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DE RUEHTL #0353/01 3341304
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R 301304Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY TALLINN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0249
INFO EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TALLINN 000353 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL MOPS KV EN
SUBJECT: ESTONIA'S SUPPORT TO KFOR ENDS IN 2010 BUT DEVELOPMENT 
COOPERATION CONTINUES 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY.  Estonia will likely end its military mission in 
Kosovo in February 2010, but it will maintain a staff presence and 
civil assistance program over the medium term.  Estonia's 
commitment to development cooperation with Kosovo has deepened 
significantly in recent years; over the next two years the GOE will 
complete an investment of USD one million in capacity building, 
sharing EU integration experiences, and development of e-governance 
infrastructure.  The GOE has also made long-term commitments to the 
EU's Rule of Law Mission and will continue to seek ways to engage 
with Kosovo, primarily through the EU and projects of other 
European regional bodies.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
ESTONIA COMMITS EARLY TO KFOR 
 
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¶2.   The Estonian Defense Forces have participated in a variety of 
peacekeeping missions in Kosovo since the establishment of NATO's 
Kosovo Force (KFOR) in 1999.  This 10-year commitment to achieving 
peace and stability is all the more impressive considering  it was 
only Estonia's second peacekeeping force sent abroad, and it 
occurred less than a decade after the re-establishment of Estonian 
independence and more than five years before Estonia's NATO 
accession.  (NOTE:  Estonia's first deployment abroad was to Bosnia 
and Herzegovina in 1996 as part of NATO's Implementation Force 
(IFOR).)  The First Estonian unit deployed to Kosovo, ESTPATROL-1, 
a military police platoon, assumed duties in November 1999 in 
Pristina under the command of an Italian Carabinieri regiment. 
ESTPATROL-14 was the final unit to rotate through Kosovo as part of 
this commitment, completing service in December 2006.  On three 
separate occasions, Estonia also provided a company-sized unit as 
part of the Baltic Squadron (BALTSQN) rotation serving under the 
Danish Battalion for six-month rotations.  In 2007, Estonia began a 
continuous rotation of an infantry reconnaissance unit, ESTRIF-1, 
from the Defense League (Estonia's National Guard equivalent), 
under the command of the Danish Battalion.  ESTRIF-6, comprised of 
26 personnel, is currently deployed to Kosovo.  There are also five 
officers and non-commissioned officers serving in Kosovo in HQ and 
medical billets. 
 
 
 
PARLIAMENT TO DECIDE ON EXTENDING KFOR COMMITMENTS INTO 2010 
 
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------------------------------ 
 
 
 
¶3.   ESTRIF-6 deployed to Kosovo in August 2009 for a six-month 
rotation.  The legal authorization for their deployment expires in 
December 2009.  A decision is pending in parliament that would 
authorize Estrif-6, with a maximum of 40 personnel, to remain in 
Kosovo into 2010.  The mandate would last until June, although it 
is understood that the unit will return to Estonia in February.  In 
consultations with NATO, this is likely to be Estonia's last full 
unit deployment with KFOR.  This same decision will also extend the 
assignments of the other five personnel through December 2010. 
National Defense Committee Staff Director Aivar Engel does not 
foresee any problems with the extension process. 
 
KOSOVO WILL NOT BECOME ONE OF ESTONIA'S DEFENSE COOPERATION 
PRIORITIES 
 
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-------------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶4.  After a thorough review of defense cooperation in Kosovo in 
consultation with NATO, Estonia decided it could add little value 
to ongoing Kosovo Security Forces training and defense sector 
reform. .  The GOE also decided not to contribute to the NATO Trust 
Fund.  Estonia has instead identified Montenegro as a priority for 
defense cooperation in the Balkans, as GOE efforts can have more of 
an impact there.  According to Kadri Peeters, the Defense 
Ministry's USA Desk Officer, should the security situation in 
Kosovo change, Estonia may alter this approach, but in the 
meantime, it will probably only engage in defense cooperation and 
reform through activities such as the Nordic-Baltic Initiative. 
 
