Ten European and EU countries have agreed to strengthen cooperation to protect underwater infrastructure. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in protecting critical undersea infrastructure was signed on May 16 at a ministerial meeting of the Council of Baltic States (CBSS) in Vihula, Estonia.
CBSS includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden as well as the EU.
In the statement, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said that the memorandum of understanding highlights the importance of political cooperation between Baltic Sea countries at a time when the Russia-Ukraine conflict increases the level of threat in the Baltic Sea.
It is important to protect critical underwater infrastructure from unintentional and intentional actions, she said.
According to DPA news agency, the Council of Baltic Sea Nations has called for new transportation regulations to take stronger joint actions against Russia's "shadow fleet". The fleet includes ships with unclear owners, used to circumvent Western sanctions.
The foreign ministers of the 11 council members stressed after their meeting in Estonia that adjusting international regulations and maritime law was necessary.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, who chaired the meeting, said: "We have no problems with strength and responsiveness but we have problems with international law."
"We need better regulations to create a safe and predictable environment for international trade and naval activities," Polish counterpart Radosław Sikorski added.
The ministers mentioned the incident that occurred on May 13 when a Russian fighter jet briefly entered Estonian airspace. The Estonian Navy has previously sought to check a tankerser that did not fly a flag.
According to Minister Tsahkna, this move is the first time Russia has officially demonstrated its connection with the "shadow fleet". The European Union has imposed sanctions on hundreds of ships, but the actual scale of the "shadow fleet" is expected to be much larger.
Foreign Minister Latvia Baiba Braze said that about 84% of Russia's crude oil exports, accounting for more than a third of Russia's budget revenue, pass through the Baltic Sea through the "shadow fleet".
The Baltic Sea has been the site of a number of serious infrastructure incidents with cables and gas pipelines, including Nord Stream, since February 2022, which has increased tensions in the region. In recent months, Baltic states have tightened monitoring of underwater infrastructure.
