Jüri Luik, the Estonian Defence Minister, was welcomed today (26 July) by EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq at the Agency’s premises for a fruitful exchange of views which focused on Estonia’s participation in EDA projects and programmes, cyber defence, the conclusions of the recent Long Term Review of the Agency as well as the implementation of the security and defence aspects of the EU Global Strategy.
In that context, topics such as the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD), PESCO and the ongoing work on the setting up of the European Defence Fund were also discussed. Minister Luik was furthermore briefed by EDA management and staff about the state of play in EDA’s Cyber Programme as well as on the implementation of the Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR).
Minister Luik and Chief Executive Domecq also discussed the preparations for CYBRID 2017, a strategic level table-top cyber exercise which Estonia, as the current holder of the EU Presidency, and the EDA will co-organize on 7 September, in the margins of the informal Defence Ministers meeting in Tallinn. The scope of the exercise will be crisis response in the context of a major cyber campaign against the EU military structures in a hybrid warfare context.