NATO: Estonia's capability improvements in line with alliance expectations
Last Thursday and Friday, NATO capability planning negotiations were held at the Ministry of Defense to discuss with NATO the current state of Estonia's military defense and civilian resilience as well as future plans. The alliance holds regular consultations with each member state once every two years.
"According to NATO, Estonia's massive increase of €816 million in defense spending is exceptional within the context of NATO, especially as the size of the reinforcement package is larger than Estonia's annual defense budget," Tiina Uudeberg, undersecretary for defense planning at the Ministry of Defense, said according to a ministry press release.
"In the context of capability development, NATO considers it important that Estonia's capability objectives are fully and properly implemented and we have taken them into account in our plans," Uudeberg added.
NATO Director of Defense Planning Paul Savereux was also bestowed with the ministry's Cross of Merit, Second Class by Minister of Defense Kalle Laanet (Reform). The ministry noted that Savereux received the honor for his outstanding and long-term dedicated contribution to the integration of Estonian defense planning and capability development processes with NATO's defense planning process.
As a result of biennial consultations with each member state, NATO produces an aggregate assessment of how the capabilities developed by countries as a whole support NATO's collective defense objectives as well as assesses the extent to which national plans are consistent with NATO's overall political ambitions.
The detailed assessment document for Estonia will be endorsed at the fall meeting of NATO defense ministers.
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Editor: Aili Vahtla
