Baltic states and Poland seek EU funds for a border defence line

Nato members Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland will seek European Union funding to build a network of bunkers, barriers, distribution lines, and military warehouses along their borders with Russia and Belarus, Estonia’s officials said on Saturday.

The three Baltic members of the transatlantic security alliance initially announced the plan for a “Baltic Defense Line” in January. In May, Poland announced a similar project called the “Eastern Shield” with a purpose to strengthen its borders with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and with Belarus.

“The need for a [Baltic] defence line stems from the security situation and supports Nato’s new forward defence concept,” Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said in a statement, adding that “it is extremely important to coordinate our activities with Poland.”

“At the same time, it strengthens the security of the European Union and the military defence of its borders, which is why we clearly see that the EU could also financially support the project,” he said.

The defence ministers of the four European countries located on Nato’s eastern flank met in the southeastern Latvian city of Daugavpils on Friday to discuss the project’s funding.