Riigikogu Committees will discuss the impact of sabotage attacks and protection of critical infrastructure
Following the recent sabotage attacks, the Foreign Affairs Committee and the National Defence Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) will discuss the protection of critical infrastructure and how to strengthen it at a closed sitting today.
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marko Mihkelson said that the committees were expecting a detailed overview of the current situation and future plans for the protection of Estonia’s critical infrastructure from the representatives of the authorities responsible for the implementation of Estonia’s foreign and security policy, taking onto account the damaging of underwater cables and pipelines in the Baltic Sea in recent years.
“In a situation where Russia is continuing its war of aggression in Ukraine and various sabotage attacks are carried out against us and our allies, we must make maximum efforts to ensure the safety of our critical infrastructure and our energy security, as well as the upcoming synchronisation of the Baltic energy systems with continental Europe,” Mihkelson said. “As parliamentary committees, we want to be reassured that the mapping of our current situation covers all the details, and that the plans for strengthening the protection of critical infrastructure have also been thoroughly worked out.”
Chairman of the National Defence Committee Kalev Stoicescu pointed out that the protection of the Baltic Sea underwater infrastructure required good cooperation both nationally and internationally. “Hybrid attacks pose a threat to NATO and the European Union, and we can provide an effective response to them only in close cooperation with our allies,” Stoicescu said. He added that international cooperation and the financing for strengthening the protection of critical infrastructure would be addressed separately at the joint sitting. “The military presence and visibility of the Allies in the Baltic Sea is essential, but not sufficient, as effective deterrence will ultimately be ensured by bringing the perpetrators to justice,” he underlined.
The joint sitting of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the National Defence Committee will begin at 2.15 p.m. National Security and Defence Coordination Director of the Government Office Erkki Tori, and representatives of the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Climate, the Navy and AS Elering have been invited to the sitting.
The joint sitting of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the National Defence Committee is not public. The Chairmen of the committees will give comments to journalists after the end of the joint session at around 3.30 p.m. in the Conference Hall of the Riigikogu.
Riigikogu Press Service
Karin Kangro
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