1 June

Mikk Marran, Permanent Undersecretary of the Ministry of Defence, met today with Claude-France Arnould, Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency, to discuss cyber defence, joint procurements and defence-related research and development. Arnould also met with Ingvar Pärnamäe, Undersecretary for Defence Investments, and visited the NATO Cyber Defence Centre in Tallinn.

According to Arnould, Estonia’s contribution at the European Defence Agency is highly valued, including in the area of cyber defence, where Estonia will be leading the European Defence Agency’s cyber defence working group in 2013. “Estonia has a clear vision of how to work with the European Defence Agency in the areas of cyber defence, joint procurements, and research and development. In the current economic situation, co-operation between countries in the area of capability development is becoming increasingly important,” Arnould said.

At the meeting, Undersecretary Marran said that improving awareness of cyber defence challenges was also important at a high political level. “Consequently, Estonia would like to propose that a military exercise in cyber defence be conducted at the ministerial level in the EU,” Marran said.

The European Defence Agency is interested in Estonia’s successful experiences in joint procurements, and intends to support member countries when new joint procurements are organised. Created in 2004, the main functions of the European Defence Agency are to facilitate capability development in Europe, further arms cooperation in the EU, strengthen the defence industry and technology base, and develop and coordinate the relevant research.