Poland
Topics:
- Poland's €2 billion "San" anti-drone defense system deployment
- Russian hybrid warfare including drone incursions and sabotage
- Integration with Wisła (Patriot) and Narew air defense systems
- Political opposition from Law and Justice (PiS) on costs and risks
- Request to lift MEP Borys Budka's parliamentary immunity
- Tusk government's rule-of-law push versus PiS persecution claims
- Implications for NATO eastern flank and EU cohesion
Lithuania
Topics:
- Lithuanian public broadcaster (LRT) budget freeze and political interference in media
- European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) as a test case for EU democratic standards
- Government fiscal arguments versus opposition claims of democratic backsliding
- Russian military threat assessment: 3-5 year timeline for potential NATO confrontation
- Lithuania's military expansion: conscription reform, national division by 2030, and German brigade deployment
- Permanent German brigade deployment (4,800 troops) scheduled for 2027
- Economic sustainability of defense spending and trade-offs with social welfare
- NATO's rotational to permanent presence shift in the Baltic region
- Civil society mobilization: 30,000+ petition signatures and street protests
- "Military Schengen" zone proposal for allied troop movement
Latvia
- Latvia's election to UN Security Council non-permanent seat for 2026-2027 term with 178 votes
- Strategic positioning against Russian aggression and accountability for Ukraine invasion
- Domestic political debate between government and nationalist opposition over UNSC participation
- Latvia's energy transition under EU Green Deal and decoupling from Russian fossil fuels
- Renewable energy progress and EU recovery funding for Baltic state modernization
- Intersection of diplomatic influence and national security in small-state foreign policy
Estonia
Topics:
- Estonia's shift to active national preemption over collective NATO defense
- Visa ban on 261 Russian military veterans who fought in Ukraine
- Proposed expansion to 1.5 million Russian combatants Europe-wide
- Historical Russian threats: 2007 cyberattacks, 2014 Crimea annexation
- Russian military buildup to 1.5 million by 2026 per EFIS intelligence
- Statements from Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna and intelligence chief Kaupo Rosin
- Criticisms from Moscow's Sergey Lavrov and realist security dilemma concerns
- Ukraine war's impact on Russia's degraded conventional capabilities
- UN data on Ukrainian civilian casualties: 2,514 killed in 2025
- Potential NATO tensions and influence on Poland, Baltic states
