TALLINN, Estonia (CHATNEWSTV) — The Estonian government said Thursday it will redirect €200 million of unused European Union Cohesion Policy funds to bolster national defence infrastructure amid growing regional security concerns.
“Estonia has a large amount of unused European money, and we want to use it for strengthening our defence capabilities,” Prime Minister Kristen Michal told reporters following a Cabinet meeting. “€200 million is a very large amount that will be reallocated from the various activities of ministries.”
Each ministry will be required to submit proposals by the end of May identifying which activities will lose funding to support the defence initiative.
Minister of Finance Jürgen Ligi said the government had received approval at the EU level to redirect the funds. “We’ve made it possible at the European Union level to rechannel money into national defence,” Ligi said. “It’s good to see that Europe is beginning to see the borders of the Baltic States as its own borders and to talk about local concerns as common to all of us.”
While the funds cannot be used for purchasing military hardware or weaponry, they can be invested in defence-related infrastructure, military mobility, and comprehensive national defence measures, officials said.
Following internal consultations, the government plans to present a formal operational programme to the European Commission in the second half of the year.
Estonia has been among the fastest in the EU at implementing cohesion funds. As of early May, the country had drawn down 74% (€2.5 billion) of the €3.4 billion allocated for the current funding period.
Editor: Gabriel Ani