 
 
BUT DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION BROADENS AND DEEPENS OVER THE COURSE OF 
 
TALLINN 00000353  002 OF 003 
 
 
10 YEARS 
 
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¶5.  During the first nine years of its involvement in Kosovo, 
Estonia donated approximately USD 715,000 in support of a variety 
of peacekeeping, humanitarian and refugee relief projects.  Even 
though Kosovo is not designated as one of the four priority 
partners for development cooperation, Estonia committed to  USD one 
million in assistance over a three year period in July 2008 within 
the framework of the Kosovo Donors' Conference.  These funds will 
be used to support a more clearly defined approach to capacity 
building at all levels of government.  Estonia will focus this 
assistance specifically on EU integration and the development of 
e-governance know-how.  Since 2008, three large Kosovar delegations 
have visited Estonia for training: two delegations of ministry and 
PM office staff, and one delegation of municipal leaders and 
officials.  In total 57 Kosovars participated in these three 
visits.  There are also six fulltime Kosovar students engaged in 
Master's studies at the Estonian University of Life Sciences. 
According to BjC6rn Piibur, the MFA's Western Balkans Desk Officer, 
consulting provided by Estonia's e-Governance Academy Program 
Director Liia HC$nni to the Kosovo Assembly in 2007 created the 
connections for this support. 
 
 
 
ESTONIA COMMITS TO MULTI-YEAR SUPPORT OF EULEX 
 
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------- 
 
 
 
¶6.  Estonia has made a long-term commitment to the European Union 
Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX Kosovo) which became fully 
operational in April 2009.  Currently there are eight Estonian 
experts monitoring, consulting and mentoring Kosovo officials, who 
specialize in policing, customs and the judiciary.  The recommended 
length for each expert's tour is three years.  While it is 
necessary to renew participation in the mission each year, the 
Estonian government has no intention of ending its support in the 
near-term. 
 
 
 
SOME CHALLENGES AND A BRIGHT SPOT 
 
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¶7.  In Piibur's opinion, the greatest challenge for Estonia's 
development cooperation projects has been a lack of capacity in 
terms of personnel, resources and legal mechanisms.  As it is still 
a relatively young government, many of the officials with which 
Piibur deals are spread too thin, and quite often projects lag 
because of the need to put legal as well as physical infrastructure 
in place.   Piibur  is impressed, however, by the desire to learn 
and develop on the part of Kosovo officials.  Estonians are 
delighted by the interest shown in e-governance across the western 
Balkans (most notably Montenegro, but also Kosovo). 
 
THE BENEFITS FROM KOSOVO INVOLVEMENT 
 
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¶8.   Engel believes that Estonia's support to KFOR was definitely a 
factor that helped Estonia on its accession track to NATO.  While 
perhaps not the  dominant factor in accession, it was nonetheless 
an integral part of Estonia's strategy to show itself  as a 
security provider.  These deployments also helped build Estonia's 
capacity to cooperate with NATO allies.  The Estonian Defense 
Forces currently numbers about 8,700 personnel (17,400 including 
affiliated defense league organizations) and provides an important 
complement to the 3,800 personnel that comprise the Estonian 
Regular Armed Forces.  At a more strategic level, Balkan 
instability was and still is of concern to Estonia.  Engel 
explained that instability could give Russia a pretext for 
intervention in the Balkans, which could further spark instability 
among Russian-speaking populations in the Baltics and Russia's 
other neighbors. 
 
TALLINN 00000353  003 OF 003 
 
 
¶9.  COMMENT.  In the near term, Estonia's bilateral engagement with 
Kosovo in the area of development cooperation will remain quite 
strong.  Of particular interest to Post is Estonia's e-governance 
training with Kosovo and other development cooperation partners. 
We believe this presents an excellent opportunity for trilateral 
engagement and will be looking for ways to help promote Estonia's 
e-Governance Academy and other forms of e-governance training as a 
means to promote anti-corruption, more efficient governance and 
civil society development. 
DECKER