M. Gering: Security Not Built on Defense Spending Alone
An Estonian official argues that Ukraine's reconstruction is a strategic opportunity for Estonia, and security must also be built through development cooperation, not only military expenditures.
The Ukraine recovery conference taking place in Gdańsk on June 25–26 is another milestone in a process that has already begun. The World Bank estimates that Ukraine will need about $600 billion for reconstruction over the next decade. According to Margus Gering, an Estonian official, this is not abstract financial aid but investments for which there is fierce competition, and positions are being formed now.
In Estonia, development cooperation is still too often seen merely as aid. In reality, it is a strategic tool for advancing foreign policy and economic interests, strengthening security, building long-term partnerships, and opening doors that individual companies or institutions cannot open alone. In the case of Ukraine, Estonia's values and interests align exceptionally clearly: the stronger, more transparent, and more closely linked to Europe Ukraine becomes, the more secure Estonia's security environment will be.
Estonia's strengths lie in its reform experience, speed, and flexibility. Over the past 30 years, Estonia has built a functioning digital state, implemented complex reforms, and created effective institutions. Reconstruction is increasingly tied to reform conditions: tax systems, anti-corruption mechanisms, and transparency in public procurement. Estonia's experience makes it a partner that has walked the path itself, not just given advice from the sidelines.
Estonia's influence in Ukraine grows not only from what it does itself but also from the international capital, partners, and trust it can mobilize. In 2025, more than 70 organizations from the public, private, academic, and civil society sectors partnered with ESTDEV. The donor base is broad, including the European Commission, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Japan, Ireland, Taiwan, the UAE, and the USA. In 2026, for the first time, Estonia's development cooperation financing will come more from foreign donors (€23 million) than from the state budget (€16 million). Each euro invested by Estonia attracts additional international funding: in 2025, every euro from the state budget grew 1.67 times thanks to external resources. From 2022 to 2027, Estonia will invest €74.7 million in Ukraine's recovery, but with attracted funding, the effect is much larger. It is estimated that each million euros attracted from external sources into Estonian projects returns €300,000 in tax revenue to Estonia's economy.
The next two to three years will determine who sits at the table in the next phase of Ukraine's reconstruction. In 2027, Estonia will host a Ukraine recovery conference—an opportunity whose value will depend on the content brought to it. The biggest risk is that Estonia's role remains a sum of small, fragmented initiatives. Security is not built on defense spending alone; it is also built through strong partners, functioning institutions, and transparent governance, of which development cooperation is a part. This is an investment in a safer Europe, a stronger Ukraine, and a more competitive Estonian economy.
