Today in Brussels on the second day of their meeting, NATO defence ministers discussed deterrence and defence issues in preparation for the upcoming Vilnius Summit in July. Among the decisions taken, the ministers decided to strengthen NATO’s air defence, a key issue for Estonia.
“The essential aim of the Vilnius Summit will be to demonstrate that NATO has decidedly adopted the Forward Defence posture. Therefore, as the most important decision for us, we expect agreement on the NATO regional plans in Vilnius. However, already today we got confirmation in Brussels on another decision of high importance for us – NATO has reached agreement on strengthening its air defence, which will mean air defence rotations along NATO’s Eastern Flank,” said Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur.
Strengthened air defence means that in addition to NATO’s long-standing Air Policing mission, ground-based air defence units will start rotations along NATO’s Eastern Flank. “At the moment, the Spanish NASAMS is already deployed to Estonia. With this new model, we can also start making plans for subsequent Allied rotations,” explained minister Pevkur.
The defence ministers also discussed regional defence plans. When agreed, they will represent a significant shift towards Forward Defence. “Since NATO plans, forces and capabilities must defend every inch of Allied territory in the event of a conflict, we have to agree on regional plans in Vilnius, so that we could start exercising our defence against a possible Russian aggression according to these plans,” added Pevkur.
In addition to the regional plans, Estonia’s expectations for Vilnius also include a more ambitious defence investment pledge, which would allow strengthening defences in the current challenging security situation and at a time, when most European countries have donated a considerable share of their weapons and ammunition to Ukraine. Estonia is advocating for 2% of GDP towards defence to be met by all Allies immediately, with an aim towards 2,5% in the longer-term.
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