Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have agreed to create a Baltic Military Mobility Area (MMA), with the aim of easing peacetime restrictions and enabling faster movement of troops and equipment across the three countries, reports Anadolu.

According to Estonian news agency ERR, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur signed a joint statement of intent in Tallinn with his Latvian and Lithuanian counterparts Andris Spruds and Robertas Kaunas, formalizing plans for this regional initiative.

The MMA is described as a military equivalent of the EU’s Schengen Area, designed to reduce bureaucracy and harmonize procedures that currently slow down the cross-border movement of armed forces, including NATO allies.

“The goal of ‘military Schengen’ is that there is no bureaucracy or paperwork to be completed when armies move from one European country to another,” Pevkur said at a joint press conference, noting that existing procedures can delay movements for months.

Lithuanian minister Kaunas, for his part, said the initiative will have practical operational benefits, enabling forces and equipment to move quickly to where they are needed across the region.

“In times of crisis, every hour counts, while bureaucracy and borders can slow down defense and deterrence. “, he said.

However, Latvian Minister Spruds emphasized the wider scope of the project, adding that the mobility area will cover land, sea, air and cyber domains.

Ministers of the three Baltic countries emphasized that the initiative will be implemented in peacetime and aims to improve preparedness and deterrence, while at the same time it will contribute to the discussions on a wider European framework of military mobility to strengthen the eastern wing of NATO.

Source: prizrenpost