and other fields of EU’s courses of action are an important factor in maintaining Estonia’s security. Estonia contributes to increasing the EU’s international influence by taking part of the development and implementation of the CFSP and CSDP and stands for the greater cohesion of the European Union’s external action. Developing EU defence cooperation and creating new more effective capabilities for member states will increase the Union’s influence and strengthen security. Political dialogue, close cooperation and bilateral coordination of EU and NATO activities is crucial for the effective protection of European and transatlantic interests. Estonia will continue to promote the cooperation between the European Union and NATO, including in the fields of strategic communication and situational awareness. As Russia has become more aggressive in the past decade, Estonia works for greater unanimity and consistency in EU’s and NATO’s Russian policy. Estonia supports the continued enforcement of the restrictive measures imposed until their reasons have been eliminated. As a neighbouring state, Estonia will cooperate with Russia on a practical level as much as necessary and will keep the options for dialogue open. The development of democracy and the rule of law in Russia would serve Estonia’s interests. Estonia supports enlargement of both the European Union and NATO. The enlargement will reinforce the Western values and virtues in Europe and around the World. Membership should primarily depend on a candidate state’s readiness to bear responsibility and fulfilment of membership criterias. Drawing on its own experience, Estonia will support the integration of states that would like to join NATO and the European Union, and help them to carry out required reforms and develop civil society. Estonia values the EU’s and NATO’s partnerships with third countries. Estonia promotes the European Union’s neighbourhood policy and wants this to develop into an effective instrument in bringing the target states of the neighbourhood policy closer to the Union and increasing stability in those countries. As a member of NATO, Estonia approaches flexibly to all organisations’ partnerships. In addition to being active in international organisations, Estonia develops bilateral relations that help to secure its international status, find common interests and conduct joint activities, thereby increasing Estonia’s security. Broad cooperation with all allies and partnerships with similarly minded democratic states are an intrinsic part of Estonian security. A good relationship between Estonia and the United States reinforces Estonian security and transatlantic cooperation. US involvement in maintaining of European security is the central factor in the security of Estonia and the whole of Europe. For Estonia, the strong transatlantic link is manifested in the US presence, including its military presence in Europe, cooperation within NATO, and relations between the EU and the United States, which are also the prerequisite for resolving global political, economic and environmental issues. It is important to deepen EU-US cooperation in international organisations, tighten economic and trade relations, and facilitate cooperation in internal and legal matters and in the field of energy security and research. Estonia wishes to promote extensive bilateral relations in all significant fields with the United States and deepen the dialogue between the two countries. Estonia wants to maintain a good relationship with all its neighbouring states. Its objective is to maintain and develop security in the Baltic Sea region. Closer cooperation between the Nordic and Baltic states is in Estonia’s interests. In this way, the country can promote political dialogue and security cooperation, including in the fields of defence, energy, environmental protection 10