During his stay at the summit of the heads of government of the Nordic and Baltic countries in Sweden, Donald Tusk sailed together with the local Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. The host explained that it was part of a long-standing tradition. The prime ministers of both countries also signed a new strategic partnership agreement.
Thursday is the second day of the informal summit of the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8), which takes place in Harpsund, located approximately 120 kilometers from Stockholm.
The Prime Minister is there Donald Tusk published a photo on social media showing him sailing in the presence of Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. “Thank you for the invitation. You made us all feel at home,” he wrote.
“Since the Harpsund estate was transferred to the Swedish state in the mid-1950s, it has become a tradition to invite guests on a rowing boat trip 'Harpsundsekan'. Today, Donald Tusk and I continued this tradition,” wrote Ulf Kristersson.
Strategic Partnership Agreement
Prime Ministers of Poland i Sweden they also signed a new agreement on strategic partnership between the two countries on Thursday.
As Kristersson pointed out, the new agreement with Poland makes the ties between the two countries stronger than ever before. – Poland's security is Sweden's security – he emphasized at a joint press conference. The Swedish government's announcement indicated that strategic partnership means strengthening ties primarily in the field of economic cooperation, including competitiveness, as well as security and Ukraine.
As part of this first area, Warsaw and Stockholm plan to organize a Polish-Swedish business summit – first next year in Sweden, and then in Poland. “The summit will focus in particular on supporting Ukrainian companies and discussing cooperation in the field of innovation,” it said.
Thursday was the second and last day of the informal summit in the NB8 format, which includes, in addition to Sweden, also Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
As Tusk emphasized, the meeting was held with “full, indisputable conviction” that on key issues these countries speak “exactly the same language.” – It is the first time that we are dealing with such a united but also solid bloc of countries that, in the most difficult matters – and that is undoubtedly the issue war in Ukraine – he thinks exactly the same way – he said.
Recalling that Poland will take over the presidency of the EU Council in January and Denmark will take over in June, Tusk said he would like the time of these two presidencies to “set the tone for the necessary changes in European philosophy.”
The Polish Prime Minister thanked Kristersson for expressing interest in the idea of ​​strengthening security in the Baltic Sea. – We will talk about some form of Baltic Sea Policing. Of course, we still have a discussion about the details, but I would like to thank you today for fully understanding the need to control the situation in the Baltic Sea and ensure security, the Prime Minister emphasized. He also pointed out that any joint actions would have to be part of NATO's activities.
In this context, the Polish Prime Minister referred to the damage to two undersea telecommunications cables located in the Swedish economic zone, assessing that Stockholm's actions in this matter are “in the interest of all countries in the region”.
Tusk also announced that on Wednesday he received information from the Prime Minister of Norway that it takes part of the responsibility for the security of the hub in Rzeszów-Jasionka, through which 90 percent of aid to Ukraine is sent. – It will support the security of this place with its systems – he added, pointing out that these activities also take place within the framework of the North Atlantic Alliance.
Main photo source: TVN24