Baltic Energy and Cyber Security Forum

Repeated acts of sabotage on gas, electricity and data lines in the Baltic Sea, coupled with an increasing number of cyberattacks on energy suppliers, have made the protection of critical infrastructure one of the most pressing issues in energy security. On Tuesday, more than 80 experts from politics, business and science in Poland, the Baltic countries, Germany and other European states gathered at the Baltic Energy and Cyber Security Forum at the Polish Embassy in Berlin to share their views and discuss ways to enhance cooperation in the Baltic Sea region. The forum is a new exchange format organised by dena for the first time as part of the German-Polish Energy Platform, which is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, together with the Polish Embassy and the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Polish Ambassador Jan Tombiński opened the event, saying: 'We have seen that dependence on fossil fuels is being used as a weapon. National energy policy therefore impacts the resilience of the entire region. Cooperation between the countries bordering the Baltic Sea is therefore essential.'

In her opening speech, Managing Director Kristina Haverkamp emphasised the need for action in light of recent incidents and the current geopolitical situation. 'It is clear that no single country can tackle these challenges alone. We need stronger regional and European coordination to effectively protect critical energy infrastructure, and dena will support this to the best of its ability as part of its projects".

During the subsequent discussion, Marika Linntam (Estonian Ambassador to Germany), Dr Jasper Wieck (Policy Department, Federal Ministry of Defence), Zbigniew Muszyński (Director of the Polish State Security Centre) and Nemunas Biknius (CEO of the Lithuanian grid operator Amber Grid) provided detailed insights into the evolving security landscape in the Baltic Sea region, including the escalating cyber threats since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as well as the conventional and hybrid threats posed by the Russian navy and shadow fleet. Effective counter-strategies discussed included increasing the NATO presence and surveillance as part of the Baltic Sentry mission, and significantly strengthening networking and cooperation between EU states — particularly those bordering the Baltic Sea — as well as between national security authorities and energy companies. For instance, energy infrastructure sensors could be employed to enhance security in the Baltic Sea.

The following roundtable focused on cross-border cooperation for the physical protection of energy infrastructure in the Baltic Sea region. Forty representatives from industry, politics and think tanks discussed how regional forms of cooperation could contribute to the more efficient use of resources and better coordination between state and private actors, under Chatham House Rules.

Marcus Hicken, the Federal Foreign Office's Commissioner for Foreign Energy Policy, Climate and Security, concluded: 'This format has shown how important the exchange between neighbours is. We should continue and develop this format in order to collaborate at the intersection of energy and the military. The German-Polish Energy Transition Forum in Warsaw in November and the North Sea Summit in January 2026 are the next milestones in this endeavour.'