Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Estonian counterpart has raised any concerns with him over the numbers of UK Armed Forces personnel in that country.

The Secretary of State for Defence meets regularly with his Estonian counterpart to discuss the UK's enduring commitment to Estonia, and the Department works in close partnership to ensure our force posture is correctly calibrated for the current security climate. The Estonian Defence Minister has previously indicated that the Estonian MOD would prefer for the deployment of the UK's temporary second Battlegroup to be extended. Estonia and the UK have now jointly agreed a plan to implement the commitments made by the UK at the NATO Madrid summit, and ensure our troop levels and capability are commensurate with Estonia's and NATO's security needs. The implementation of our summit commitments will increase the overall capability of our forces in Estonia, which both parties agree is more important than troop numbers alone. The second Battlegroup will return to the UK, as planned, in December 2022.