The defence ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are to create a joint military mobility area with an ultimate goal to create a “military Schengen zone” across Europe.

The aim in establishing a military mobility area is to harmonise peacetime border crossings and movement and transport procedures. The end result of creating such areas will be the establishment of a harmonised area across Europe, the Estonian defence ministry said in a statement.

According to Hanno Pevkur, Estonia’s defence minister, the military mobility area is important in strengthening the countries’ defence posture “with the ultimate goal being to create a ‘military Schengen zone’ across Europe”.

The defence ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania also noted that the Baltic Defence Line has evolved into a modern, cross-domain defence concept.

Ensuring the security of NATO’s eastern flank

“Estonia’s focus will be on completing the construction of bases, barriers and storage sites,” Pevkur said.

“To date, all primary containment equipment has been delivered and stored. We have selected a standard bunker and tested it in the south-eastern part of the country, with a view to launching a major call for tenders this year. We will also continue to build a significant number of containment ditches in 2026.”

“The Defence Line has become an essential element in ensuring the security of the eastern flank of NATO and the EU,” he added. 

The cooperation format of the defence ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania was presided over by Estonia in 2025, with Latvia taking over the role in 2026.