Baltic Assembly

The Baltic Assembly (BA) is a regional organisation that promotes intergovernmental cooperation between Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. It attempts to find a common position in relation to many international issues, including economic, political and cultural issues. The decisions of the assembly are advisory.

The budget of the BA is funded by the three members' governments. The official languages of the Baltic Assembly are Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian. The headquarters and secretariat of the organization are located in Riga, Latvia.

The organisation was formed after a decision to establish it was made in Vilnius on 1 December 1990. It works under regulations approved on 8 November 1991 in Tallinn. On 13 June 1994, the three countries agreed to the structure and rules of the organization.

The BA claims the following as its achievements between 1991 and 2003:

In 2017, the Baltic Assembly, the Benelux, and three of the members of the Nordic Council (Sweden, Denmark and Finland, all EU-member states) sought intensifying cooperation in the Digital Single Market and discussing social matters, the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union, the European migrant crisis and defense cooperation. Relations with Russia, Turkey, and the United Kingdom were also on the agenda.

The BA comprises sixty members. Each of the parliaments of the three States appoints twenty of its members to the Assembly. Each of the national parliaments appoints two of the members to be head and deputy head of the national delegation. The six head delegates and deputy head delegates form the BA's Presidium. The Chairman of the Presidium is the head of the national delegation of the country hosting the next session of the BA. The heads of the other two national delegations are Vice Chairmen of the Presidium. The Presidium controls the BA between sessions. The Chairman acts as the coordinator of the work of the BA, is its representative with other bodies and liaises with the three members’ governments.

There are ordinary and extraordinary Sessions. The ordinary Session is convened once a year, as a concluding forum of a country's presidency, which proceeds according to a yearly rotation principle in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Before 2003 there were two Sessions a year – in spring and autumn, and countries - participants had half a year presidency.

Any national delegation may propose that an extraordinary session be held. On 8–9 February 1998 in Helsinki, Finland, following the 2nd Joint Meeting of the Nordic Council and the Baltic Assembly, the first Extraordinary Session of the Baltic Assembly took place. The second Extraordinary Session of the Baltic Assembly was held on 27–29 April 2005 in Pärnu, Estonia, following the 5th Joint Meeting of the Baltic Assembly and the Nordic Council.