Estonia willing to host EU Nordic Battle Group exercise

August 18, 2011 defpro.com

At a meeting in Stockholm on Aug. 15, Minister of Defence Mart Laar proposed to the Minister of Defence of Sweden that a training exercise of the European Union Nordic Battle Group could be held in Estonia in 2013.

At the meeting with the Minister of Defence of Sweden, Sten Tolgfors, Laar said that the European Union Battle Groups are the only force besides the NATO Response Force that are able to respond to security threats on short notice.

“Thus Estonia, by organising an exercise of the Nordic Battle Group, would make a significant contribution to the rapid response capability of Europe and to the development of Nordic cooperation,” said Laar.

Members of the Estonian Defence Forces have participated in the Nordic Battle Group, which consists of units from Sweden, Norway, Finland and Ireland, in 2008 and 2011. The next Nordic Battle Group will be in operational readiness in the first half of 2014.

At the meeting, the Minister of Defence of Estonia also proposed setting up a cyber defence capability to accompany future civilian and military missions of the European Union. “It is time Europe takes practical steps to combat cyber threats,” said Laar.

The Estonian and Swedish Minister of Defence also discussed other topics related to the security of the European Union as well as the defence cooperation between Estonia and Sweden.