are ever more closely intertwined. Damaging submarine cables, signal interferences, cyber attacks, and misinformation that polarises societies show the wide spreading of hybrid threats. The resilience of the Baltic Sea countries depends on our ability to protect the critical infrastructure of the region and to prevent situations where a single incident could have a broader impact on the whole region.
Member of the Baltic Assembly Meelis Kiili, who also heads the BSPC Working Group on Strengthening Cyber and Information Resilience to Promote Democracy, presented the interim report of the Working Group with its seven political recommendations.
The presentation focused on ways the development of digital technology changes the threats facing democratic societies. Based on the work of the Working Group so far, he urged to reduce the fragmentation of the cyber security regulations, strengthen crisis preparedness, and protect the society against the manipulation and disinformation spread with the help of artificial intelligence. He also highlighted the need to increase the media competence of young people and to treat the protection of critical maritime, energy, and digital infrastructure more strongly as a joint regional issue.
The Conference adopted a joint resolution, emphasising the need to enhance the security and resilience of the Baltic Sea region. The countries were called upon to work in closer cooperation in combating cyber and information threats, better protect the critical infrastructure, and increase the awareness in the society about the influencing activities carried out via disinformation and AI. It also stressed the importance of including the youth and preparing for crises. The resolution confirmed the continued support for Ukraine and drew attention to the threats in the Baltic Sea region caused by Russia’s war of aggression and the activities of the shadow fleet.