The participants in the 23rd CBSS Ministerial Session in Sopot discussed current security challenges in the Baltic Sea region, including Global Navigation Satellite System signal interferences and the need to protect critical infrastructure. Deputy Prime Minister Sikorski pointed to the “clunker fleet” as one of the major outstanding challenges.   

The clunker fleet is not only a means for Russia to fund its bloody war in Ukraine, but also a collection of floating environmental time bombs. We must eliminate them to prevent a disaster. We are solving this problem on the European level. As a reminder, 27 ships were originally covered by sanctions back in 2024. As of now, including through efforts made by the Polish Presidency, sanctions have been imposed on more than 630 vessels,

Deputy Prime Minister Sikorski said, adding that numerous expert reports leave no room for doubt: Belarus-backed Russia is responsible for dozens or more hostile hybrid operations in the Council member states.

Blowing up railway tracks under a moving train amounts to an act of terrorism. Attempts to plant explosives aboard planes are evidently conceived as actions having casualties among their foreseeable consequences. We are dealing with interferences in satellite navigation on a global scale, affecting military operations as well as civil aviation,

Poland’s top diplomat said.

The ministers also spoke about cooperation in the field of the international law of the sea and enhancing the Council’s political and expert dimension for regional security.

An important part of the discussion concerned scenarios of the developments in Ukraine and Kyiv’s European integration process. The ministers agreed that closer cooperation between the Baltic Sea region states and Ukraine, a CBSS observer state, is a key component of a new security architecture.

As part of the event, representatives of the Baltic Sea Region Youth Forum outlined recommendations on the involvement of youth in cooperation within the Baltic Sea region, in the broadest sense, devised during the Youth Ministerial held in April 2026 in Warsaw.

Also, experts from the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) and the Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW) presented their respective reports: “White Paper on Russian Acts of Sabotage and Subversion against Members of the Council of the Baltic Sea States” (PISM) and “Security cooperation formats in the Baltic Sea Region. Recommendations for the Council of the Baltic Sea States” (OSW), an important contribution to the debate on the evolution of the regional security situation and the future role of the CBSS in this context.

The participants in the 23rd Ministerial Session of the Council of the Baltic Sea States adopted the Sopot Declaration. It is a document devoted to the security situation in the region, support for Ukraine, and the need for a decisive response to Russia’s hybrid attacks. For the full text of the Sopot Declaration: click here.

Poland has presided over the Council of the Baltic Sea States since 1 July 2025 and will continue in this capacity until 30 June 2026. On 1 July, Iceland will take over the presidency.

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The Council of the Baltic Sea States was established in 1992 with Poland as one of its founders. The current members include Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and the EU. The Council’s focus is on supporting political dialogue and cooperation, setting strategic priorities and guiding regional initiatives in line with the organisation’s long-term priorities: regional identity, sustainable and prosperous region, and safe and secure region. At present, the Council of the Baltic Sea States runs four main working groups: the Expert Group on Sustainable Maritime Economy, the Task Force Against Trafficking in Human Beings, the Expert Group on Children at Risk, and the Civil Protection Network.