Estonia's foreign intelligence budget to grow next year
The budget of the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service (EFIS) will grow by more than 10 percent next year, with the broader intelligence and early warning field growing by roughly as much.
The EFIS budget is set to grow from €32.92 million this year to €37.078 in 2024 for an increase of €4.158 million or 12.6 percent.
The total volume of the 2024 draft budget's "Intelligence and Early Warning" program, which also caters to the Estonian Defense Forces Intelligence Center, totals €57.846 million, up from €51.513 million in 2023 (12.3 percent).
Roland Murof, press representative for the Ministry of Defense, pointed to the wider security situation. "Developing intelligence collection and analysis capacity, as well as communications, is key for ensuring necessary early warning for Estonia and our NATO allies, especially in the current security situation. We cannot comment in any more detail," Murof said.
EFIS is funded from two programs in the state budget. The aim of the "Military National Defense and Deterrence" program is to prevent attacks against Estonia and ensure Estonia can defend itself against foreign threats. The program also covers the Ministry of Defense, Estonian Defense Forces, Center for Defense Investments, Defense Resources Agency, Defense League and the Estonian War Museum.
The "Intelligence and Early Warning" program prioritizes maximally early detection of foreign threats against Estonia and the other Baltic countries. Necessary actions are the purview of EFIS and the EDF Intelligence Center, while no further details are included in the draft budget's explanatory memo.
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Editor: Mait Ots, Marcus Turovski
