“We stand united in solidarity with Ukraine and condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.
We strongly believe that every possible option should be employed to help Ukraine withstand the fight to protect its national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
We welcome the official application of Ukraine to join the European Union as full-fledged member.
Supporting Ukraine’s efforts on its way to the European Union and granting Ukraine the European Union candidate status as soon as possible would be a powerful and an effective response to Russia’s military aggression as well as to Ukraine’s request for help at this difficult time for it.
We well understand that Ukraine’s struggle is not only for its own future, but for the future of Europe as a whole. Therefore, a swift response to Ukraine’s application for the European Union membership would also mean support for the viability, security and stability of the European Union itself.
We affirm our readiness to provide broad support for Ukraine on its path towards becoming a full-fledged Member State of the European Union and call upon parliaments of other Member States of the European Union to do the same.
We call on our governments and those of other EU Member States to start taking practical steps towards Ukraine’s EU membership.”
At today’s sitting, the Riigikogu discussed draft Resolutions concerning the possibilities to reform the electricity market, submitted by Faction Isamaa and the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction. The Riigikogu did not support them.
The Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Making a proposal to the Government of the Republic” (497 OE), submitted by the Faction Isamaa, provided that the Government needed to develop a plan to reform the electricity market to protect small consumers in connection with the extraordinary electricity price rise due to the energy crisis.
During the debate, Sven Sester (Isamaa) and Jevgeni Ossinovski (Social Democratic Party) took the floor.
24 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the draft Resolution and 29 were against. As a majority vote of the members of the Riigikogu was needed for the draft Resolution to be passed, the motion was not supported. Thus, the proceedings on this draft Resolution have been completed.
The Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Making a Proposal to the Government of the Republic” (513 OE), submitted by the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction, made a proposal to the Government to suspend the electricity stock exchange in Estonia for at least a year and to establish a nationally regulated price; and to suspend Estonia’s participation in the CO2 trading system or the ETS mechanism for at least a year.
Mart Helme (Estonian Conservative People’s Party) took the floor during the debate.
17 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the draft Resolution and 26 were against. As a majority vote of the members of the Riigikogu was needed for the draft Resolution to be passed, the motion was not supported. Thus, the proceedings on this draft Resolution have also been completed.
President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Jüri Ratas discussed issues relating to the security of our region and defence cooperation as well as giving military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine with Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin, who was on a visit to Tallinn today.
“Bilateral relations between our countries and parliaments have traditionally been close and warm, as they are also now,” Ratas said. “At critical times, it is especially important that we stand together, meet as much as possible and talk to each other.”
Both Ratas and Marin think that in today’s changed security situation, it is important to enhance the defence capability of countries. The Prime Minister of Finland said that Finland planned to increase its defence budget. She also pointed out that the attitude of the Finnish people towards NATO membership had become more supportive.
Ratas underlined that all members of the European Union had to support Ukraine in different ways. According to him, Estonia has given Ukraine humanitarian aid and military aid in the amount of 200 million euro this year. Ratas acknowledged and thanked Finland for their historical decision to grant military aid to Ukraine.
Ratas said that Estonia had established a simplified procedure for border crossing for citizens of Ukraine. He added that by now, more than a thousand Ukrainian refugees had reached Estonia and around 300 of them were children. Most of the refugees stay with their relatives and acquaintances.
The President of the Riigikogu noted that Estonia supported granting Ukraine the status of a candidate country for accession to the European Union, taking into account the conditions of accession and in accordance with Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union. “Ukraine is a European country that is fighting for European values on the battlefront,” Ratas said.
Both Ratas and Marin highlighted Europe’s unity and solidarity in imposing economic sanctions against Russia, and acknowledged that signs of their impact were already being felt. They also considered it important to fight against disinformation. Ratas thinks that national TV channels have an instrumental role here, and he added that Estonia had banned the broadcasting of Russian propaganda channels.
