CBSS Leads New International Cooperation Project on FIMI

The CBSS has received funding from the Swedish Institute for the FIMI-COHERE project, which is being implemented with partner organisations in Finland, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden.

The FIMI-COHERE project aims to strengthen cross-sector and cross-border cooperation against foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) in the Baltic Sea Region. The project is planned to run from November 2026 to October 2027.

“Disinformation thrives on division,” says Felix Schartner Giertta, the project coordinator at the CBSS. “FIMI-COHERE aims to contribute to a more coherent, less fragmented landscape for countering foreign information manipulation and interference across the Baltic Sea Region.”

Through stakeholder workshops, the project will notably identify coordination gaps and develop a roadmap for future cooperation, alongside policy recommendations for a more coherent regional response. 

“International partnerships create opportunities to learn from each other, develop new ideas and achieve long-term results. Through these projects, organisations across the Baltic Sea Region and the Eastern Partnership countries can strengthen their cooperation, share expertise and build lasting networks. Networks that can continue to create value long after the projects have ended,” says Kurt Bratteby, Director of the Department for International Relations at the Swedish Institute.

The partnership spans academia, journalism, civil society, security policy, government and youth. Led by the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) Secretariat, the project partners are Lund University (Sweden), Faktabaari (Finland), Debunk.org (Lithuania) and the Casimir Pulaski Foundation (Poland). Associated organisations are the Swedish Psychological Defence Agency and the Baltic Sea Region Youth Forum (BSRYF) Working Group on Digital Literacy and Democracy.