This week, the Chair of the NATO Military Committee (CMC), Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone visited Estonia, where he met with the Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces Lieutenant General Andrus Merilo, and Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur, and received an overview of the security situation in the region.
“Estonia’s contribution to our collective defence covers all domains: from hosting NATO’s Forward Land Forces, conducting Baltic Air Policing, and contributing to Baltic Sentry activity to being a stronghold for our cyber defence,” said Admiral Cavo Dragone. “Estonia also leads by example in terms of defence investments, already exceeding in 2026 the NATO Summit’s agreed benchmark of 5%, with plans to go even beyond.”
During the three-day visit, the CMC also received an overview of the activities of the Estonian Defence Forces and visited both the Ämari Air Base and the Baltic Defence College in Tartu.
“The words of the Chairman conveyed that NATO is united and ready to defend its Allies in case of need. This gives me confidence that any aggression against us will find a strong response, in cooperation with our allies,” said Lieutenant General Andrus Merilo, Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces. “Although we have made significant progress in the past years, it is too early to be satisfied with what has been achieved. The coming years will be critical in terms of development of defence capabilities both for Estonia and Allies, as the euros added to our defence budgets must be converted into effective military capabilities in a rapid and systematic manner.”
“The military side of NATO is working hard on planning the alliance’s military defence and boosting the readiness of its forces. We discussed the threat picture, strengthening NATO’s deterrence and defence posture, and converting the 5% agreement into military capabilities with the Chair of the NATO Military Committee,” said Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur.
During the visit, the CMC also met with Prime Minister Kristen Michal, members of the Estonian National Defence Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna. Admiral Cavo Dragone also laid a wreath at the Victory Column of the War of Independence, met with Italian servicemen serving in Estonia, and gave a keynote lecture at the Baltic Defence College.
The NATO Military Committee is the senior military authority in NATO, comprising of the commanders in chief of the armed forces of all member states. The Committee’s principal role is to provide consensus-based advice on military policy and strategy to the North Atlantic Council and direction to NATO’s Strategic Commanders.
