During the meeting with Sanna Marin, issues of energy and secure connections, international cooperation in supporting Ukraine and holding Russia accountable, as well as the accession of Finland to NATO and defence cooperation were discussed.
“We are facing a radically changed security situation and one thing is clear: cooperation between neighbouring countries must become even better and bad connections such as dependence on Russian energy must be replaced by reliable connections,” said Kallas. According to the prime minister, the floating LNG terminal completed at record speed on the shore of the Gulf of Finland is an important milestone for ensuring the security of supply in the region, and the Paldiski quay will serve as backup infrastructure for the floating terminal, if necessary.
Kallas pointed out that ensuring sufficient energy for people and companies at an affordable price is only possible through joint efforts. Cooperation must continue both bilaterally, by building offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea region, and on a wider scale throughout Europe. “Efforts must be continued across Europe to curb winter energy prices. The most recent measures agreed at the European Council, such as joint gas procurements, a new gas price index, and the possibility of agreeing on a gas price corridor, already caused a positive response in the markets. Joint efforts work. It is important that the energy ministers quickly reach an agreement on the details,” added the prime minister.
According to Kallas, the biggest leap forward in our relations is taking place in defence and security issues thanks to the imminent accession of Finland to NATO. “In the future, defence and security in its broadest sense must be at the heart of our relations. This means, among other things, energy security, protection of critical infrastructure, cyber security, and much more,” emphasised Kallas.
Regarding Ukraine, Kallas emphasised that as neighbours of Russia, Estonia and Finland know the real nature of the Kremlin and must jointly do everything to stop the Russian aggression. “We can see that Russia needs a break. Therefore, it is currently pressuring Ukraine to enter into negotiations in every possible way. However, the path to peace is to help Ukraine push Russia out of its territory. Ukrainians are skilled fighters even in winter conditions and will continue to fight for their freedom. Our military, economic, moral, and humanitarian aid to Ukraine must continue and grow.”
The Estonian-Finnish intergovernmental seminar focused on how to further develop the cooperation between Estonia and Finland. Among other things, the goal is to make life easier for the residents and entrepreneurs of the two countries, for example, through functional data exchange, the opportunity to use the public services of the other country, and simplified access to social benefits when moving to the neighbouring country. “We discovered a lot of similarities at the seminar. We have both realised that as small countries, we have to focus on our strengths. Together, we are bigger and stronger. In addition, we are global trendsetters in many areas,” said Kallas.
Possibilities for joint education export, environmental and energy cooperation, and digitalisation and cross-border data exchange were discussed. It is also considered necessary to combine efforts and intellectual potential in recognising the history of the two countries and the development of language technologies.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu, Minister of Education and Research Tõnis Lukas, Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Riina Sikkut, Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology Kristjan Järvan, and their Finnish colleagues also participated in the seminar in addition to the prime ministers. The seminar was inspired by the Estonian-Finnish future cooperation report completed in the spring, which was authored by Jaak Aaviksoo and Anne-Mari Virolinen.
The report is available here.
Photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAfjS2
