Estonia's five requests at NATO summit

Estonia's main policy objective at the NATO summit in Wales on Thursday will be the continuation of allied presence on Estonian soil, writes today’s Eesti Päevaleht.

Estonia will present NATO with five requests

1. Continued allied presence in the country
2. Increased allied presence – prepositioned weapons systems and NATO Staff Elements located in Estonia
3. Improvement of NATO’s rapid deployment capability
4. Specific plans to implement the former, and military exercises
5. Commitments from NATO member states to spend at least two per cent of GDP on defence

According to some analysts, Estonia is among the leading states when it comes to shaping the regional security policies in Eastern Europe, and is therefore in a good position to achieve its objectives, especially in light of the recent Russian incursion into Ukraine.

The allied presence in Estonia has already increased, since the Ukraine crisis started. But this has been achieved by Estonia requesting help from the individual NATO member states, which has then been approved by the treaty organisation. Estonia’s expectation is to get NATO agree on the framework that systematically regulates allied presence and the organisation itself would act as a bulwark against possible threats.

Analysts expect that Estonia will meet at least some of its requirements. NATO’s Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, told The Guardian newspaper last week that NATO is to deploy its forces at new bases in Eastern Europe for the first time, indicating that the treaty organisation is giving the region its most serious consideration yet.