Estonia moves to lift ban on transit of anti-personnel mines
Estonia's parliamentary National Defence Committee has advanced a bill allowing anti-personnel mines to be transported through the country's territory, with a first reading set for September 23.
Estonia's parliamentary Committee on National Defence decided on Monday to send to a plenary vote a bill amending the Strategic Goods Act that would lift the ban on transporting anti-personnel mines across Estonian territory.
The change follows Estonia's withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention, which bans the use of such mines, at the end of 2025 amid a deteriorating security situation. Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland withdrew from the convention alongside Estonia.
The bill's explanatory note states that a need to transport anti-personnel mines through Estonian territory could arise, for example, for Finland. In addition, US military units, which never joined the Ottawa Convention, are stationed in Estonia.
The bill's first reading in parliament is scheduled for September 23. The Committee on National Defence has sent the bill to the plenary session with a proposal to complete its first reading.
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