Estonia expecting agreement on increasing defense spending at NATO summit

TALLINN – It is of paramount importance for Estonia that all allies approve the new defense spending agreement at the NATO summit starting in The Hague on Tuesday, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur and Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, who are representing Estonia at the meeting, stressed.

According to Michal, the upcoming Hague Summit is very important for Estonia.

"The previous NATO-recommended defense spending level has been 2 percent, in the future it could reach 5 percent," Michal said.

"It is in our interest to use Estonia’s example to exert positive pressure on others. If our NATO allies increase their defense spending and investments, it will mean more certain security for us as well," the prime minister said. “I would like to recall that last year, Estonia’s defense spending per capita was among the top three countries in NATO -- Poland was first, Estonia was second, and the United States was third. We will probably be at the top in the future as well,” he added.

According to Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur, it is important that all allies commit to increasing their defense spending in order to finance previously agreed NATO defense plans and capability goals.

"Starting next year, Estonia will invest 5.4 percent of its national wealth in defense. However, it is also necessary to ensure that the additional money directed to defense goes to the right place -- primarily into real capabilities and reserves," Pevkur said. "We will boldly invest more than half of Estonia's defense budget namely in capabilities."

Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said before the meeting that increasing defense spending would also act as a significant deterrent to Russia, which poses the most serious and long-term threat to the entire alliance.

“With a full-scale war in Europe, acts of sabotage on NATO allies’ soil, disinformation campaigns, and continued development of military capabilities, Russia is proving that it poses a threat to the security of the entire alliance in the long term,” Tsahkna said. "To successfully counter this threat, allies must make bold decisions to strengthen their deterrence and defense posture."