Riigikogu committee drafts petition on work-related travel between Estonia, Finland 2021-04-14 BNS/TBT Staff
TALLINN – The Riigikogu foreign affairs committee decided at its meeting on Tuesday to put to the first reading, in an amended form, the draft of a proposal to the parliament of Finland in which the wish is expressed to restore the movement of cross-border employees between Estonia and Finland. Estonia and Finland have been working closely together throughout the virus crisis to find solutions to the problems that have arisen. We place great value is this cooperation and thank the authorities of Finland for their help in bringing back Estonian people from third countries during the first wave of the virus, said the chairman of the committee, Marko Mihkelson.
The transfer of Russian troops to the border areas of Ukraine means that there may also be a need to increase defense readiness in Estonia - if so, Estonia is ready for that, Minister of Defense Kalle Laanet (Reform) said on Friday. The international community must also put pressure on Russia to avoid a wider conflict in Ukraine, experts said.
Compared to 2014 and the start of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine, Russia has moved more than 25,000 soldiers and a lot of military equipment to the border areas of Ukraine, ETV s evening news program Aktuaalne kaamera (AK) reported on Friday.
In recent weeks clashes between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed Donbass separatists have intensified and a Ukrainian soldier was killed on Thursday when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the region. Zelensky has reaffirmed his desire to move towards joining NATO.
Estonian Atlantic Treaty Association celebrates its 20th anniversary 2021-02-02 BNS/TBT Staff
TALLINN - Twenty years ago on the day of the Tartu Peace Treaty on Feb. 2, 2001, the Estonian Atlantic Treaty Association (EATA) was founded and is one of the members of the Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA) that consists of 37 members.
The aim of the association is to strengthen the bond between the citizen and the state by helping to grow the willingness to protect and through that strengthen the sovereignty. The Estonian Atlantic Treaty Association is working towards supporting NATO as one of the main security guarantees and to value the contribution of people into the state defense. By now, the civic association has been active for 20 years and consists of approximately 300 members from different fields, EATA said in a press release.
Outgoing Minister of Defense Jüri Luik (Isamaa) said in an interview to ETV's foreign affairs show "Välisilm" that the reserve army model has justified itself completely in Estonia.