NATO is to deploy its forces at new bases in Eastern Europe for the first time, in response to the Ukraine crisis and in an attempt to deter the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, from causing trouble in the Baltic states, the alliance’s Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, told The Guardian newspaper. According to Rasmussen, the NATO summit in […]
NATO plans East European bases to counter Russian threat Read More »
The annexation of Crimea in late February 2014 raises a number of questions about whether Estonia’s own national defence system is adequate. The military part of the national defence development plan approved last year states that Estonia can only benefit from units that consist of trained personnel and possess the specific equipment and weaponry they
Lessons identified in Crimea – does Estonia‘s national defence model meet our needs? Read More »
The primary goal of any nation-state is, first and foremost, to ensure its own security from internal and external threats. The Republic of Estonia is no different, with territorial integrity and the safety of its citizens ranking at the top of its list of foreign policy priorities. Today, as historically, the most effective way to
Estonia’s defence spending: Upholding the NATO commitment Read More »
At the sidelines of the NATO ministerial meeting that took place in Brussels in December, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and US Secretary of State John Kerry signed a landmark agreement regarding cyber cooperation that, except for a few articles recycling press release text, went largely unheeded by both the general public and the (cyber)
Estonia and the US: paving a way forward in cyber security Read More »
Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcons of the Belgian Air Component have today taken over NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission, after a ceremony at Šiauliai Airbase in Lithuania. Responsibility for airspace integrity over the Baltic states was transferred from the French Air Force, who had been on duty since April 30 this year. This is the
Belgium takes over NATO Baltic air mission Read More »
The Nordic and Baltic states are increasingly worried about Russia. Discussing NATO membership in Sweden is a bit like discussing sex at a church youth club. Everyone agrees the subject is important, but you have to tiptoe round some taboos. I have just been in Stockholm courtesy of the terrific Free World Forum, run by the
Cold War in the north Read More »
In rejecting the asylum plea of Omar, an interpreter who worked with Estonian troops in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, the Estonian government this week thumbed its nose at pretty much everything that’s been going for it in recent history. Admittedly, it may have thought itself in good company after the British government took a
Ahto Lobjakas: Estonia’s betrayal of Omar, the Pashtun interpreter Read More »
Every few years, the U.S. National Intelligence Council (NIC) publishes studies of how the world might evolve over the next two decades. Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds, released in December 2012, is the latest such iteration. Its four scenarios include one in which the United States turns inward and economic globalisation stagnates (“Stalled Engines”); one in
Forecasting the Baltics’ future security environment Read More »
The European IT Agency has been called the biggest IT challenge for the entire European Union. What does the agency do, how did it come to reside in Estonia and what is the meaning of such an institution for the local entrepreneurial environment? In December 2012, the European Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems
EU’s IT Agency sets up in Estonia Read More »
By Toomas Hendrik Ilves, President of Estonia, on the 95th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia in Tallinn, 24 February 2013. Today, on the 95th anniversary of Estonia, the thought of independence has, once again, become natural. It neither requires interpretation nor explanation because it is a basic truth. Just as freedom is no longer
President Ilves: Estonia is like a wild strawberry Read More »
