Stubb: Estonia's NATO membership increases Finland's security
At a meeting with Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas, Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb said the fact that Estonia is a member of NATO, also increases his nation's, and Sweden's, security.
He said the Baltic NATO members help to stabilize the Baltic Sea region, Finnish daily Iltalehti reported. The two PMs discussed Russia's actions in Ukraine and defense cooperation between Estonia and Finland.
Rõivas confirmed that Finland continues to be the closest partner for Estonia, particularly in terms of economy and digital cooperation. “Cooperation between Estonia and Finland has been excellent for years and in constant development. Given the post-crisis global economic situation, Estonia and Finland should still cooperate more closely in order to strengthen the economy of both countries and find new export markets."
Bilateral cooperation in the field of ICT is one of the priorities for Estonia and work has been done, for example, with the introduction of the X-Road and the cross-border e-services between the two countries. “At the same time, we have to move forward with connecting the cross-border e-services,” Rõivas said and added that Estonia and Finland should cooperate on the issues of the digital single market also at the level of the European Union.
The Prime Ministers also discussed Russia’s action in Ukraine and its destabilising impact on the security of Europe. Estonia and Finland continue in the direction of deepened defense cooperation – one of the most outstanding projects is the contribution of the Estonian Defense Forces Unit, in cooperation with Finland, to UNIFIL peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.
Editor: J.M. Laats, S. Tambur