Estonia strengthens military - Increases defense spending to 5.4% of GDP
Estonia has approved a four-year bill for additional defense funding of 2.8 billion euros in an effort to meet NATO targets. The new spending will push the Baltic country towards an average spending of 5.4% of gross domestic product by 2029, up from previous levels of around 3.4%.
"We made a historic decision from the point of view of Estonian national defense. We have never allocated so much additional money for national defense in Estonia," said Hanno Pevkur, the country's Minister of Defense.
"Next year, military spending will increase to about 5.4% of GDP, or over 2% in a year, and will stay there for quite a long time," Pevkur noted.
"The four-year average is also 5.4%, and this will give us the opportunity to meet the military capability targets we have agreed on in NATO," he added.
The government's decision to increase defense spending will result in a significant increase in the number of military capabilities, equipment and reserves, as well as more ammunition for the Estonian Defense Forces. More medium-range air defense, additional engineers, long-range reconnaissance battalions, long-range attack capabilities, modern communication systems and additional personnel, among other things, will be included in the new bill.
Official sources explain that the need to strengthen Estonia's defense stems from a deteriorating security environment caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The country's new plans come just weeks before the next NATO summit, to be held in The Hague on June 24-25. US President Donald Trump has long tried to push alliance members to spend 5% of their gross domestic product on defense.
He has also called the 2% targets agreed under former Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg "pathetic," threatening to withdraw the United States from the military alliance if countries do not increase spending.
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