Member of the Estonia-Finland Parliamentary Friendship Group and Deputy Chairman of the National Defence Committee of the Riigikogu Leo Kunnas said that many Ukrainians who were living and working in Estonia had returned to their homeland to fight against the aggressor. Kunnas also expressed concern about worsening of the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.
Chair of the Estonia-Finland Parliamentary Friendship Group Helmen Kütt, who participated in the meeting, emphasised the excellent bilateral parliamentary relations and expressed hope that they would continue also in the current situation.
Information on the current state of the corona pandemic was also exchanged at the meeting. Marin and Ratas admitted that the numbers of infections were dropping and hoped that this trend would continue. The also think that we are better prepared for next outbreaks and there will no longer be extensive lockdowns.
A transport ship, carrying Piranha V armoured personnel vehicles and other equipment for the Danish Defence Forces docked in Paldiski harbour this morning, marking the return of Danish forces to the enhanced Forward Presence/NATO Battlegroup in Estonia.
Next week, Danish troops from the Viking Company; a part of the Jutland Dragoon Regiment, will arrive to Amari airbase and deploy to Tapa. There they will become a part of the UK-led NATO Battlegroup and integrate with the Estonian 1st Brigade.
“The Danish Defence Forces have been a part of NATO’s Battlegroup here in Estonia since 2018. The last contingent left in March 2021, and now we are returning, thereby reaffirming our commitment to the NATO Battlegroup, the deterrence of any adversaries and to the defence of Estonia,” says Major Michael Krogsgaard, Denmark’s Senior National Representative to the NATO mission in Estonia. “I know that the Danish soldiers and officers are highly motivated and very much looking forward to training and serving here in Estonia with our colleagues from the Estonian 1st Brigade as well as the British and French troops.”
The Danish Royal Army’s Viking Company of about 150 troops will formally replace the French 5e Dragons Regiment as the additional element in the NATO Battlegroup in Tapa. Another 70 Danish troops will serve in logistics and as military police officers.
The Viking Company consists of three mechanized infantry platoons with Piranha V armoured personnel carriers, logistical detachment, a sniper section and a forward-based Fire Observer team, able to call for indirect fires.
At the Warsaw Summit in June 2016, the leaders of NATO’s 28 members decided to deploy NATO battlegroups to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland due to the changed security environment. The leading country of the NATO Battlegroup in Estonia is the United Kingdom, with France and Denmark as contributing countries. Iceland also contributes to the mission. The first battle group arrived in Tapa in April 2017.
Exercise Saber Strike Estonian phase will commence on 7th March at Central Training Area and northern coast of Estonia , where US, UK, Finnish and Estonian units exercise Air Defence.
“During Saber Strike, we’re conducting air and missile defense training with our NATO Allies,” said U.S. Army Col. Patrick Thompson, 164th Air Defense Artillery Brigade commander. “This training helps build inoperability among our NATO Allies and partners.”
US 10th AAMD will carry out live fire exercise from new Stryker-based Air Defence system. This is the first time when 10th AAMD uses this system outside its base in Germany.
Helsinki Air Defence Regiment, US, UK and Estonian Air Defence units, Belgian, UK and Polish fighters, Estonian training jets L-39 and transportation aircraft M-28.
„This is the first time for Estonian Air Defence to lead a complex exercise which incorporates middle and short range air defence systems, communication systems of different countries supported by air assets, said LTC Tanel Lelov, commanding officer of EST Air Defence Battalion.“ Saber Strike will test readiness of our Command and control systems as well as skills and knowldege“.
Helsnki ir Defence Regiment will bring to Estonia NASAMS mid range air defence system, US will present new Stryker based air defence systems, Estonian will use Mistral air defence weapons.
