Prime Minister Kallas: the presence of NATO in Estonia must grow even stronger

Stenbock House, 10 May 2022 - Prime Minister Kaja Kallas thanked the Allies on the fifth anniversary of the NATO Battlegroup's presence in Estonia. The ambassadors of the United Kingdom, France and Denmark and the commanders of British, French and Danish troops were invited to the Stenbock House.

According to Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, the presence of the NATO battlegroup has significantly helped to ensure the security of Estonia. "We greatly appreciate the presence of NATO allies in Estonia and I thank you for the excellent co-operation," said Kallas.

Kallas also highlighted that Russia's war in Ukraine has permanently changed the security situation in Europe, which necessitates the strengthening of the defence and deterrence stance of NATO. "Since the beginning of this year, the presence of the allies in Estonia has increased. We have also significantly increased our own defence spending to enhance our independent defence capabilities, but we require an even stronger presence of allied forces in the Baltic region," said the prime minister.

At an extraordinary summit on 24 March, NATO allies agreed that NATO must strengthen its deterrence and defence stance, including in our region. The next NATO summit will take place on 29-30 June in Madrid, from which Estonia expects real decisions that would strengthen the security of the Baltic Sea region.

The NATO battlegroup in Estonia includes soldiers from the United Kingdom, France, and Denmark. During the Warsaw Summit in 2016, it was decided that the NATO enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) was to move to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland to increase the presence of the allies on the eastern wing of NATO. A NATO battlegroup, led by the United Kingdom, has been based in Estonia since 2017. Today, there are approximately 2,000 soldiers of the allied forces in Tapa.