"Speaking about cybersecurity, we are also considering the issue of the Tallinn center. I have promised that as soon as our debates on the defense budget are over, we will make our decision on this issue. I am very optimistic about this issue," Rasmussen said after talks with Estonia’s Prime Minister Juri Ratas in Tallinn.
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The talks took place during Rasmussen's official visit to Estonia.
The center, launched in 2008, two years after Estonia gained NATO membership, aims to provide its member states and NATO members with cyberdefense expertise in various areas of technology, strategy, operations, and law.
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At present, 17 countries participate in the center’s operation in a status of Sponsoring Nations. This list includes Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Austria, Finland, and Sweden are the center’s contributing participants. This status applies to non-NATO nations.