Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania Launch Baltic Military Mobility Initiative

(MENAFN) Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have agreed to create a Baltic Military Mobility Area (MMA) to reduce peacetime restrictions and enable faster movement of troops and equipment across the three countries, officials announced Friday.

Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur signed a joint declaration of intent in Tallinn alongside his Latvian and Lithuanian counterparts, Andris Spruds and Robertas Kaunas, formalizing the regional initiative, according to reports.

The MMA is being described as a military equivalent of the EU’s Schengen Area, aimed at cutting bureaucracy and standardizing procedures that currently slow cross-border movements of armed forces, including NATO allies.

“The point of the 'military schengen' is that we do not have any bureaucracy, any paperwork that needs to be done when militaries are moving from one European country to another,” Pevkur said at a press conference, noting that existing rules can delay movements for months.

Kaunas emphasized the operational benefits, stating, “In times of crisis, every hour matters, and bureaucracy and borders can slow down our defense and deterrence.”

Latvian Defense Minister Spruds highlighted that the mobility area will encompass land, sea, air, and cyber domains.

The ministers stressed that the initiative is intended for peacetime, to improve readiness and deterrence, while also supporting discussions on a broader Europe-wide military mobility framework to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank.

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