The Baltic defense ministers held a joint meeting at Ämari Air Base in Estonia on Friday. They discussed defense readiness and spending ahead of the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands.

All three countries, as well as Poland, have already committed to hitting the 5 percent target starting in 2026. However, many members of the alliance are still struggling to hit the current 2 percent goal.

"Together with Latvia and Lithuania, we believe that given the current security situation, NATO allies need to raise their defense spending to 5 percent of GDP," said Estonian Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (Reform.)

The trio also stressed the importance of investing in Europe's defense industry and the ability of EU member states to use the bloc's loan mechanism. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania plan to apply for EU funding for the Baltic Defense Line in the coming months.  

Estonia will chair the Baltic defense ministers' cooperation format in 2025, taking over from Lithuania. The minister also signed an agreement about their intentions.

Shadow fleet sanctions "effective"

Pevkur and his Latvian and Lithuanian counterparts, Andris Sprūds and Dovilė Šakaliene, also discussed the shadow fleet's activities in the Baltic Sea.

They touched on the incident two weeks ago when Russia sent fighter jets to protect a vessel Estonia was trying to stop.

Estonian ministers said this was the first time Moscow had linked itself so clearly to the old and badly insured tankers used to avoid sanctions and transport oil.

"We have reached a point where the Russian Federation has essentially launched a military operation to protect its shadow fleet," Pevkur said.

"This shows that tracking and sanctioning shadow fleet activity has been effective, and our coordinated efforts must be further strengthened," he added.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!