According to Dutch news agency ANP, the Netherlands and Germany are willing to deploy a combined unit to form the backbone of NATO’s new military headquarters for the Baltic states in Estonia.
The plans have not been officially confirmed yet on a government level, but it would fit in the agreement the NATO countries made to reorganise their current structure. Currently, the international defences of the Baltic states are run from two headquarters in Poland: the HQ Multinational Corps Northeast (MNC NE) in Szczecin near the German border, with lower-ranked HQ for the Multinational Division North East in Elbląg closer to Lithuania.
Pros and cons of a NATO Headquarters in the Baltic States
In case of Russian aggression, the Baltic states fear they will not get the support they need, and a NATO main headquarters in Estonia would give them more confidence. Critics say that such an HQ will be relatively quickly overrun in case Russia chooses to attack Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Germany already has a combat unit based in Lithuania. The first troops arrived in April 2024. | © 2026 Marcel Burger, nordicreporter.com. Photo: First group of 20 German troops to start Germany’s first permanent presence abroad since WW2 arrived in Lithuania on 8 March 2024 (Press photo: Lithuanian Ministry of Defence)