Baltic Assembly

The Baltic Assembly is a regional interparliamentary organization established on 8 November 1991 in Tallinn by Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, shortly after the three states restored their independence from the Soviet Union. It builds on the cooperative tradition of the interwar Baltic Entente (1934) and serves as the parliamentary counterpart to the Baltic Council of Ministers, the intergovernmental body created in 1994.

Each member state delegates parliamentarians from its national legislature — the Estonian Riigikogu, the Latvian Saeima, and the Lithuanian Seimas — to the Assembly. Delegates work through standing committees covering areas such as economics, energy and sustainable development; education, science and culture; legal affairs and security; and budget and audit. The Assembly meets in plenary session once a year, with the presidency rotating annually among the three states.

The Baltic Assembly adopts resolutions, decisions, statements, and recommendations, but these are not legally binding on national parliaments or governments. Its influence is therefore primarily political and coordinative: harmonizing legislation, issuing joint positions on EU and NATO matters, and presenting unified Baltic views to external partners.

The Assembly cooperates closely with the Nordic Council through annual joint sessions and a long-standing NB8 (Nordic–Baltic Eight) framework, and it engages with the Benelux Parliament and the parliaments of Poland, Ukraine, and Georgia (the GUAM dialogue and similar formats). It also awards the annual Baltic Assembly Prizes for literature, the arts, and science.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Baltic Assembly has issued repeated joint statements supporting Ukraine, calling for stronger sanctions on Russia and Belarus, and pressing for the recognition of Russian actions as constituting war crimes. Its secretariat is based in Riga.