The Estonian Air Force (Õhuvägi) has awarded its service cross to two members of its Polish counterpart, the Siły Powietrzne, recognizing their seventh participation in the annual Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) large-scale exercise, Spring Storm, currently taking place, while Poland's defense attaché in Estonia responded in kind, decorating the Õhuvägi's commander.
EDF warns of delays to Hinkley due to pandemic
Hinkley had been originally due to come online in 2025 when it was given the go-ahead in 2016
23 May 2021 • 6:00am
EDF has warned that the coronavirus pandemic could cause major delays to its £23bn Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant.
Talks are continuing between the French state-owned power business and British officials about potential hold-ups caused by the Covid crisis.
Hinkley’s start date has already been pushed back to June 2026 due to a six-month delay caused by the pandemic. It was originally due to come online in 2025 when it was given the go-ahead in 2016.
Questions over the wider implications of the interface between local residents of the Lääne-Viru County town of Tapa and NATO military personnel from a major base just outside the town have arisen following a recent incident which required the attendance of British Royal Military Police (RMP) personnel.
At the same time, the saga needs to be seen in the context of both the usual role of military police forces based away from the home country, and the particular set-up agreed between the U.K. and Estonia.
The controversy may or may not also arise from public perception on how to categorize a military police force as compared with the more familiar civilian police forces, like Estonia s Police and Border Guard Board (PPA).
While Article 5 of the NATO Treaty is mentioned often enough, Estonia also pays vital attention to Article 3, President Kersti Kaljulaid says. The president was speaking in the context of Exercise Spring Storm, the large-scale annual military event which started last Monday and whose progress she saw for herself during a visit Friday.
The president said: Our article, Article 3 of the NATO Treaty, which first and foremost covers self-defense in one s own territory, is covered, while it is quite clear that our [NATO] allies have considered well how Article 5 might be applied here.
Article 5 concerns collective defense on the attack on one member state is an attack on all principle.
Conscription in Estonia should be renamed as a term, to reflect more accurately what an Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) soldier actually does during their training period, defense minister Kalle Laanet (Reform) says. Laanet was speaking after media reports said the Reform/Center government would be making defense spending cuts of up to €10 million, in line with its budgetary strategy. In my opinion, the term conscription (Estonian: ajateenistus - ed.) does not adequately express what actually happens during this time period, i.e. the young person does not deal with any time, but is engaged in training; learning to be entered on reserve lists after that particular time and be ready to defend the Estonian state, Laanet told ERR Tuesday.