Events
Linked by Three Seas But Not Yet Connected: What is Missing?
26 04 2024
On 10 April 2024 an international scientific conference "The Three Seas Initiative: One Concept, Different Approaches?" was held at the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. It was organised by the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, The Three Seas Initiative Research Centre at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the University of Lodz.
Launched in 2016, the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) brings together thirteen European Union (EU) Member States located between the Baltic, Black and Adriatic Seas - Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Greece. It aims to foster the region's accelerated development by increasing the connectivity of the participating countries in the areas of transport, energy and digitalisation, strengthening the EU cohesion and transatlantic EU-US ties. As Lithuania is holding the presidency of the 3SI this year, a summit and a business forum were organised in Vilnius.
In his welcoming speech, President of the Republic of Lithuania, Dr Gitanas Nausėda, stressed that Lithuania is proud to take part in this initiative. He thanked the organisers for bringing scientists from different countries together. He had no doubt that this was an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas on this issue. Apparently, countries, so different culturally and economically, need a scientific platform for smooth and fruitful cooperation. In its turn, it will also lead to economic progress. He wished the participants every success and inspiration.
President of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences Jūras Banys also welcomed the participants. He stressed the present political context – i.e. all the countries involved in the Initiative are neighbouring an openly hostile country to the Free world, whereas people in these democratic states want to lead a peaceful and comfortable life. Science is one of the instruments to strengthen democracy and economic prosperity. It is therefore obvious that the countries bordering the Black, Adriatic and Baltic Seas need to cooperate more closely not only politically, but also in science. According to Prof. Banys, more joint projects need to be developed. He hoped that this would not be the last meeting. The tenth conference is planned to be held in Warsaw next year.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Lithuania Gediminas Varvuolis thanked the audience, saying that scientists are of great help to policy-makers. It is great that scientists are part of this ecosystem of the Three Seas. Many different events are planned in Vilnius. This illustrates that the focus on this format proves to be very attractive. It is important not only for science, but also for strengthening public relations. Next year witnesses the tenth anniversary of this Initiative.
The moderators of the event, Dr Mariusz Antonowicz from the Institute of International Relations and Political Science at Vilnius University and Jędrzej Błaszczak from the 3SI Research Centre at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences, noted that this is a meeting place for academics and experts. The research results will be discussed to strengthen the understanding of international cooperation.
Prof. Dr Agnieszka Orzelska-Stączek, from the 3SI Research Centre at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences, in her presentation "The Three Seas Initiative: an original concept for intra-EU cooperation. Overcoming ambiguity" spoke about the different narratives that contradict each other. This needs to be overcome. She recalled that the idea of the Initiative was born in Dubrovnik in 2016. Most of the participants are NATO and the EU members. The aim is to strengthen the EU cohesion. There are also three strategic partners: the European Commission, Germany and the US; two associate members: Ukraine and Moldova. It is important to understand and overcome the epistemological challenges: how is knowledge generated, how to overcome cross-border barriers and what is the state of knowledge? Academia is not very interested in this. It is an ontological rebus. It is not clear what the formats of cooperation are or could be. It is also difficult to get in touch because there are no good connections between countries in question. Thus, there are still many barriers that researchers have to overcome in setting up efficient and effective collaborative networks.
Dr Ieva Gajauskaitė from the General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania spoke about strategic culture, its importance and the Three Seas Initiative as a strategic decision. She also gave an example of how differently American and Soviet strategists used to think about the use of nuclear weapons. This shows the differences in this culture between countries. Strategic culture is a set of beliefs, attitudes, norms and practices that shape how a nation perceives and pursues its security interests. These attitudes may differ between states and it is important to harmonise them. Strategy is a subjective factor that influences threat perceptions. Whereas, 3SI is a vision. It should be kept in mind that Member States have differently developed strategic cultures. It is therefore necessary to take into account the business sub-culture and other regional and institutional strategic cultures as well.
Prof. Dr Paul Dragoș Aligică (Romanian Academy and University of Bucharest) spoke about the importance of institutionalisation in his presentation "Constructing a future-oriented shared cultural and intellectual identity: a precondition and a strategic priority". The priority is to generate identity construction. This is a challenge to our institutional imagination. There is a common enemy and challenge. We are experiencing a process of transformation of different structures. This has already happened in the history of the world, for instance the emergence of agriculture or the Industrial Revolution. Now technology is changing institutions and state structures. Infrastructures, institutional regimes are changing too. The future is one of the important parameters to bear in mind when thinking about this project. To sum up, there are many sociological, military and political challenges, awaiting the members.
In his presentation "The Three Seas Initiative and Estonia after the war in Ukraine", Dr Matthew Earl Crandall, Associate Professor at the University of Tallinn, said that Estonians have been actively contributing to various projects and cooperating with international organisations. They are concerned about energy security and security in general. This initiative could be an excellent opportunity for enhanced regional integration. He pointed out that coordination with Baltic Sea regional formats is needed. In addition to this, geopolitical connectivity should be increased with the trusted partners on board. He sees trust as an essential component. Moreover, resilience is needed, especially in the face of aggressive and disinforming Russian and Chinese actions. In other words, this initiative is a small additional cooperation component for Estonia.
Dr Mihai Sebe from the Romanian Institute of Europe and the University of Bucharest, in his presentation "3SI from Bucharest to Vilnius and beyond: A Romanian Perspective", said that perhaps the most important problem is the various differences between countries. As a result, regional cooperation is not active because of different interests. There is also a lack of knowledge and experience on how to work together. The region has limited resources (demographic, financial). Perhaps this initiative of the Three Seas could help to attract them. Another major problem in Romania is the brain drain. Therefore, in order to reverse the trend, the involvement of not only the US, but also Japan and South Korea is necessary. However, this Initiative helps societies in different countries to understand each other better. Improved strategic connectivity between regions would be particularly important for Romania.
The presentations were followed by a discussion chaired by Dr Ignas Kalpokas from Vytautas Magnus University. It was stressed that a common understanding of the processes is crucial. As this is only one of many initiatives, partners and participants need to find complementarity. And, of course, to build trust.
Prepared by Dr Rolandas Maskoliūnas
Translated by Agne Rodriguez
