The eight countries bordering the Baltic Sea, Norway and Iceland are drawing up joint response plans to major crises, military threats, and possible evacuations as lessons continue to be learnt from the war in Ukraine.

Estonia, Iceland, Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Germany, Finland and Denmark signed a memorandum of cooperation in Stockholm this week after two days of meetings on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Swedish Ministry of Defense said experience from Ukraine has shown that temporary movements of populations enable the continued defense of the country while protecting the civilian population.

The countries, which are all members of NATO, want to improve their preparedness for “major crises and military threats and jointly plan how to organize cross-border movement and evacuation if necessary,” a statement from Estonia’s Ministry of the Interior said.

Estonian Minister of the Interior Igor Taro (Eesti 200) said the agreement is based on the understanding that modern crises do not stop at national borders.

Read more: ERR.EE