The bill to amend the Defense Forces Organization Act was drafted by the Ministry of Defense, and in addition to allowing allied involvement in border activity, would also give heightened scope for the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) to be involved in law enforcement activities normally the responsibility of civilian agencies.

The bill aims to handle phenomena such as the "little green men" seen in the shadow war in Ukraine which preceded the full-scale Russian invasion, or the hybrid migratory pressure put on eastern flank EU nations in recent years by the regime in Belarus, Russia's ally.

Allied personnel which come under the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) divisional command structure would counter hybrid threats to Estonia's land and sea borders even without a direct military attack.

Up to now the legal basis has been lacking for allied personnel to take part law enforcement activities inside Estonia.

"If we are talking about law enforcement tasks, they currently cannot actually participate in any of these duties, as there is no legal basis for that. except in cases where it involves the execution of military defense tasks," defense ministry deputy secretary general Margit Gross told "Aktuaalne kaamera".

Lithuania has already established the legal basis for involvement of allied personnel in such cases, following the surge in hybrid attacks on the Belarus–EU border.
This has prompted the need to legislate the involvement of allies in situations where there is no actual direct military attack.

Under the terms of the amendment, allied personnel could be engaged if the threat in question originates from outside of Estonia. This would require a decision from the interior ministry, rather than the defense ministry. The interior ministry would involve the government if assistance was needed.

Agreements with the allied nations will be concluded on the scope of the assistance they can provide once the law has passed at the Riigikogu.

The Baltic Sea is one key area, including in ensuring surveillance and maritime situational awareness. "We will still need to hold such negotiations with each ally. It largely depends on the specific need that arises, for example for the Defense Forces—whether in carrying out oil spill response tasks or other maritime border surveillance duties," added Gross, who holds the legal and administrative affairs remit.

The defense ministry says it wants to implement the legislative amendments as soon as possible.

"Given the government has adopted it today, we hope to have it approved at the Riigikogu perhaps even before Midsummer," Gross added.

Bill would give EDF greater law enforcement powers

Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (Reform) said the law change would account for, for instance, the notorious "little green men" – pro-Russian insurgents wearing no national insignia – seen from 2014 in Crimea and eastern Ukraine.

"The amendment to the law approved today represents two very important points from a security perspective. First, today's decision establishes clear conditions for involving allies, if necessary, in our border protection and law enforcement activities.

For example, in situations similar to the 2014 'little green men' in Crimea or the 2021 migration pressure orchestrated by Belarus, we would be able to call on allied assistance as well," Pevkur said via a ministry press release.

"Second, we ensure that the EDF has the effective means to protect objects of security importance," he added.

Pevkur was keen to stress ordinary members of the public have nothing to fear. "At the same time, ordinary citizens should not be concerned — our aim is not to monitor mushroom pickers or dog walkers, but to ensure that the EDF has the right to preemptively stop individuals engaged in activities such as reconnaissance in the immediate vicinity of military areas," Pevkur added.

In cases where suspicious activity is identified around a national security-sensitive area (for example, in filming defense facilities or loitering in their immediate vicinity), the EDF would get the right to question individuals and check their IDs. Defense personnel would also have authority to confiscate property or detain a person where necessary.

The definition of "immediate vicinity" would be situation-dependent and may not be a set area in terms of square meters. Other factors such as local population density would also be taken into account, the ministry said.

The amendment approved measures to ensure the EDF's maritime situational awareness and the right to check and control vessel traffic in cases of heightened threat, as well as to determine the measures necessary for doing so.

The EDF would get the authority to delegate some of these tasks to the civilian Transport Administration under the scope of the amendments, too.

"Aktuaalne kaamera" reported the Riigikogu's National Defense Committee has not yet read the bill's text. The Ministry of the Interior was also unavailable for comment on its role in involving allies in law enforcement and border defense.

The U.K.-led NATO battlegroup based in Estonia is under the command of the Estonian division, while French and U.S. personnel are among the regular contributors on the ground.

While allied personnel have been in Estonia on this basis following the Warsaw Summit a decade ago, to provide military assistance, they generally do not intervene in law enforcement.

Gaps in capabilities were revealed last summer when it proved not possible at the time to board a Russian "shadow fleet" tanker which had strayed into Estonian waters and had been halted.