Council of the Baltic Sea States

16/06/2026

Do you want to explore how diverse communities build trust, resilience, and cooperation in a changing world? The CBSS invites applications for the second edition of the CBSS Summer University 2026: “Minorities and Societal Resilience around the Baltic”, taking place from 2–8 August 2026 at the Knivsberg Educational Centre in Denmark.

Join students and scholars from across the for a unique week of interdisciplinary learning, intercultural exchange, and hands-on collaboration. Together, participants will explore minority rights, coexistence, conflict transformation, and societal resilience through expert lectures, discussions, field studies, and collaborative podcast production in the unique setting of the Danish–German border region.

📅 Application deadline: 1 July 2026
🔗 Learn more and apply now: https://cbss.org/2026/06/15/call-for-applications-cbss-summer-university-2026-on-minorities-and-societal-resilience-around-the-baltic/

15/06/2026

We are proud to join the new Interreg Baltic Sea Region-funded project platform, , which supports cities in developing more participatory, creative, and people-centred approaches to urban development.

Running from June 2026 to December 2028, the project will help cities address challenges such as climate change, social fragmentation, and declining trust in public institutions through culture, creativity, and civic participation.

Learn more: https://cbss.org/projects-cbss/future-cities/

Today, our five brand new project platforms have officially kicked off! 🎊

Warmest welcome to Innovate Together, Future Cities, CirCan, Symbioter and BalticBlue! 🎉

Why so special? Project platforms are not ordinary projects. As operations of strategic importance, they strongly contribute to the Programme’s success, and demonstrate powers in consolidating project results from EU and national programmes for efficient knowledge transfer, policy impacts & systemic change across . That’s capitalisation in action!

Stay tuned for more info!

EU REGIO Interreg

15/06/2026

Shared responsibility for children’s safety does not stop at national borders.

This is precisely the purpose of the Expert Group on Children at Risk, which operates within the Council of the Baltic Sea States. ⤵️

📌 Its aim is to strengthen the protection of children and their rights in the Baltic Sea region, particularly those who are at risk of violence, abuse, neglect or exclusion.

The Group’s Strategy for 2025–2030 focuses on four priorities:
🔸 promoting coordinated support for children who are victims of or witnesses to violence
🔸 a childhood free from violence – preventing and combating all forms of violence against children
🔸 preventing and combating sexual violence against children
🔸 promoting children’s rights to non-discrimination, equal opportunities and participation

12/06/2026

🌊 Security in the Baltic Sea region does not begin when a crisis occurs.

It is built long beforehand — through trust, cooperation and shared preparedness.

Climate change, the pandemic and the war on the region’s borders have shown that threats are becoming increasingly complex and interconnected. That is why a common culture of civil security is so important ➡️ prevention, preparedness, rapid response and resilience.

This is precisely the purpose of the CBSS Civil Protection Network — a cooperation platform that brings together national civil protection and civil defence authorities, fire and rescue services, and emergency management agencies from across the region.

🚨 Workshops, exercises and joint projects help build the capabilities and relationships that prove crucial when time is of the essence.

12/06/2026

📆 On 10 June 2026, Deputy Foreign Minister Artur Harazim participated in the seminar “Security and Political Cooperation in the Baltic Sea States and Beyond”, held under 🇵🇱 Presidency of the Council of the Baltic Sea States.

During the panel discussions, participants reviewed, among other things, the achievements of 🇵🇱 Presidency in strengthening the organization’s activities aimed at:
🔹 combating the shadow fleet
🔹 protecting critical infrastructure
🔹 countering other hybrid threats from Russia

Participants emphasized that Poland had elevated the CBSS to a higher level of cooperation in the field of security. 🛡️

🇮🇸 Iceland’s Presidency of the CBSS will begin on 1 July 2026.

📆 10 czerwca 2026 r. wiceminister Artur Harazim wziął udział w seminarium w ramach 🇵🇱 prezydencji w Radzie Państw Morza Bałtyckiego „Bezpieczeństwo i współpraca polityczna w państwach Morza Bałtyckiego i poza nim”.

Wydarzenie zostało zorganizowane przez Ambasada RP w Reykjaviku/Pólska Sendiráðið í Reykjavík, Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych Islandii oraz stowarzyszenie Vardberg.

