Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Forum, Legislation, Security

Photo: Estonian Ministry of Defense

Luik took part in the meeting of European Union defense and foreign ministers, and signed the letter of intent along with his counterparts from France, Germany, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal, the Ministry of Defense said.

Macron outlined the idea in his keynote Sorbonne speech on European integration last September, calling for a common European intervention force, defense budget and doctrine for action in contingencies where the United States and NATO may not get involved. France wants to recruit allies that could help share its military burden especially in Africa, where it intervened alone in Mali in 2012 to prevent Islamist militants seizing control of a weak state.

"The goal of the initiative is to cooperate more for tracking threats which might threaten the security of Europe and to develop together the capability to react to crises rapidly," Luik said. He added that it is important to keep an eye on security threats in the South as well as in the East.

Luik also met with his French counterpart Florence Parly to sign a bilateral technical agreement regarding the practical cooperation of Estonian and French militaries as well as logistical and technical help offered by France for the operation Barkhane in Mali.

"The cooperation of Estonia and France in Mali and Estonia in the framework of increased presence of the allies shows that we understand today's security challenges in a similar way and there is trust between our countries," Luik said.

The two ministers also discussed preparations for the upcoming NATO summit.

Luik also said that Estonia, together with Finland and Latvia, is planning to submit an autonomous land systems' project in the second wave of permanent structured cooperation (PESCO).