Royal Danish Embassy T. Kosciuskos 36, LT-01100 Vilnius Tel: +370 (5) 264 8768 Mob: +370 6995 7760 The Defence Attaché To Fax: +370 (5) 231 2300 Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania Newsletter for the Baltics Week 15 2018 The following information is gathered from usually reliable and open sources, mainly from the Baltic News Service (BNS), respective defence ministries press releases and websites as well as various newspapers, etc. Table of contents THE BALTICS ........................................................................................................................................ 3 Macron: we are committed to a Europe that can protect itself against external threats ......... 3 LITHUANIA .......................................................................................................................................... 4 New commander of NATO’s Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum visiting Lithuania ............ 4 Lithuania’s anti-tank units opening drills in Pabrade .................................................................... 4 LATVIA ................................................................................................................................................. 4 Latvian defence budget to grow by 12.3 million EUR in 2019 ....................................................... 4 Latvian parliament ratifies memorandum about defence, security cooperation with Canada . 5 Kremlin’s propaganda in Latvia tries to undermine public trust in state .................................... 5 Latvian Defence Minister met with Moldovan ambassador to Latvia ......................................... 6 Activities of Russian intelligence and security agencies pose greatest threat to Latvia’s interests ........................................................................................................................................... 6 Russian missile tests that never took place were part of strategic communication .................. 6 ESTONIA .............................................................................................................................................. 7 FSB/GRU collaborators sentenced to prison ................................................................................. 7 Legislative amendment to divide Estonia’s Kaitseliit in 4 territorial districts ............................. 8 Italian aircraft conducts flights in Estonian airspace .................................................................... 8 Estonian combat engineers put armoured machinery to test in field demo exercise ............... 8 NATO’s top commander in Europe visited Estonia ....................................................................... 9 2 THE BALTICS Macron: we are committed to a Europe that can protect itself against external threats 10 April news: The Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian leaders met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on 9 April. Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said at a news conference after the meeting, “We have an open interest in investing in European security, in creating an additional rapid reaction force alongside military cooperation that is already being developed. We, the Baltic states and Lithuania, are ready to participate directly in newly created structures. We do not fear that this might overlap NATO. On the contrary, we believe that we must complement NATO, we must be proactive, because NATO’s decision-making is too slow,” she added. Grybauskaite described a new rapid reaction force as capable of providing such rapid assistance and welcomed the French president's leadership in European Security. According to her, geopolitical issues were dominant at the meeting, and “President Macron’s initiatives, assuming of positive leadership and understanding that Europe must, first of all, defend itself is really clearly visible”. After the meeting Macron stated, “All of us here, the four of us, we are firmly committed to a strong, independent Europe that is able to protect itself against all external threats, to defend our sovereignty, to an ambitious Europe that wants to modernize itself, fight and move forward,” he said. Macron also underlined that the Baltic nations’ decision to choose Europe “is of particular importance today, when the context of international relations is so blurred and unstable”. The French president said that this situation called for continued close cooperation. Grybauskaite said at the news conference, “France is seeking a common, strong, integrated and respectful Europe” and added: “That’s the France we want to share our path with”. The presidents also focused on defence cooperation and preparation for the upcoming NATO summit. French troops are currently deployed to Lithuania as part of NATO’s multinational battalion, but the Baltic countries seek a more permanent presence of the French in the region. 3 LITHUANIA New commander of NATO’s Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum visiting Lithuania 10 April, the Lithuanian Defence Ministry announced that General Riccardo Marchio, Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum visited Lithuania. The general met with Defence Minister Raimundas Karoblis to discuss regional security and items on the NATO agenda. In a press release, Karoblis said, “In the face of the current threats, it is extremely important to ensure the Alliance's capacity to respond in a fast and determined manner and deter both conventional and hybrid threats. This should be reflected in the new NATO commander structure and other decisions to ensure reliable deterrence and defence.” The Lithuanian minister also emphasized the need to ensure air and maritime support to the multilateral battalions stationed in the Baltic states and Poland. NATO's Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum in the Netherlands is responsible for heading the NATO mission in Afghanistan, Resolute Support, NATO response forces and creation of NATO’s rapid response forces. Furthermore, it ensures a link between NATO's control and military structures. Lithuania’s anti-tank units opening drills in Pabrade 9 April, an annual exercise of anti-tank units started in the Pabrade training ground, eastern Lithuania and will continues until 20 April. During the training, Lithuanian troops, together with Spanish, US, Canadian, Croatian, Dutch, French and German soldiers from the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence battalions in Lithuania and Latvia, will conduct firing exercises from anti- tank weapons. Furthermore they will update their tactical skills and deepen unit management skills, study tactics of armored enemy equipment and the equipment used, as well as share experience and learn from experts from the US and Ukraine. It will include over 700 troops from eight NATO member-states. It will for the first time include troops from the Netherlands, Spain, Croatia and France. Participants of the Hunter exercise will be able to drill air support call procedures for the first time in history. LATVIA Latvian defence budget to grow by 12.3 million EUR in 2019 12 April, the Latvian government adopted a resolution on budget base expenditures for the next coming years, in which the Latvian defence budget is set to rise by 12.3 million EUR next year. To ensure that over the next three years at least two percent of Latvia’s GDP is spent on 4 defence, the government decided to increase the Defence Ministry’s basic budget by EUR 12.4 million in 2019, by EUR 14.3 in 2020 and by EUR 53.5 in 2021. Latvian parliament ratifies memorandum about defence, security cooperation with Canada 12 April, the Latvian Parliament passed the bill ratifying the MoU between the Latvian and Canadian governments, enhancing defence partnership and security cooperation. The memorandum establishes the procedure for Latvian-Canadian defence cooperation and describes in detail the rights and obligations of the Canadian soldiers deployed to Latvia, as part of a NATO multi-national battle group. Latvian parliament said that allied military presence is very important for Latvia’s defence interests, and Canada has already made a major contribution through development of the infrastructure for the needs of the Canada-led NATO multi-national battle group. There is already active ongoing cooperation with Canada but creating a legal framework specifying the rights and obligations of the Canadian Armed Forces, their dependants, and the contractors of the Canadian government, is a precondition for permanent presence of the Canadian forces. This will enable Latvia to continue enjoying the collective defence guarantees provided by Canada as the lead nation of the NATO battle group. Kremlin’s propaganda in Latvia tries to undermine public trust in state 11 April news: According to the Constitution Protection Bureau’s (SAB) report for 2017 the Kremlin’s propaganda in Latvia attempts to undermine public trust in the country and promote potential conflict, underscoring ethnic, linguistic and historical differences. SAB explained that the tasks of Russia’s measures of influence and propaganda in Latvia meet Russia’s foreign policy goals to increase its geopolitical influence in the region, weakening NATO and the EU, and the position of the Baltic States in these organisations. Furthermore, the affects aim to weaken the Latvian state, promote public distrust in the government, and promote potential conflicts. 5 Latvian Defence Minister met with Moldovan ambassador to Latvia 11 April, according to the Latvian Defence Ministry, Latvian Defence Minister Raimonds Bergmanis met with the Moldovan Ambassador to Latvia Eugen