The Dean of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy from Tufts University of Massachusetts, United States of America, former admiral James G. Stavridis, awarded the Fletcher School Medal of Honor to President Ilves; the award was established in 1983 as an acknowledgement to leaders who promote global peace, prosperity and justice.
The President of the Republic of Estonia | 21.08.2014 12:27|Read more
At the reception on the 23rd anniversary of the restoration of Estonia's independence, held in the rose garden of the Office of the President, Head of State Toomas Hendrik Ilves commended the Estonian Defence League (Kaitseliit) as one of the key facilitators of that restoration process.
The President of the Republic of Estonia | 20.08.2014 16:56|Read more
If Estonia’s NATO allies decide to deploy additional units, Estonia will be prepared to build new infrastructure and training facilities for this purpose, said Minister of Defence Sven Mikser today at the Festival of Opinion Culture in Paide.
“The government’s approach is that if our allies say what kind of training areas and infrastructure is needed to train interoperability with Estonian units, then we will build it,” Mikser said in a security-themed debate. “We want to be good hosts for our allies.”
Mikser says Russia’s actions in Ukraine have made early warning time in the events of a military attack practically non-existent. “That means that allies’ critical capabilities must be prepositioned by allies on Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian territory.”
As examples of capabilities that allies could position in Estonia’s area, Mikser listed medium-range anti-aircraft systems and staff element that could coordinate arrival of allied forces and joint defence operations. “That would mean that if the worst should happen, the personnel in command of the first units would be here and they would be conversant with the local situation,” said Mikser.
Mikser added that there was no reason for undue alarm regarding Russia’s actions. “NATO is collectively much more powerful than Russia and invests more into developing security. But in planning defence capability, we must be prepared for the worst – then there will be hope that the capabilities will not actually be needed.”
More information:
Artur Jugaste
MoD Press Officer
Tel 58540355
artur.jugaste@kaitseministeerium.ee
Estonina Ministry of Defence | 19.08.2014 17:37|Read more
The Ministry of Defence has signed off on draft Parliament decisions that call for 140 Estonian Defence Forces members to participate in 2015 in international military operations in NATO response forces in Afghanistan, Mali, Kosovo and the Middle East as well as in the EU’s Nordic Battle Group.Pursuant to the International Military Cooperation Act, Parliament makes the decisions on use of the Defence Forces in international military operations. A majority vote in Parliament is required to pass the draft decisions, which are now in the stage of gathering endorsements.
“As members of NATO, the European Union and the UN, it is our duty also to contribute to their international operations,” said Minister of Defence Sven Mikser. “By doing so, Estonia makes its contribution to ensuring international security, but we will also ensure that we ourselves are defended, which is very important in the current tense security situation."
One of the largest missions for the Defence Forces next year will be participation in the NATO Response Force, NRF; to which one minesweeper, a crew of up to 40 active duty personnel and as many as five staff officers will be pledged. Estonia is participating in the NRF in the same numbers this year.
The NATO Response Force is a unit in a high state of readiness that is capable of carrying out military operations all over the world. NRF has a direct connection with Estonia, as ever since Russia’s aggression in Ukraine began, a NATO Mine Countermeasures Group within NRF is on permanent patrol on the Baltic Sea.
It is planned for up to 50 Defence Forces members to take part in the European Union’s Nordic Battle Group. The EU combat groups are military units with a 15-day response time that the EU can rapidly deploy in international hotspots. Estonian Defence Forces personnel are in permanent readiness in Estonia.
Up to 25 Defence Forces personnel are expected to take part in the new NATO mission in Afghanistan, Resolute Support, on condition that Afghanistan will sign the security agreements with the US and NATO necessary for the mission. The new mission is a training and consultation mission, not a combat operation.
The Ministry of Defence is also requesting Parliament to empower it to extend the mandate of 10 Defence Forces members on the EU training mission in Mali and to increase the participation in the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA. At the moment, two Estonian staff officers serve in MINUSMA; but the plan is to up that number to 10 Defence Forces personnel.
In addition, it is planned to extend the mandate of the three Defence Forces members on the NATO peacekeeping mission KFOR in Kosovo and the mandate of six Defence Forces personnel on the UN military observer mission UNTSO in the Middle East. The Ministry of Defence is seeking a mandate to send up to five Defence Forces members to the staff of a potential new NATO or EU military operation, if one is established.
More information:
Artur Jugaste
MoD Press Officer
Tel 58540355
artur.jugaste@kaitseministeerium.ee
Estonina Ministry of Defence | 19.08.2014 17:34|Read more
National Audit Office of Estonia | 14.08.2014 15:01|Read more
At the extraordinary meeting with the food sector representatives held on 12 August 2014, Minister of Agriculture Ivari Padar and Minister of Foreign Trade and Entrepreneurship Anne Sulling discussed the current situation of Estonian agricultural producers and food industry as well as the possibilities of assistance to be provided by the state to help undertakings to survive the sanctions imposed by Russia.
It was found that the situation of primary producers can quickly become critical.
„It is most important to help undertakings to keep the impact of Russian sanctions at minimum level and to adapt to the new situation. Those primary producers who have invested in production are the first to be rescued from the fire,“ Minister of Agriculture Ivari Padar said. „The current situation clearly indicates how important it is to process primary products locally and to find alternative markets for finished products.“
Minister of Foreign Trade and Entrepreneurship Anne Sulling declared that the state will help undertakings to establish direct contacts necessary for finding new target markets, using the network of Estonian foreign representations and honorary consuls. „To try to find new markets, important information can be obtained from producers as they know best where they are able and wish to go with their products. Enterprise Estonia can support producers to organise trips to make new contacts and offer expert services,“ Sulling said.
Efforts to find new markets for food products can also be linked with other sectors. „In long-term perspective, it is in the interest of Estonian economy to find alternatives to Russian market,“ minister Sulling noted.
To handle the sanctions, actions taken will be coordinated with undertakings. At the meeting, sector support measures, incl. the EU common possibilities, search for alternative markets and loan guarantees, were discussed. „All possibilities must be kept alive – we must look for new alternative markets and make sure that agricultural producers can manage critical situation,“ minister Padar said.
At the press conference that followed the meeting, both ministers pointed out that in the current security situation in Europe, solidarity with local food producers must be shown – solutions will be searched by the state and undertakings and each person can help, consuming local food.
The meeting was attended by the representatives of Estonian Food Industry Association, Estonian Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce, Central Union of Estonian Farmers, Estonian Farmers’ Central Union, Estonian Association of Fishery, Estonian Horticultural Association, Estonian Dairy Association, Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and several enterprises.
On August 7th, Dmitri Medvedev, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, announced full embargo on beef and pork, fruit and vegetables, poultry, fish, cheese, milk and dairy products from the European Union, USA, Australia, Canada and Norway.
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Estonian Ministry of Agriculture | 13.08.2014 12:20|Read more