Tartu, Estonia - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on Friday discussed media topics including the establishment of a possible pan- Baltic television channel and defence of their airspace at a meeting of prime ministers of the three Baltic states held in the Estonian city of Tartu. Estonia's Andrus Ansip, Latvia's Ivars Godmanis and Lithuania's acting prime minister Gediminas Kirkilas agreed to consider the idea of a common TV channel for the Baltic countries.
The idea was proposed by Kirkilas who is due to step down soon to make way for incoming prime minister Andrius Kubilius.
Details of the proposal - such as the language of broadcasts - have yet to emerge. Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian are all very different. Though Latvian and Lithuanian are related Indo-European languages, Estonian is an unrelated Finno-Ugric language more akin to Finnish.
"Russian channels carry considerable influence, so the Baltic countries could enjoy a informational space for joint usage. A joint TV channel could contribute to this goal," a Lithuanian spokesperson told the Baltic News Service.
The prime ministers also discussed joint defence for their NATO- member countries, including future arrangements for NATO's air policing mission. Without sizeable air forces of their own, the Baltic states currently rely on other NATO members to supply air patrols on a rotating basis.
Currently four US airplanes are based in Lithuania to police the skies.
The existing air policing mandate is due to expire in 2011, but all three Baltic states are keen to extend the arrangement until at least 2018. Economic and energy cooperation were also on the agenda.
