The Trilateral military cooperation of the Baltic states in the "new normal" security landscape

ENNotwithstanding their differences, the Baltic States’ geographical proximity, common recent history, political, economic and societal links, as well as almost identical national security landscape serve as reasons for cooperation across different fields now and in the future. Military cooperation will not be an exception – not only due to current intraregional realities but also because of the allies’ external pressures as they treat the Baltic States as a single space of operations. It is also not likely that Russia would change its political and military posture in the region, whereas NATO allies could revise their current assurance measures, the Enhanced Forward Presence among them, if Russia were to avoid visible confrontations and provocations over the coming years. In these circumstances, the Baltic States should reassess the importance of their trilateral Baltic cooperation. In the view of the authors of this chapter, the Baltic States should strengthen their current initiatives and expand cooperation to others. One such field is common procurement, the lack of which leaves significant room for overly sceptical assessments of the Baltic States’ cooperation, given the symbolism and visual significance of the assets procured. Apart from that, the authors suggest that the institutions of the three countries should consider the creation of a multinational divisional-level headquarters, to add a multi-vector political dimension to the trilateral exercises, to join efforts in defence research and innovation, as well as to further enhance the engagement in military education and science that is already in effect.