Estonia plans to expand NATO's role in border protection

Estonia is planning to expand the involvement of NATO allies in border service tasks and public order maintenance amid hybrid threats, ERR reports.

The government has approved a draft law amending the Defence Forces Organisation Act and several related regulations. The document would allow allied forces to be used not only for military defence, but also for selected internal security tasks in the absence of a direct military attack.

The Ministry of Defence notes that this need is linked to hybrid attacks on the Belarus–Poland border in recent years.

The government would decide to involve allied forces upon proposal from the Ministry of the Interior. Allied troops would operate within the framework of the Defence Forces, including the NATO battle group already stationed in Estonia, which previously could not perform internal security functions.

“There is currently no legal basis for this, except for military defence tasks,” the Ministry of Defence explained.

After the law is adopted, Estonia plans to agree with allies on specific forms of participation. Possible areas include monitoring maritime activity in the Baltic Sea, as well as support in pollution response and enhanced border surveillance.

The government aims to accelerate parliamentary approval of the bill in the coming weeks.

By Vugar Khalilov