Baltic Sea Cities Unite in Słupsk: Collaboration, Commitment, and a Common Vision for Europe
The XVIII UBC General Conference concluded in Słupsk and Dolina Charlotty after four days of lively discussions, practical workshops, and strategic debates on the role of cities in the future of the European Union. The event, which brought together 200 people from partner organizations, EU institutions, and UBC member towns, reaffirmed the network’s primary goal of creating a more resilient, innovative, and united Baltic region.
The tone was set by two high-level plenary sessions. The Opening Plenary included European and local leaders, such as Magdalena Adamowicz (Member of the European Parliament), Krystyna Danilecka-Wojewódzka (Mayor of Słupsk), Aleksandra Dulkiewicz (Mayor of Gdańsk, Member of CoR), Mantas Jurgutis (UBC President), Dr Gustav Lindström (Director General, CBSS), Henryka Mościcka-Dendys (Undersecretary of State, Polish MFA), Marcin Skwierawski (Deputy Marshal, Pomorskie Voivodeship), and video addresses from Themis Christophidou (DG Regio) and André Sobczak (Eurocities). One thread ran through all of their messages: cities need to be acknowledged as important collaborators in determining the future of Europe.
The second plenary explored cities’ access to EU funds within the MFF 2028–2035, featuring contributions from Kieran McCarthy (CoR), Claire Roumet (Energy Cities), Laura Omucińska (Słupsk), Linda Ozola (Riga), and Henrik Johansson (Växjö). The discussion highlighted both opportunities and challenges for cities in navigating EU programmes.
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Originally published on 7 Nov
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Estonia’s Milrem Robotics, world-leading robotics and autonomous systems developer, which previously made history by raising the largest foreign investment round in Estonia’s defence sector, is not slowing down. At IDEX 2025, the company launched its highly anticipated 8×8 Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) and signed an agreement with Pearson Engineering to develop mission-specific uncrewed ground vehicles for the MENA region.
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Originally published on 17 Feb
The Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) is inviting proposals for projects that will enhance societal resilience, safety, collaboration and trust within the Baltic Sea Region under its Project Support Facility (PSF) 2025 call. Applications will be accepted until 31 March 2025.
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Originally published on 17 Feb
Invalda INVL Group today announces that it has successfully completed a first closing of its second-generation private equity fund (“INVL Private Equity Fund II”), reaching EUR 305 million and exceeding its target of EUR 250 million. The INVL Private Equity Fund II has received strong backing from both existing and new investors, forming an exceptional investor base. This includes some of the most successful entrepreneurs from across the Baltics, family offices and institutional investors such as the European Investment Fund, pensions funds managed by Luminor asset management companies, SB Asset Management and IPAS INVL Asset Management in Latvia, as well as life insurance company UAB SB Draudimas. Fundraising will continue to reach a hard cap of EUR 400 million.
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Originally published on 17 Feb
Estonian entrepreneurs can now apply for support to cover the labour costs of research and development employees. The amount of support is 50 per cent of the income tax calculated on the employee’s research and development-related salary in the second half of 2024 (up from 25% in the previous period).
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Originally published on 18 Feb
The funding call from Innovation Agency Lithuania, aimed at supporting the development of innovative products and prototypes in the EdTech and GameTech sectors, closed on February 6 with an overwhelming response. A total of 184 applications were submitted—125 from EdTech startups and 59 from GameTech. However, only the top 8 projects in each category will receive funding.
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Originally published on 18 Feb
Lithuania has emerged as one of the top countries for business, securing an impressive 2nd place in the Global Entrepreneurship Index, according to the latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2024/2025 data. This achievement positions Lithuania as a global leader in entrepreneurship, highlighting its dynamic and innovative business environment.
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Originally published on 18 Feb
Finland, Sweden, and Norway face similar challenges regarding land use conflicts and the social acceptability of large-scale hydrogen projects, as well as the new energy production and electricity distribution needs associated with them. These shared challenges are valuable to address and discuss collectively.
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Originally published on 16 Feb
Estonian Defence and Aerospace Industry Association (EKTL) in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence, is organizing the first-ever Estonian Defence Week in September, bringing together domestic and international defence industry companies, investors, specialists, and policymakers. The week begins with an event organized by the NATO DIANA Estonian accelerator.
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Originally published on 17 Feb
On the 12th of February, Vidzeme Planning Region organized a seminar “Drone Data Collection and Processing – use cases in Latvia” in Valmiermuiža as part of the “Smart Skies” project, bringing together 50 participants from Latvia and Estonia. The seminar program was designed to introduce the current examples of drone use in Latvian municipalities, as well as share the experience of leading companies in Latvia. Large enterprises, such as LMT and Latvian State Forests have already taken great strides in the application and development of unmanned aviation solutions.
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Originally published on 14 Feb
RB Rail AS, representing the three Baltic states’ ministries responsible for the Rail Baltica project, submitted a funding application on 13 February 2025 under the CEF-Digital program “5G Large-Scale Pilots – 5G Coverage Along Transport Corridors”. The application seeks financial support to design and build railway radio communication infrastructure that complies with the Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS) and provides the opportunity to enable 5G connectivity within the European Transport Network (TEN-T).
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Originally published on 14 Feb