The 22nd Steering Group (SG) meeting of Policy Area Secure (PA Secure) took place on October 31, 2024, in Visby, Gotland, during the EUSBSR Annual Forum. Chaired by Estonian PA Secure presidency, the meeting gathered members from eight BSR countries and two member organisations with specially invited Ukrainian delegation to discuss resilience and cooperation. The following themes were covered in this short meeting:
Active Forum Engagement
PA Secure contributed extensively to the EUSBSR Annual Forum, co-organising and hosting events on resilience, food security, and facilitating tactical medicine demonstrations by Ukrainian partners.
Presidency and Policy Updates
The Estonian Presidency highlighted progress in presidency calendar events while addressing participation challenges. The Policy Area Coordinators (PACs) shared updates on Secure Kids, BSR NOVA Volunteers Network, and upcoming projects CREWS (volunteerism) and ClimaResponse (urban climate preparedness).
Ukrainian input
The Ukrainian delegation presented the outcomes of the Civil Protection Faculty Project and shared plans for assisting in establishment of a Ukrainian civil protection volunteer system.
Roundtable discussions emphasized need for more inclusive, whole-of-society approaches in civil protection. Finland proposed a research and innovation network for security in BSR, while Poland suggested to include a joint exercise in the next Baltic Excellence Programme on crisis management.
The meeting concluded with plans to explore new initiatives inspired by Forum discussions. The next full-length SG meeting will take place on April 8–9, 2025.