Baltic States and Poland seek EU funding for Baltic Defence Line

The defence ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland met on Friday in Daugavpils to discuss the possible financing of the Baltic Defence Line from the European Union budget.

"The Baltic Defence Line initiative has gotten off to a good start because the need is shared among the allies in the Baltic Sea region. For us, it is extremely important to coordinate our activities with Poland, but we also see potential for cooperation with northern allies, especially Finland. The need for a defence line stems from the security situation and supports NATO's new forward defence concept. At the same time, it strengthens the security of the European Union and the military defence of its borders, which is why we clearly see that the European Union could also financially support the project," said Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur.

Earlier this year, the defence ministers signed an agreement, under which Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania will establish a defence line along their borders with Russia and Belarus in the coming years. The line will consist of various defensive structures with the aim of deterring and, if necessary, defending against military threats. On 18 May, Poland announced a similar project called the Eastern Shield. In parallel, the European Union is considering joint defence initiatives aimed at enhancing the security of its member states. During the meeting, the defence ministers also received an overview of Ukraine's experience in building defensive structures and visited Latvia's defence installations in the Silene region.

The establishment of the Baltic Defence Line in Estonia is planned in three stages. In the first two stages, 40 support points and 12 storage areas with full infrastructure will be constructed. In the third stage, eight additional support points will be built. The concept for these defensive structures follows the agreement made at the NATO Summit in Madrid, which emphasizes that allies must be defended from the first meter, in line with the new regional defence plans. The Baltic Defence Line is essentially a complex of obstacle and field fortification measures designed to support the activities of defensive units at support points, with the goal of halting the advance of aggression forces if necessary. These elements will be dispersed in the landscape, taking into account both the enemy's movements and environmental analysis, as well as the battle plans of the Defence Forces.

The Estonian Centre for Defence Investment has currently signed contracts for the procurement of barrier materials such as cutting wire and dragon's teeth, and the development process for bunker prototypes is underway.

Joint statement(PDF)(81.5 KB, PDF) and photos from the meeting.

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