Herem outlines defence plans to Eesti 200 faction

Defence minister candidate Martin Herem met the Eesti 200 faction in Estonia’s parliament on Monday to discuss his plans for the post, ERR reported.

“We wanted to understand his plans and strategy, and how he intends to achieve the maximum result during these six months,” Eesti 200 faction leader Toomas Uibo told ERR after the meeting. “We received very good answers to our questions.”

Uibo said Herem’s experience and knowledge would be highly important for making the right decisions in the defence sector. He said Herem had identified areas that had progressed too slowly and needed to move much faster.

“As he put it himself, the question was not how many cannons, bullets or shells we have, but how the entire system is built and how it should operate,” Uibo said.

Uibo added that Herem relied clearly on data and on lessons from Ukraine. Estonia’s current shortcoming was largely a lack of data on how to handle different issues, he said, adding that Estonia had not yet fully applied the experience of Ukraine.

The meeting also covered how the threat of war should be communicated to the public in a more measured way.

Uibo said Herem had raised the issue himself and said he had not engaged in, or supported, “war-mongering.”

“We must approach this very calmly, but we must clearly understand what our intelligence and the intelligence of our allies are saying and take it very seriously,” Uibo said. “People must be informed about the threats that actually exist; they must not be hidden from them. I think that is Herem’s message.”