Asked by ERR if the government is in the process of reaching an agreement to spend €1.6 billion purely on ammunition, Michal said: "Essentially, no party is opposed to this, meaning that there is support for it. Support exists both within the government and in the coalition agreement. The exact financial allocations across the years depend on how budget cuts are managed and the overall balance of the budget. This will determine in which years and what type of ammunition we will be able to procure."

He also pointed out that the long-range ammunition the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) says is needed cannot be acquired quickly.

"A lot also depends on how the Defense Forces and the Ministry of Defense are able to negotiate contracts over the coming years, and perhaps a longer-term perspective is needed to secure better options and more favorable deals," the prime minister, who is also chairman of the Reform Party, added.

"Once the budget balance is in place and the cuts are determined, the Ministry of Defense and the defense minister will be able to assess and outline which activities will take place in which years. However, the purchase of additional ammunition, much like getting the country's finances in order, is a priority for this government."

Asked if the government intends to find the full €1.6 billion suggested by the EDF, rather than a smaller figure, Michal said: "The funding will be spread over several years. When we were negotiating the coalition agreement, we discussed that our goal should be to purchase as much ammunition for the Defense Forces as needed. This will be distributed across the years based on what the state budget can accommodate and what fits within those financial limits."

The budget is expected to be agreed next week.

Ministers: Government reaching agreement on ammunition spending

On Friday there was some confusion as to what had already been agreed.

Kristina Kallas (Eesti 200) said an agreement between the Reform, SDE, and Eesti 200 coalition had already been reached to allocate €1.1 billion. But later Läänemets pushed back on her comments, saying only that the will to reach an agreement existed, but no final deal had been made.

"What we finally have to agree on is the purchase of €1.6 billion worth of ammunition. If the amount goes down, the amount may be lower, but the principle is that, according to the plan that the Defence Forces have made, this ammunition would have to be bought. This is a decision that the government will have to take during the budget negotiations," Läänemets told ERR.

"This is the will we have. This agreement has not yet been formalized as a decision, because this negotiation process has not yet reached that stage," he added.

Läänemets, who is also SDE chairman, said purchasing ammunition will likely begin in 2026 or 2027.

Earlier on Friday, ERR asked Kallas if the government should allocate the full €1.6 billion requested by the Commander of the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) Maj. Gen. Andrus Merilo on ammunition.

"As part of the coalition agreement, we have now also agreed on an amount of €1.1 billion for the years that this government has a mandate, that is, until 2028," she said.

The minister later clarified that she was speaking about the one-time additional investment in broad-based security, which includes both ammunition and, for example, the costs of internal security.

"As this procurement of ammunition is planned over a longer period, how we move forward from there in the following year will be up to subsequent governments," the minister added.

"Of course, the political agreement for this outlay is still €1.6 billion, but simply the current government's authority to make decisions does not extend beyond 2028," Kallas said.

At the start of this week, EDF chief Maj. Gen Andrus Merilo told the government Estonia needs to spend €1.6 billion worth of ammunition to stop a future war taking place on its soil. 

Former head of the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) Martin Herem said earlier this year that Estonia needs to purchase a minimum of €1.6 billion worth of ammunition to have credible deterrence. This will allow the EDF to strike Russian territory, if necessary.

Due to slow supply chains from western weapons producers, this needs to be procured as soon as possible as it will not reach Estonia for at least two-three years, Herem said.

He also said Estonia is relying too much on NATO and the USA.

But Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (Reform) said the government cannot allocate so much money for ammunition. Approximately €800 million is the most that can be expected.

Earlier this summer, the Ministry of Defence's top official Kusti Salm resigned citing government inaction as the reason.  

This article was updated to add comments from Lauri Läänemets and Kristen Michal.

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