Government approves cooperation on protecting airspace

In a government session, the Government of the Slovak Republic approved the Agreement between the Slovak and Czech Republics on Cooperation on Mutual Protection of Airspace. The draft agreement, submitted a week earlier by Minister of Defence Peter Gajdoš, has also been approved by the Security Council of the Slovak Republic, yet still it needs to be endorsed by the Parliament and ratified by the President. Upon exchange of the instruments of ratification, the agreement will come into force on the first day of the following month.

“The Agreement will advance comprehensive, effective and mutually beneficial cooperation between both states on securing the inviolability of their airspace. It is an outcome of the above-average relationship between the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic and exemplifies real cooperation between our countries,” noted Minister of Defence Peter Gajdoš, adding that security to the airspace over one Contracting State may be provided by the assets being available to the other Contracting State.

Today both countries have been engaged in cooperation on protecting airspace within the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence System (NATINAMDS). The draft agreement extends this scope of cooperation. Provided that either the Slovak Republic or the Czech Republic temporarily loses its capability to protect its airspace, the other country will be approached to do so based on the agreement. Towards this end, specific procedures will be set out in a separate implementation agreement. The law of the affected state will be instrumental in making a decision on potential incident response action in common airspace. Nevertheless, Slovakia and Czechia will continue to provide security to their airspace independently.