Seminarium rozpoczęli ministrowie spraw zagranicznych 🇵🇱 i 🇮🇸, wśród panelistów poza Ministrem Arturem Harazimem znaleźli się m.in. Dyrektor Generalna MSZ Islandii oraz Dyrektor Generalny Sekretariatu RPMB.

Podczas paneli omówiono m. in. osiągnięcia 🇵🇱 prezydencji w RPMB w obszarze wzmocnienia aktywności organizacji na rzecz:
🔹 zwalczania floty złomu
🔹 ochrony infrastruktury krytycznej
🔹przeciwdziałania innym zagrożeniom hybrydowym ze strony Rosji

Uczestnicy podkreślali, że Polska wyniosła RPMB na wyższy poziom współpracy w obszarze bezpieczeństwa. 🛡️

Prezydencja Islandii w RPMB rozpoczyna się 1 lipca 2026 r. 🇮🇸

12/06/2026

Our Youth Policy Officer, Aline Mayr, joined a Citizens' Dialogue at the launch of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Baltic Sea Days (MV-Ostseetage), alongside Minister Bettina Martin and Dr Sven Hille of the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW). She notably discussed youth participation in policy-making and youth mobility, among other youth-related topics. The event also marked the publication of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s Baltic Sea Report 2026 and the launch of the new Baltic Sea portal, part of the state's new Baltic Sea Region strategy.

11/06/2026

Strengthening preparedness in the Baltic Sea region requires cooperation, effective coordination, and the engagement of society as a whole. 🫱🏻‍🫲🏼

Five priorities of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the Baltic Sea States in strengthening regional preparedness:
🔹 building community partnerships – engaging young people and volunteer organizations,
🔹 large-scale evacuation planning,
🔹 Host Nation Support (HNS) – providing logistical and organizational support by the host country to allied NATO forces on its territory,
🔹 civil-military cooperation,
🔹 strengthening psychological resilience – providing psychological support for professionals involved in civil protection.

Preparing the region for large-scale population movements is of critical importance.

🇵🇱 Poland’s experience in 2022 demonstrated how essential common evacuation planning standards and cross-border cooperation are.

The Polish Presidency of the CBSS also highlights the importance of civil-military cooperation in crisis management. A better understanding of the roles and capabilities of both communities enables a more effective response to emergencies and crisis situations. 🚨

09/06/2026

The CBSS Expert Group on Sustainable Maritime Economy ( ) met on 8–9 June 2026 at the Offshore Centre of Gdynia Maritime University in Poland, near Gdańsk. The final EGSME meeting under the Polish Presidency notably focused on green shipping corridors and a digital twin of the Baltic Sea.

09/06/2026

The Swedish Institute-funded RiA-ENGAGE project recently brought together practitioners, experts, and project partners from across the and Ukraine for a study visit to Sweden focused on strengthening cooperation in crisis preparedness and emergency response.

From a national exercise on emergency drinking water supply to regional volunteer training on forest fire response, participants explored how effective collaboration between authorities and volunteers enhances resilience and preparedness at all levels.

The insights and experiences gathered during the visit will help shape a RiA-ENGAGE cooperation model designed to support stronger partnerships between authorities, volunteers, and volunteer organisations across the region.

Read more: https://cbss.org/2026/06/03/strengthening-cooperation-between-authorities-and-volunteers-ria-engage-study-visit-in-sweden/

📷 Hendrik Tali, Päästeliit


Svenska institutet

05/06/2026

Readiness, cooperation and resilience across borders are the cornerstones of security today. 🛡️

Poland is strengthening the Baltic Sea region’s capacity to respond to threats by engaging not only public institutions, but society as a whole.

🚫 A key part of these efforts is tackling human trafficking — from identifying cases of forced labour and developing local and regional task forces to delivering practical training for relevant institutions.

🙇🏻‍♀️ The protection of children is a particular priority: improving the identification of victims, supporting families and foster care services, and providing assistance to minors and young foreign nationals.

🛜 Equally important is addressing online threats through education for children and professionals, as well as examining how emerging technologies, including AI, can help prevent the recruitment and exploitation of children by criminal networks.