Baltic States – CIS, EU – Baltic States, Legislation, Security

Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Dalia Grybauskaite and Raimonds Vejonis in Palanga. Photo: president.ee

The Estonian head of state, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, emphasized at the meeting with his Latvian and Lithuanian counterparts, Raimonds Vejonis and Dalia Grybauskaite, that the refugee crisis is not the immediate reason for the terrorist attacks in Paris, as the brutal violence and mass murders witnessed on November 13 in the capital of France are the very reasons why war refugees are fleeing to Europe.

"The European Union, with its own population of over 500 million people, is capable of receiving war refugees whose lives are in dire and immediate danger. The Member States must show solidarity, unity and compassion to those who really need our help," Ilves said. "This is something the Baltic states should know all too well, not only in recalling the major flight of 1944, but also when thinking back to the support we have received in recent decades from the European Union and fellow Member States. However, we need to achieve more efficient control over our external borders, which should be more emphasized along the EU's southern wing. It is also important to check the background of individuals to identify those who are linked to terrorist organizations and who are innocent war refugees."

The EU has reached a crossroads; if we choose to move in one direction, we will opt for lost opportunities, whereas a step in the other direction will mean an internally strong and externally influential union, recalled the Estonian head of state, stating: "I am opting for the second opportunity and encourage all of you to do the same."

The leaders of the Baltic states discussed in detail the security situation in Europe which is influenced by attacks perpetrated by the Daesh terrorist organization in Ankara and Paris, a bomb explosion on board a Russian passenger plane and the activities of Russia-supported separatists in Ukraine. "Ukraine still needs attention and support from democratic countries," Ilves said.

Speaking about the upcoming NATO summit in Warsaw in July 2016, Ilves emphasized that "deterrence is our credible policy", and he detailed the importance of joint NATO exercises, the rotating units of the allies and pre-deployed weapons and equipment along NATO's eastern flank.

"This is how NATO can stand, equally, for all the allies," said the Estonian head of state. According to Ilves the unity of NATO is a pre-requisite for all that. "This means that NATO will look for actual solutions for the security threats that concern all the allies and will also contribute to handling those threats, just like we will all focus along the Trans-Atlantic axis on the refugee crisis, warding off the threats of terrorism and restraining extremism."