PANEL DISCUSSION 7. “The Baltiсs: Dangerous Waters?“

For centuries, the Baltics has been a space of economic, cultural, and political interaction between countries and peoples. The shores and waters of the Baltic Sea have been a zone of power confrontation many times. But battles and wars ended, and competition developed simultaneously with cooperation and mutual influence. Today, in an increasingly interdependent world, there are risks of the Greater Baltic Sea Region turning into a region of Europe, where military and political tensions are growing fastest, and interstate and cross-border cooperation is declining amid mutual fears. Meanwhile, everyone in the Baltic Sea region faces common challenges. The normal system of regional trade and communication has been disrupted, social, economic and, cultural ties that have grown over decades are disintegrating, common environmental problems are becoming increasingly acute and can only be solved together. Moderator: Feodor Voitolovsky, Director of Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Rela