NATO's annual summit takes place in Washington this year and will be attended by outgoing Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform), and Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (Reform).

Estonia's priorities are strengthening NATO's defense and deterrence, including increasing defense spending, keeping the Russian threat at the center of NATO's priorities, and providing long-term support for Ukraine, the government has said. 

At a media briefing last week, Tuuli Duneton, undersecretary for defense policy at the Ministry of Defense, said taking into account the decisions for the eastern flank at the Madrid and Vilnius summits, Estonia is approaching Washington from a "positive standpoint."

The country has two main priorities at the summit when it comes to defense and deterrence, she said: Closing the capability gap and increasing defense spending.

NATO has a shortfall of "air defense, long-range fires, and ammunition" which stems from decades of under-investment and donating weapons to Ukraine, Duneton said.

To combat this, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania will push other NATO members to invest in these capabilities and have developed the ACDC initiative – the Allied Capability Delivery Commitment. The Baltics are seeking a "political commitment" from allies to invest in these "critical areas."

"Now is the time to be decisive, to use the window of opportunity that we have," the undersecretary said. "We argue that if we are making these decisions today we will have the time to have those capabilities ready in five years time."

She said Estonia is already doing its part by acquiring IRIS-T medium-range air defense systems from Germany and this procurement was significantly sped up.

Additionally, the government will push for higher defense spending for all members. Duneton stressed that 2 percent of GDP allocated to defense should be the floor, not the ceiling.

"We also think we should already start the discussions on putting the target for defense spending even higher," the official said. "We would support the discussion to set a new target by the next NATO summit in the Hague to either 2.5 percent of 3 percent of GDP."

This year Estonia is forecast to spend 3.4 percent of GDP on defense, the second highest amount in the alliance. Most of the countries in the Nordic-Baltic region are spending more than 2.5 percent on defense.

Ukraine

Estonia is also focused on Ukraine and the alliance's continued support, Duneton said.

The undersecretary said Estonia hopes NATO members provide financial assistance to Ukraine to help purchase military equipment, such as pledging 0.25 percent of GDP to Ukraine annually for the foreseeable future.

Estonia would support NATO playing a coordinating role in the existing bilateral agreements to help Ukraine, drawing them under "NATO's umbrella", she said. As well as NATO supporting Ukraine's armed forces with different capability coalitions, providing a "bridge to NATO membership" in the coming years.

The government also wants to see the "strongest possible wording" signaling Ukraine's future in the alliance, Duneton added.

Kallas: Bold decisions needed in Washington

Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said the 75th anniversary of NATO allows allies to reflect on the alliance's achievements but also make new commitments.

"At the Washington summit, we need to make bold decisions that will guarantee long-term security for our people and the Euro-Atlantic region," she said in a statement.

Decisions about Ukraine must help ensure its victory and pave the way for joining NATO, Kallas said.

"Ukraine needs long-term military aid from NATO in order to win. At the summit, we hope to approve a strong support package of the allies for Ukraine. During the summit, we must also confirm in words and deeds that Ukraine's path to NATO is irreversible," the prime minister added.

Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (Reform) said NATO is and remains the cornerstone of Estonia's collective defense.

"Our defense needs are high and Ukraine requires our support, and for this reason, the upcoming summit should send a message of prioritizing the development of critical capabilities," he said, adding allies must be open to raising defense spending to between," 2.5-3 percent."

While in Washington, Kallas will also hold bilateral meetings and speak at the NATO Public Forum on July 10. Pevkur will take part in a roundtable organized by Politico and Die Welt, and several other public engagements

Both ministers will attend the celebration of the 75th anniversary of NATO, hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden and the Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg.

NATO's Washington Summit takes place July 9–11

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