German-Nordic-Baltic Forum 2014
On 7th and 8th July 2014 the sixth German-Nordic-Baltic-Forum took place in the facilities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia in Riga. The conference was entitled “Upgrading the German-Nordic-Baltic Partnership in the EU: Common Values, Mutual Interests and New Challenges” and brought together over 60 experts from science and politics coming from the three Baltic States, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Germany.
On this occasion the forum highlighted current topics on the European agenda perspectives for further steps of European cooperation. The discussion focussed on the results of the European Elections 2014, the review of the Europe 2020 Strategy and in light of the current developments in the EU’s direct neighbourhood on the EU’s role as global actor and crisis manager as well as on the perspectives of the Eastern Partnership. The second day of the forum was opened by the Latvian State Secretary Andrejs Pildegoviĉs and Minister of State for Europe at the German Federal Foreign Office Michael Roth. In their key-note speeches they underlined European political priorities and put emphasis on the opportunities for a closer German-Nordic-Baltic partnership.
The German-Nordic-Baltic Forums was organised in cooperation with Latvian Institute of International Affairs and with financial and personnel support by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, the German Federal Foreign Office and the German Embassy to the Latvian Republic in Riga.
Speech of Michael Roth, Minister of State for Europe at the German Federal Foreign Office