Member and observer states
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Poland and the European Union participate in the work of the Council of the Baltic Sea States.
The United States, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine, Hungary, and the United Kingdom have observer status.
Cooperation
Cooperation takes place mainly through political dialogue and joint projects in areas such as border and rescue cooperation, fight against human trafficking and organised crime, sustainable maritime economy, child protection, youth, education, culture, research and development.
Networking and practical joint activities help to build contacts, foster mutual understanding and trust, and ensure stability.
Projects
The added value and project-based nature of the activities of the Council of the Baltic Sea States are important for Estonia. In 2012, a project fund was established at the Council of the Baltic Sea States, which helps to finance sustainable cooperation projects in the Baltic Sea Region. Over 60 projects have been supported over the years. The size of the fund in 2024 is 300 000 euros.
The Council of the Baltic Sea States also contributes to the implementation of the Baltic Sea Strategy projects of the European Union, cooperates with numerous regional organisations and strategic partners, and brings together national experts in various sectoral networks.
Vihula Declaration
The Vihula Declaration was adopted at the 22nd CBSS Ministerial Session on 16 May 2025. It welcomed the Report of the Future of the CBSS by Mr. Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Gabrielius Landsbergis with an emphasis on the need to significantly reform the CBSS in order to effectively meet the challenges of the new security environment. The declaration condemns Russia’s illegal, unjustified and provoked war of aggression against Ukraine, a CBSS Observer State and calls for further stepping up pressure on Russia and its accomplice Belarus to weaken Russia’s capacity to continue waging its war of aggression.
The declaration highlights the threats posed by Russia’s use of the so-called shadow fleet to the security in the Baltic Sea Region, including to underwater infrastructure. It also refers to the policy recommendations of the CBSS Youth Ministerial held in Tallinn in May 2025 that focused on digital transition, dangers of radicalization and increasing youth participation.
CBSS Presidency
The work of the Council of the Baltic Sea States is chaired annually by the rotating presidency. The 2024–2025 presidency was held by Estonia. Poland will chair the Council of the Baltic Sea States from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026.
Estonian Presidency proceeded from the principle of continuity and thus built its activities on the achievements of the preceding presidencies. The main platform for political dialogue was a meeting of the Foreign Ministers. Practical co-operation was based on the long-term priorities of the CBSS (Regional Identity, Safe and Secure Region and Sustainable and Prosperous Region).
Taking into account the changing security environment of the Baltic Sea region, the cross-cutting themes of the Estonian Presidency were:
- strengthening resilience;
- sustainability
Estonia continued its strong support to Ukraine also through our CBSS Presidency and especially on areas, where the CBSS possesses substantive competence. In addition, the Estonian Presidency collaborated with other co-operation networks of the Baltic Sea Region (see more below under "Related links").
The full list of priorities of the Estonian Presidency can be downloaded here. The Calendar of Events of the Estonian Presidency events is available on the CBSS web site. The Estonian Presidency was led by the Estonian representative in the CBSS Committee of Senior Officials (decision-making body dealing with the Council’s day-to-day affairs): Mr Tõnis Nirk, Ambassador-at-Large for Baltic Sea Cooperation: [email protected].
Related links
Related documents
Last updated: 11.07.2025
