Defence co-operation

Estonia and the Netherlands are the only two countries that belong to all the most important defense cooperation formats in the region (NATO, EU, incl. PESCO, JEF, EI2, Nordic Group). The Netherlands has long been among the countries that share Estonia’s views on security policy and defense issues, and relations have significantly intensified since the start of Russian aggression against Ukraine in 2014. We work closely together on a daily basis in both NATO and the European Union.

The Netherlands also directly contributes to the defense of our region. For example, Dutch military personnel are constantly present in the eFP unit located in Lithuania. The Netherlands has contributed to Baltic air security four times so far. From December 2024 to April 1, 2025, the Netherlands contributed to the air security mission from Ämari with F-35 fighters.

In addition, the Netherlands contributes to the NATO Cyber Defense Cooperation Center (CCDCoE) located in Estonia and has joined the Estonian and Luxembourg-led IT capability coalition created to support Ukraine.

Estonia has previously purchased various technical equipment from the Netherlands (armored vehicles, SUVs, medical vehicles, various types of trucks, trailer trucks, ammunition, and others), the total number of machines purchased from the Netherlands is around a couple of thousand. Cooperation has also been carried out in the form of spare parts procurement, equipment type training, and technical expert meetings.