Saber Strike is a US-led multinational exercise held since 2010. Saber Strike started on February 28 in wiesbaden with practicing units road march from Wiesbaden, Germany to exercise places in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Poland and Czech Republic. Altogether 13 000 service members from 13 countries will take part of the exercise. This years exercise takes place in winter time that enables to practice in austere conditions. Training activities this year include live fire exercises, raiway operations, aerial resupply, air defence and air assault exercises.
Lieutenant General Martin Herem, Commander of the Estonian Defense Forces, met today in Ämari with General Mark A. Milley, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff , to discuss the security situation, strengthening NATO’s Eastern wing and ways to support Ukraine and end Putin’s war.
“All our discussions in recent days have focused on how to better help Ukraine and end this unjustified Russian aggression against an independent Ukrainian state, “said Lieutenant General Martin Herem, adding that although the threat of war in Estonia is low, the Allies are constantly monitoring the situation and ready to further support the region.
In Ämari, General Milley met with the leadership of the Estonian Defense Forces and the members of the U.S. military serving in Estonia.
“The United States military has deployed forces in support of NATO Allies and partners, to assure our commitment to NATO and deter Russian aggression” said Milley. “Our commitment to NATO is ironclad, and we will fulfill our duties and responsibilities as an Article 5 member.”
The Estonian Defense Forces has so far supported Ukraine with, among other things, missiles of anti-tank system Javelin, 122-millimeter howitzers, anti-tank mines, ammunition and food rations. Estonia will continue to provide both lethal and non-lethal military assistance to Ukraine.
Last week, the Commander of the Estonian Defense Forces met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson and NATO Allied Commander General Tod D. Wolters, Admiral Rob Bauer, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, and representatives of the NATO Multinational Corps Northeast and the Multinational Division North.
On February 24, the Russian Federation launched a full-scale military operation against Ukraine. This is a gross and unprovoked aggression against an independent state that violates international law. On the same day, the Allies decided to activate NATO Defense Plans, a proactive step to ensure that Allied forces and military capabilities are in place at the right time.
NATO and the United States have made strong decisions to strengthen security in the Baltic region. The US is stepping up deterrence in the Baltic and Polish regions by sending fifth-generation F-35 fighters, AH-64 assault helicopters and an 800-member unit to the Baltic Sea.
The Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian delegations participating in the Plenary Meeting of the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for European Union Affairs of Parliaments of the EU (COSAC) adopted a joint statement in support of Ukraine. The Statement calls on giving Ukraine clear European Union perspective and finding a unified way for easing access to labour market, education and medical aid for the Ukrainian refugees. The signatories also call on Russia and Belarus to create humanitarian corridors for safe movement of civilians and humanitarian aid.
The Statement:
“We, representing the European Affairs Committees of the Parliaments of the Estonian, Lithuanian and the Latvian Republics:
welcome and support the Presidential Troika statement in support of Ukraine attacked by the Russian Federation;
strongly condemn the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine as Russia continues the military attack on Ukraine and Ukrainian civilians;
welcome the level of solidarity shown by the member states and the EU institutions in their unified response towards in both sanctioning the aggressor and helping the Ukrainian people;
call on the member states to grant Ukraine the status of a candidate country of the European Union and give Ukraine a strong and clear European Union membership perspective;
call on the member states to substantially increase the financial support to Ukraine and its people through the European Peace Facility;
call on the member states to provide protection to the Ukrainian refugees and to quickly find a unified way to ease their access to job market, education, health care and to other vital services;
call on Russia and Belarus to create humanitarian corridors that ensure the free and safe movement of civilians and delivery of humanitarian ”
On behalf of the Estonian delegation, the Statement was signed by member of the European Union Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Margit Sutrop. The Estonian delegation also includes members of the European Union Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu Tarmo Kruusimäe, Anti Poolamets, Riina Sikkutand Timo Suslov.
The Plenary Meeting of the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union was held in Paris, France, from 3 to 5 March.
The European Union Affairs Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) approved Estonia’s positions and supported by consensus granting Ukraine a clear accession perspective and the status of a candidate state of the European Union at their extraordinary sitting today.
Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee Siim Kallas noted that Estonia had always supported Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. “Now that the country is fighting not only for its own freedom and survival, but also for the whole Europe, granting this perspective is even more important. We have to send Ukraine a clear signal that they are welcome in the European Union,” Kallas said. He added that Ukraine and the majority of the population of the country had expressed the wish to join the European Union.
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marko Mihkelson recalled that on 23 February, the Riigikogu adopted the Statement in which it called on the member states to grant Ukraine the status of a candidate state of the European Union and a roadmap to membership in NATO. Mihkelson noted that getting the status of a candidate state would be a great help to Ukrainians in the face of Russian aggression. “It is important that the EU supports Ukraine in its preparations for EU membership. Estonia is ready to share its experience of accession to the EU and support Ukraine in their accession process to the EU,” Mihkelson said.
The positions approved by the Committees also highlight that Estonia considers it important that the European Union would quickly agree on the next specific and ambitious steps on Ukraine’s path towards EU integration.
Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee Henn Põlluaas underlined that Ukraine’s NATO membership should also be supported and a proposal should be made for discussing it. “Ukraine is a European country, a strategically important country, and their security matters to everyone. The Ukrainians have shown that they are not afraid to fight against Russia, and already only this proves that Ukraine deserves to be a NATO member country,” Põlluaas said.
Ukraine submitted an application for EU membership on Monday. After that, the Presidents of nine Member States adopted a Joint Statement in support of granting the status of a candidate state to Ukraine. On Tuesday, the European Parliament endorsed the need to give Ukraine a clear EU perspective.
It was noted at the sitting that giving Ukraine the EU accession perspective and the status of a candidate state must be in line with Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union, and that becoming a member state was a complex and time-consuming process. The precondition for becoming a member is that the candidate state has stable institutions ensuring democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights and national minorities, as well as a functioning market economy and the capacity to cope with competition and the pressure of market forces within the European Union. In order to become a Member State, the candidate state has to be able to take on the obligations arising from membership, including the fulfilment of the objectives of political, economic and monetary union.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Eva-Maria Liimets participated in the sitting and gave an outline of the positions approved by the Government yesterday. The European Union Affairs Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu decided to support the positions. Prime Minister Kaja Kallas will ask the leaders of the EU to support granting the status of a candidate state to Ukraine also at the meeting of the EU heads of state and government held in France next week.
Today, during his visit to East-Viru County, President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Jüri Ratas participated in the video conference of the Nordic-Baltic (NB8) Speakers of Parliaments on Ukraine, and in the video meeting of the Speakers of the European Union’s National Parliaments hosted by President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola, which was also attended by Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk.
All Speakers of Parliaments who took the floor at the video meetings underlined that Russia’s attack was a brutal war crime and Putin’s regime had to end bloodshed and military activities in Ukraine immediately.
Ratas told his counterparts that the European Union had to give Ukraine all the assistance it needed in the accession process, and Estonia was ready to share its accession experience and support Ukraine’s development.
At the meeting of the Nordic and Baltic Speakers, Ratas said that the countries of our region had to coordinate supporting of Ukraine as much as possible. “Today, Ukraine needs our strong political and economic support. As well as direct military aid and humanitarian aid,” Ratas said. “Many thanks to all the countries that have shown admirable unity and have already stretched out a helping hand, but the assistance must go on and there is still much to be done, because Putin’s war continues and Ukraine needs our help now more than ever.”
Ratas thinks that the Western countries have to present a united front to isolate Russia and Belarus in all spheres, from suspending of their membership in international organisations to economy, culture and sports. “It is not only Ukraine’s war, but they are also fighting now for the security and democracy of the whole Europe,” Ratas pointed out.
