At present, all NATO forces stationed in the Baltic states and northern Poland are subordinate to the Multinational Corps Northeast joint headquarters located in Szczecin, Poland.

Under the new plan, a different NATO corps, the Dutch-German Corps, would be assigned to the defense of Estonia and Latvia. Its headquarters are located in Münster, Germany, Reuters news agency reported this week. Discussions have been taking place for several years.

Major General (ret.) Neeme Väli said this is an adjustment of the existing command structure to the new situation.

"The changes actually began some time ago for various reasons. For example, because of changes in the U.S. attitude and policy. It is worth recalling that two levels higher, at the joint force command level, responsibility in some commands has already been handed over to leaders from European countries. Now the changes have reached the corps level," Väli said.

He added that it is welcome that additional capability for directing military operations is being brought to the region.

While Poland, Latvia and Estonia share a common history and understanding of Russia, the Netherlands does not to the same extent. Väli does not think this will affect NATO decisions in an emergency.

"Poland does indeed see the security situation more similarly to us than it is seen in Germany or the Netherlands, but the decisions that set forces in motion are still made at the political level and by consensus, as is customary in NATO," he noted.

Väli pointed out that Germany's new security strategy understands the Russian threat much more adequately than before.

Martin Herem said the change is rather positive. However, it will probably bring a temporary decline in command capability.

"We have trained together with the Multinational Corps Northeast. We know each other's, so to speak, war culture; we know how strong we are, what additional forces are coming, and how well we are able to use all of this. The Dutch-German Corps has visited here and participated in exercises as an observer, but it is certainly not as experienced with us as the current corps headquarters located in Poland," Herem said.

He added that discussions about assigning another corps have been going on for nearly three years, and the sooner the decision comes, the better.

"I do not know why this has not been done. It is mainly a political decision, and I dare say not an Estonian one, but rather a political decision at the level of Germany, the Netherlands and NATO. If the main agreement already exists but has not yet been formalized, then this is a very dangerous waste of time," Herem said.

The details and timetable of the change are not yet known. Väli said preparations are already underway.

"Already in the spring, there was talk that the Defense Forces wanted to acquire additional land in the Pärnu area to begin building the necessary infrastructure. So preparations for this step have been underway for quite some time already and, to my knowledge, the necessary funding for it has also been allocated in our Defense Forces development plan," Väli said.

Last August, Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (Reform) said NATO was considering stationing its German-Dutch corps in Estonia. If that decision is made, the corps could be based in Pärnu.

Dozens of troops

On Wednesday, Dutch publication, the NL Times, reported that Dutch and German forces "will likely deploy dozens of troops" to Estonia to help set up a command center.

The plan "is still being worked out," Prime Minister Rob Jetten said, adding that it will then be submitted to parliament.

Since 2017, Dutch soldiers have been deployed in Lithuania as part of the NATO multinational battlegroup commanded by Germany. The Dutch Air Force has also participated in the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission multiple times.

Berlin is preparing to permanently base a brigade in the country.

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