Estonia refuses to build a military plant for German company Rheinmetall
27 September 2025 16:21
Estonia has rejected the proposal of the German defense concern Rheinmetall to build an ammunition plant in the country.
This was stated by the country’s Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur, according to the ERR broadcasting company, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
“The terms of this proposal were such that a very large sum would have come out of the pockets of Estonian taxpayers […], and it would not have included a controlling stake for Estonia,” the defense minister said.
As noted, Estonia nevertheless decided to build a defense enterprise on its territory. For this purpose, according to media reports, an auction was organized, open to all industry enterprises. The publication clarifies that Pevkur has already announced the first agreements to be signed in the near future. Rheinmetall is not among the bidders for the tender. Moreover, the planned agreements do not impose such large obligations on Estonia as envisaged in the agreement with the German concern.
According to ERR, Rheinmetall has made similar offers to Latvia and Lithuania. The former has already signed a deal with the German group.
