The delegation from the Estonian Ministry of Defence participated today in the meeting of the defence ministers of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) in Brussels.
The main topics under discussion were the future of EAPC and its role in the fight against terrorism.
The Defence Policy Deputy Secretary General Margus Kolga said in his presentation that the main goal of EAPC was to unite efforts in the fight against terrorism. “Estonia sees three main areas for joint efforts: information exchange, mass destruction weapons reduction and preparedness for civilian crisis situations,” Kolga said. He added that any kind of duplication in the named areas would be ineffective and bring along waste of valuable resources.
According to Kolga the areas would be re-examined and updated after the NATO summit meeting in Prague. “Estonia is convinced that Partnership for Peace (PfP) would remain an important element of co-operation also after NATO enlargement. The new partnership program that enables partner(ship) countries to hold individual consultations with their allies in the most suitable form for them will doubtlessly stimulate the PfP process,” he said. “Estonia has shared its reforming experience within the EAPC and PfP framework with many countries - special mention should be made of Georgia and Ukraine - and is ready to do that in the future”.
Concluding his speech Kolga said that Estonia considered participation in International Peace Operations to be a point of contact where political duties - to guarantee stability in the Euro-Atlantic region - were supported by military contributions. At present Estonia participates in NATO- and UN-led Peace Operations.