The week-long Coherent Resilience 2026 Northeast Tabletop Exercise (CORE 26-NE) concluded on Friday, 13 November, in Lithuania, with a Distinguished Visitors Day bringing together senior representatives from Lithuania, NATO and the European Commission. The event provided an opportunity to review the exercise scenario, discuss key findings and hear participants present the results of their work.
Held from 9 to 13 November, CORE 26-NE brought together more than 100 participants from NATO Allies and Partner nations. Focusing on NATO’s north-eastern flank, particularly Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, the exercise addressed regional energy security challenges through scenario-based discussions and practical collaboration.
Throughout the week, participants examined interdependencies between electricity and gas networks, vulnerabilities in energy supply chains, and ways to strengthen the protection and resilience of critical energy infrastructure.
High-Level Engagement and Presentation of Exercise Findings
The Distinguished Visitors Day marked the culmination of the exercise, offering a platform to present its outcomes and exchange views on the energy security challenges facing NATO’s north-eastern flank.
The programme opened with welcome remarks by Colonel Gytis Kazokas, Director of the NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence; Karolina Štelmokaitė, Vice-Minister of Energy of Lithuania; Jean-Charles Ellermann-Kingombe, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Cyber and Digital Transformation; and Piotr Szymański, Director of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre.
Reflecting on the purpose and value of the exercise, Colonel Gytis Kazokas emphasised the importance of bringing together experts and practitioners to assess the evolving energy security environment, identify challenges and explore potential solutions.
“The aim of CORE 26-NE is to bring together experts from the energy security community, assess the situation in the energy sector, raise important questions and discuss possible solutions. One of the main benefits is identifying unanswered questions – the homework that still needs to be done,” said Colonel Kazokas.
Following a presentation of the exercise scenario, representatives of the four syndicates presented their findings to senior decision-makers, outlining the key challenges identified, proposed approaches and the importance of coordinated action in strengthening regional energy resilience.
CORE 26-NE Key Takeaways
The discussions and syndicate presentations highlighted several important areas for strengthening regional energy security:
- Enhanced coordination: Opportunities to improve cooperation among NATO Allies and Partners, government authorities, military organisations and commercial energy operators.
- Information sharing and mutual assistance: The need to strengthen information exchange, cross-border mutual assistance and supply-chain resilience.
- Crisis preparedness and response: The importance of clear crisis decision-making authorities, coordinated infrastructure protection and restoration procedures, and continuity of operations.
- Preparedness for evolving threats: Increasingly complex threat conditions underline the need for continuous attention, regular education, training and exercise cycles.
- Technological innovation: Opportunities to explore innovative technological solutions to address emerging energy security challenges.
- Cross-border resilience: The importance of understanding interdependencies, ensuring emergency communications and coordinating responses to disruptions across national borders.
Through its scenario-based approach and multinational cooperation, CORE 26-NE contributed to advancing regional energy resilience as an essential element of collective security and defence.
The exercise was jointly organised by the NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence (NATO ENSEC COE), the NATO Headquarters Cyber and Digital Transformation Division, and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC).
TTX CORE 26-NE Photo Gallery
