The Baltic Council of Ministers is an institution for cooperation between the governments of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, established on June 13, 1994 in Tallinn by the Statement of the Heads of Government. The work of the Council is based on The Terms of Reference adopted on the same day.

The body responsible for cooperation between the Parliaments of the Baltic States is the Baltic Assembly, based on the Regulations of Baltic Assembly signed in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, on October 8, 1991 and operating currently under the Statute, adopted on May 29, 1999 in Vilnius. The Baltic Council of Ministers is responsible for co-operation between these governments and the Baltic Assembly and for overall co-ordination of matters pertaining to Baltic co-operation.

According to the Agreement of Co-operation signed already on June 13, 1994 in Tallinn, the Baltic Council of Ministers and the Baltic Assembly shall, inter alia, cooperate as follows: (a) at the annual joint sessions of the Baltic Council of Ministers and the Baltic Assembly, called the Baltic Council; (b) at ad hoc meetings between the Heads of Government and the Presidium of the Baltic Assembly; and (c) at the level of the Baltic Cooperation Committee and the Secretariat of the Baltic Assembly.

COMPOSITION

3 member countries: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania

STRUCTURE

The supreme decision-making body of the Baltic Council of Ministers is composed of the Heads of Government of the Baltic States. The chairmanship of the Baltic Council of Ministers is rotated among the Baltic States on an annual basis in alphabetical order. Effective July 1, 1999, Estonia holds the chairmanship. The meetings of the Heads of Government are held at least twice a year; extraordinary meetings could be held at the request of any member state.

The Baltic Council of Ministers possesses the power of decision when representatives from all of the Baltic States, with the necessary credentials, are present. Decisions of the Baltic Council of Ministers are made on the basis of the principle of consensus. Each State shall inform the Baltic Council of Ministers of the requirement of approval by their respective Parliaments before decisions are taken.

The Ministers for Baltic Cooperation, usually the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Baltic States, coordinate Baltic cooperation activities at the national level and assist the Heads of Government in defining the general framework for Baltic cooperation.

The Baltic Cooperation Committee is the body coordinating the activity of the Baltic Council of Ministers during intervening periods between meetings of the Heads of Government and between meetings of the Ministers for Baltic Cooperation.

The Committee of Senior Officials is the permanent working body of the Baltic Council of Ministers on a branch-ministerial level.

The state holding the chairmanship is also responsible for providing secretariat services for the Baltic Council of Ministers. The main task of the Secretariat is to secure the functions of coordination and exchange of information between the Baltic Assembly and the Baltic Council of Ministers.

The Main Areas of Cooperation

Economic integration of the Baltic States is developing in three main regional dimensions: within the Baltic countries themselves; with other countries in the Baltic Sea Region; and with the European Union (EU). In this regard, the whole set of trilateral agreements has been worked out. A pre-condition for this development is the harmonisation of national rules with the principles of the Internal Market of the European Union.

One of the goals of Baltic economic co-operation is establishing the Baltic Free Trade Area. This is ensured by the Free Trade Agreement, by the Free Trade Agreement on Agricultural Products, by the Agreement on Abolition of Non-tariff Barriers to Trade and by bilateral agreements on protection of investments and avoiding double taxation. Sustainable development is one of the challenges of the Agreement on Co-operation in the Field of Environment Protection.

The Agreement on Common Transit Procedures facilitates intra-Baltic trade activity. The practical work has been started for simplifying the border crossing procedures on the Estonian-Latvian and Latvian-Lithuanian borders.

The Agreement among the Baltic States on Consular Co-operation has been signed. This agreement facilitates the consular assistance to Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian citizens in third countries.

Cooperation in the field of defense, which is being carried out in the framework of common projects, is considered to be one of the most successful directions of the regional co-operation. As a result of a successful attraction of the Western donor countries, the following projects in the defense area have been implemented and enforced: the BALTNET (Baltic Air Surveillance Network), the BALTBAT (Baltic Peace-keeping Battalion), the BALTRON (Baltic Naval Squadron), and the BALTDEFCOL (Baltic Defence College in Tartu, Estonia).

There have been various meetings of the Heads of Government and the Ministers of Baltic Co-operation, in addition to branch ministers and committees. As an outcome of these meetings, the following main documents have been adopted:

1994: Agreement on Baltic Parliamentary and Governmental Co-operation between Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania; Terms of Reference of the Baltic Council of Ministers; Regulations for the Committees of Senior Officials; Agreement concerning the Establishment and Formation of Joint Peacekeeping Unit; Agreement concerning the co-operation on the States' border guard; Agreement on judicial assistance and legal relations.

1995: The first annual Plan of Action of the Baltic Council of Ministers; Frame Agreement on Co-o--peration in the field of Defence; Agreements on visa-free travelling; Agreement on the re-admission of persons residing illegally; Agreement and Protocol on migration policy; Agreement on co-operation in the file do fenvironmental protection.

1996: Protocol on Co-operation between the Baltic Assembly and the Baltic Council of Ministers; Bilateral agreements on protection of investments; bilateral agreements on aviation.

1997: Free Trade Agreement on Trade in Agricultural Products; Memorandum of Understanding on establishing Baltic Battalion; Memorandum of Understanding on establishing Baltic Naval Squadron; bilateral agreements on social security; Protocol on Baltic Governments Data Communications System.

1998: Agreement on abolition of non-tarriff barriers to trade; Agreement on the Baltic common Transit Procedure; Agreement on co-operation in energy sector; Agreement on the creation of common educational space in general, upper secondary education, and vocational (up to higher education level) education within the Baltic states.

1999: Agreement on the Common Transit Procedure; Agreement on Consular Assistance and Co-operation; Agreement concerning the Baltic Battalion; Agreement concerning the establishment of the Baltic Naval Squadron; Agreement on the Establishment of the Baltic Air Surveillance Network; Baltic Energy Strategy.