The Speakers of all parliaments expressed support to Ukraine and highlighted the need for joint strong sanctions in order to stop Russia’s aggressive military activities and information war. The Speakers of the Nordic and Baltic Parliaments presented an outline of the humanitarian and military aid provided. The Speakers from Finland and Sweden admitted that, for them, granting military aid was an exceptional decision. The Baltic and Polish Speakers also described how they helped the war refugees.
The video conference of the Nordic-Baltic Speakers was followed by the video meeting in the European Parliament, which was attended by Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk, who gave an overview of the current situation in the country. He thanked the Member States for their support and introduced Ukraine’s application for membership in the European Union. The Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada underlined that the sancions had to continue and also strongly extend to Belarus. In conclusion, he expressed hope that green corridors would be established soon for giving humanitarian aid because several cities were without electricity and there was a shortage of foodstuffs.
The participants of the video meeting expressed complete support to Ukraine and stressed that granting of the EU membership perspective and the status of a candidate state had to take into account the criteria of accession to the Union and be in line with Article 49 of the Treaty on the European Union.
Chairs of Foreign Affairs Committees of European Parliaments call on social media platforms to curb Kremlin misinformation and strengthen European and Russian information space.
“We address you amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – the largest war in Europe since World War II, a war of aggression against a democratic nation. With Ukraine under siege, we have seen a continuation of Russia’s use of both overt and covert means to sow confusion and fear about the conflict and promote disinformation narratives that aim to justify and rationalise Russia’s illegal acts in Ukraine both in the international community and within the Russian domestic information space.
Domestically, the Russian government has sought to control information about the Ukraine war and prevent manifestations of anti-war sentiment. Russia-backed media reports falsely claiming that the Ukrainian government is conducting genocide of civilians ran unchecked and unchallenged on Twitter and Facebook. Videos from the Russian government — including speeches from Vladimir Putin — on YouTube received money from Western advertisers. Unverified TikTok videos of alleged real-time battles were instead historical footage, including doctored conflict-zone images and sounds. Russia’s top five international state-backed media outlets have used Facebook and Twitter to share false reports claiming that the Ukrainian military had committed unprovoked attacks on Russian-allied forces. They also suggested NATO countries would carry out so-called false flag chemical weapons attacks on Donetsk and Lugansk to tarnish Russia’s reputation. This information warfare has been front and centre in creating the pretext for this invasion and continues to be a significant piece of the Kremlin operation to justify its war of aggression and hide the crimes being committed in its course.
With the savagery of the Russian forces growing by the day and Russian airpower raining destruction down on Ukrainian cities, the Russian government and its state-sponsored outlets continue to circulate false and misleading claims to support the ongoing invasion. By casting the Ukrainian government and the country as a whole in the most negative possible light – and officially linking Russia’s official war aims to “de-Nazification” and “demilitarisation”. The case for the war is built on lies, both about Ukraine’s history and it’s present.
We implore you to act now and prevent your platforms from being exploited, thus becoming complicit in a criminal war that has already brought unimaginable suffering, death and destruction.
We call on you to significantly expand efforts to detect Russian falsehoods and prevent your platforms from being exploited in the conflict.
We urge you to pro-actively suspend or block all accounts engaged in denying, glorifying or justifying wars of aggression, war crimes and crimes against humanity, the official accounts of Russian and Belarusian government institutions, state-controlled media as well as personal accounts of these countries’ leadership and their close associates, follow the decision to restrict Russian state-controlled media and prevent them from using your services to circumvent these restrictions. In addition, we implore you to urgently adjust your recommendation algorithms to help users find trustworthy information on the war in Ukraine and inform users exposed to disinformation.
We stand in full solidarity with you in your attempts to resist the Russian government’s efforts to censor or restrict access to your platforms on Russia’s territory for Russian citizens, civil society and independent media. We stand ready to provide any assistance we can.
During the Cold War, neither the governments nor the people in the West would have allowed publishing Soviet propaganda outlets such as “Pravda”. We need to defend the free world, together, once again.”