Estonia Concerned by NATO Spending Cuts

TALLINN, June 27 (RIA Novosti)

Estonia is worried over defense spending cuts by NATO member states, President Toomas Hendrik Ilves said on Wednesday.

“Allied spending, required to maintain NATO’s defense capability, is a matter of trust in the organization,” Ilves told Knud Bartels，chairman of NATO 's Military Committee, on a two day visit in Tallinn.

Estonia’s defense spending in 2012 rose by 21.8 percent to 341 million euros. The government is under an obligation to raise defense spending to 2 percent of GDP.

NATO has adopted a Smart Defense “austerity” program in times when “each euro, dollar or pound sterling counts” which prioritizes pooling and sharing capabilities, setting priorities and coordinating efforts better.