Today in Brussels, NATO defence ministers discussed the alliance’s regional plans and their executability. At the NATO-Ukraine Council, the focus was on practical steps for approaching Ukraine to NATO membership.
“We are on track with the regional plans and, if needed, they are executable already now. At the same time, we need to significantly increase defence investments in NATO member states, because the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has exposed decades of underinvestment into defence. This cannot continue. We have to have all the necessary units, equipped and armed, with ammunition, logistics and all that is needed to not only defend ourselves but also send Russia a clear message – an attack on NATO is not even worth considering,” said Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur.
“Estonia has raised defence spending to over 3% of our gross domestic product. Presumably nearly 20 NATO member states will reach at least 2%, however, it is also important for all allies to go beyond that. In the current security environment, 2% is the floor for defence spending. We must all do more for raising our own defence capabilities and for boosting the defence industry production capacity. This is only possible if significant, multi-year orders are made,” added Minister of Defence Pevkur.
Held for the second time, at the NATO-Ukraine Council meeting, the ministers discussed practical steps for approaching Ukraine to NATO membership. The defence ministers agreed on establishing a NATO-Ukraine analysis and education centre, which is an important step for both analysing lessons learned from the Russian war in Ukraine and for approaching Ukraine to NATO.
The new NATO regional plans were approved in summer 2023 at the Vilnius Summit. These plans are based on the NATO Forward Defence principle – to defend all NATO allies and their territories from the first second and centimetre. The execution of these plans significantly strengthens Estonian security.
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