Yesterday, Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) said Estonia's defense spending target should be 5 percent, matching the figure new U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed.

"We should not get stuck on percentage fetishism. We need to think more about the capabilities required and the actual military defense that would deter an adversary, and then assess how much that costs," Oidsalu said on Wednesday's "Terevisioon."

He said if expenses need to temporarily rise above 5 percent during the acquisition period, then the state must be prepared to invest more. The costs will fall later.

Another issue is how to cover this financial need.

Oidsalu pointed out that the junior coalition partner Social Democrats (SDE) were the first party to state their support for increased defense spending funded by additional taxes. However, he added, this would be difficult politically for Michal, given his promise to end the "tax festival" of new taxes. Revisiting the discussion now would be necessary, but the Reform Party must also find other ways to maintain its political image.

Currently, the prime minister is setting the goal and initiating a discussion on how to achieve it, Oidsalu said.

"The whole debate on this topic needs to be more substantive. If necessary, we must go beyond 5 percent. We are in a new situation, especially as we look ahead to the NATO summit in The Hague, which will be President Trump's first summit. If there is any vague hesitation from allies at the summit, Trump might metaphorically repeat what he has done with the WHO and other organizations—not leave NATO, but possibly not attend future summits or bar the U.S. delegation from participating. We can only imagine what signals such actions would send to Moscow," he told the show.

The former top official at the Ministry of Defense's stressed fears of being unable to rely on the U.S. in times of crisis are unfounded, even with the possibility of Trump returning to the White House.

"NATO as a whole remains a vital interest for the U.S. But within NATO, we must take the lead in changing certain dynamics. Currently, most NATO member states, with the exception of Poland and the Baltic states, are still dithering, including the Nordic countries," he said.

Oidsalu believes the prime minister's announcement of the 5 percent goal on Tuesday afternoon was clumsily framed.

"He keeps talking about what Trump wants. We are not doing this because Donald Trump or the U.S. wants it. We are doing it because a new capability planning cycle has begun within NATO, and the Baltic states have new defense plans. Since last autumn, we've known that approximately 5 percent is needed to meet NATO's expectations for Baltic defense. The processes and needs are broader and must be addressed. This is especially true given that initiatives like this have already been announced in Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania," he outlined.

Asked what the average person would gain from increasing defense spending to five percent, Oidsalu said the most significant capability gap for the ordinary Estonian is in air defense.

"We still lack missile defense against cruise and ballistic missiles in the Baltics. NATO has some Patriot missile components in Lithuania, but they are so limited that they don't provide meaningful coverage for the region. We have certain capability gaps that must be resolved to ensure basic defense," Oidsalu said.

Other needs also exist. For instance, the Defense Forces have highlighted the need for long-range ammunition. According to Oidsalu, the current government has only partially addressed this issue — while €1.6 billion euros was discussed, only €800 million euros were allocated over four years.

"For the average person, this also means a more stable economic environment and the assurance of Estonia's defense over the next four years against Donald Trump's whims, because we don't know where those will lead or who will ultimately be steering them," he concluded.

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