Baltic States Issue Statement Supporting Ukraine's EU, NATO Membership

The foreign affairs committees of the parliaments of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have issued a joint statement expressing their full support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, as well as for its membership in the European Union and NATO.

The Gaze reports on this with reference to their statement on Facebook, published by the chairman of the Lithuanian Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, Žygimantas Pavilionis.

The committee meeting took place on Friday, 6 June, in Birštonas, Lithuania. In the final document, the parties confirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and emphasised that Ukraine's victory over Russia and its accession to NATO are key conditions for a just and lasting peace in Europe.

They also drew attention to the fact that Ukraine's membership in NATO would provide a solid foundation for Euro-Atlantic security and noted that Russia's full-scale war is a gross violation of international law, the UN Charter and basic human rights norms.

The countries' statement listed five key commitments:

Support Ukraine until its complete victory – in particular, the liberation of all temporarily occupied territories, the punishment of war criminals and the implementation of the principles of international justice.

Facilitate Ukraine's accession to the EU, with the aim of completing negotiations by 2030 and acquiring full membership.

Support Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic course, taking into account the decisions of the NATO summits in Bucharest (2008), Vilnius (2023) and Washington (2024), and call for concrete decisions to be taken at the 2025 NATO summit in The Hague.

Develop defence cooperation with Ukraine, in particular by facilitating its accession to the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) as a step towards deeper integration in the field of security.

Increase diplomatic pressure on Russia – isolation in international organisations, expansion of sanctions and prosecution for crimes against Ukraine.

The committees of the three countries also called on other parliaments, international institutions and governments to support this statement and take appropriate steps towards Ukraine's victory, its reconstruction and full integration into the Euro-Atlantic community.

A NATO summit will be held in The Hague at the end of June. 

As The Gaze reported earlier, NATO leaders are preparing to decide to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP – part of this spending will be directed towards supporting Ukraine, which could significantly strengthen the defence capabilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The new spending target is expected to be divided as follows: 3.5% of GDP for direct military needs and another 1.5% for broader security projects, including infrastructure.

Some NATO countries, such as Canada and Luxembourg, may use aid to Ukraine as part of their new commitments to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP.

NATO member countries are poised to include military assistance to Ukraine in their official defence spending calculations as part of the Alliance's proposal to increase defence budgets to 5% of GDP.