Estonian Prime Minister Ratas meets Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa

Prime Minister Jüri Ratas i met in Lisbon with the Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa i, as a preparatory foreign visit for the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Besides promotion of the priorities of the Estonian Presidency, the meeting focused on the European Neighbourhood Policy, enhancement of defence cooperation, the fight against terrorism, energy security, the Paris Agreement, and the digital single market.

Speaking about the relations between the two countries, Prime Minister Ratas confirmed that both bilateral relations and the Estonian-Portuguese alliance in the EU and NATO were very good. “If you were to observe the map, you would see that, geographically, it's Europe which separates Portugal and Estonia. This is why I'm glad that Portugal understands the security concerns of the Baltic region so well, and Estonia, in turn, the challenges faced by the Southern neighbourhood,” Ratas said.

According to the Prime Minister, the most important task for Estonia in the second half of 2017 is to maintain the unity and determination of the European Union. “As the holder of the Presidency of the Council of the EU, we intend to continue the asylum system reform and to focus on the Eastern Partnership,” explained Ratas to Costa when presenting the priorities of the Estonian Presidency. According to the Prime Minister, the cornerstone of the EU’s security and prosperity is in having successful and stable neighbours. “We consider cooperation with our eastern and southern partners paramount,” stressed the Prime Minister.

Talking about energy security, the Prime Minister stressed that for small countries, such as Estonia and Portugal, energy security is an important issue because the functioning of the member states and the region depend on it greatly. “Energy systems stopped being country-specific a long time ago - they are trans-regional,” said Ratas, adding that one of the most important objectives of the Estonian energy policy is connecting the country's grid to the European system.

“I am pleased that Portugal is a pro-digital country, similarly to Estonia. We have enjoyed excellent cooperation and also exchanged experiences in the field of e-governance,” said Prime Minister Ratas.

“The closeness of our relations is confirmed by the fact that the Estonian company Pipedrive has established an office in Portugal; the number of Estonian companies that participated in the Web Summit in Lisbon last autumn is no less telling,” said Ratas, adding that the Web Summit has fostered considerable interest in Portugal among Estonian companies. The Prime Minister invited his Portuguese counterpart to the summit dedicated to digital technology, scheduled to take place in Tallinn in September.