To more effectively develop the Baltic Defence Line, the Ministry of Defence has prepared a draft law on the construction of infrastructure necessary for counter-mobility and mobility measures.
The bill establishes a special legal framework for the placement of material and technical assets, construction of infrastructure, and expropriation of real estate in border areas for counter-mobility and mobility operations.
The bill establishes that Cabinet of Ministers will determine the specific properties or parts of properties required for this infrastructure, as well as those subject to easements. The designated territory will be granted the status of an object of national interest.
State Real Estate (VNĪ) will be responsible for organizing and managing construction, placement of materials, and coordinating the activities of institutions involved.
The State Centre for Defence Military Sites and Procurement will handle real estate expropriation, land surveying, and cadastral measurement.
The National Armed Forces (NBS) will also be allowed to carry out the necessary construction and deployment of materials.
Any structures built during this process will be registered and entered into the Land Register on behalf of the state, represented by the Ministry of Defence.
Easements may be established on private property if necessary for material placement or infrastructure development, and will remain until the property is officially expropriated by the state.
The Ministry of Defence will have the right to cut trees and shrubs and carry out preparatory work and construction on properties slated for expropriation.
Any buildings erected before the expropriation process is completed will be entered into the Land Register once property rights are finalized.
The bill exempts such military infrastructure projects from standard construction regulations, as well as forestry, logging, and environmental protection rules.
Ownership of felled trees will be assigned to Latvian State Forests (LVM), which will inventory them as timber products.
Private landowners affected by the easements will be allowed to use logging permits issued by the State Forest Service for up to three months after receiving expropriation notice.
The entity carrying out the construction will have the right to remove trees and shrubs on other private lands if it is necessary to access the work sites.
It will be forbidden to obstruct construction or interfere with infrastructure and equipment related to counter-mobility and mobility measures. Unauthorized movement or damage of such infrastructure is also prohibited.
To ensure swift implementation, public procurement rules will not apply to materials, construction, services, and equipment needed for the defence infrastructure.
The NBS is currently implementing the Eastern Border Military Reinforcement and Counter-Mobility Plan, with 45 million euros allocated in 2024.
This year, the government plans to procure anti-mobility barriers, sensors, artillery systems, mine-laying equipment, and to support the State Border Guard. Engineering bases will also be built in eastern Vidzeme.
The plan has already increased NBS capabilities to block enemy land forces, creating barriers and blocking certain routes.
Currently, 400 km of the Russian and Belarusian border is being surveyed and outfitted with obstacles.
In the coming years, fortified defence posts, barrier lines, sensors, and storage for ammunition and mines will be established.
The government approved the military reinforcement and counter-mobility plan last year as part of the Baltic Defence Line, which foresees 303 million euros in investments over five years. In 2023, 25 million euros was allocated.
With these funds, temporary engineering bases were established near the Russia–Belarus border in Latgale, housing tens of thousands of anti-mobility elements—concrete blocks, dragon’s teeth, anti-tank hedgehogs, and others—produced by Latvian companies.
Latvian businesses supplied 75% of the defence construction materials in 2024, primarily concrete and metal structures.
To control or block transportation if needed, materials have been strategically pre-positioned, and several former border checkpoints and routes have already been blocked with anti-mobility structures.
In January 2024, the defence ministers of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia signed an agreement to create the Baltic Defence Line, aimed at strengthening NATO’s eastern border. In May 2023, Poland announced its intention to join the initiative.
While the Baltic Defence Line is being built in coordination, each country funds its portion individually.