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The Baltic States and Poland seek EU funding for border protection

The Baltic States and Poland seek EU funding for border protection

NATO members Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland will seek funding from the European Union to build a network of bunkers, barriers, supply lines and military warehouses along their borders with Russia and Belarus, Estonian officials said Saturday. .

The three Baltic countries first announced plans for a "Baltic Defense Line" in January. In May, Poland announced a similar project called "Eastern Shield" aimed at strengthening its borders with the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad and Belarus.

"The need for a (Baltic) line of defense stems from the security situation and supports NATO's new defense concept," Estonian Defense 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 protection of its borders, so we think that the EU can also financially support this project ," he said.

The defense ministers of the four European countries on NATO's eastern flank met on Friday in the southeastern Latvian city of Daugavpils to discuss funding for the project.

They did not explain how much financial assistance they would ask Brussels for this project, but they emphasized in a joint statement that "Russia's war against Ukraine has shown that the creation of physical obstacles in an open terrain without a natural protective shield, is primary even in the advanced technological war".

The ministers said that external threats on the Baltic-Polish border are increasing, therefore the construction of fortifications along the border with Russia and Belarus "remains a high priority, contributing to our promise to protect every centimeter of (NATO) territory". REL

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