Meeting of V4 Ministers
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- Date: 02.02.2017
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The engagement of troops from the Visegrad Group countries in the Baltics and the areas of V4 cooperation on NATO's Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) were the main issues on the agenda of the V4 Defence Ministers' meeting in Poland's Niepołomice. Poland is the current holder of the V4 Presidency. Among its priorities are the delivery of a collective strengthening of NATO's eastern borders, the stand-up of a joint battlegroup (V4 EU BG), and the provision of support to joint exercises and training.
During the talks, SVK Minister of Defence Peter Gajdoš reassured his colleagues of a continuing interest in deepening V4 cooperation, especially at a time when Europe is faced with a number of crises. “We welcome measures aimed at strengthening NATO's eastern borders, we have been part of them after all,” he said. The Minister went on to remind that the V4 countries are joining Allied efforts by deploying their troops to the Baltics on a three-month rotational basis. The SVK Armed Forces will take on their role in Latvia in the second quarter of this year. He called on his partners to evaluate their lessons learned from the deployments to the Baltics once they were completed, and to discuss the V4's potential future involvement in stepping up the so-called enhanced Forward Presence (eFP).
On another joint initiative by the V4 countries – the V4 EU BG, Peter Gajdoš said: “I am pleased that expert level talks have begun on another joint V4 EU BG, which will be on stand-by in 2019. This is an important political message we are sending to our Allies. The added value for us is joint training, regular meetings and coordination of our activities. At the same time, we should bear in mind the significance of the certification exercise and our efforts to enhance the compatibility of our militaries.” According to Minister Gajdoš, the continuity of the battlegroup project may well result in the stand-up of a V4 Permanent Modular Force (V4 PMF), which will be deployable on NATO and EU operations and missions as well as on domestic crisis management operations.
During the meeting, the Czech Republic put forward a suggestion to the current Polish V4 Presidency to organise a meeting in Brussels of the V4 Ministers of Defence with the new United States Secretary of Defence, Mr James Mattis. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Ministers signed a joint communiqué where they reaffirmed their interest in pressing on with the projects under development.
During the talks, SVK Minister of Defence Peter Gajdoš reassured his colleagues of a continuing interest in deepening V4 cooperation, especially at a time when Europe is faced with a number of crises. “We welcome measures aimed at strengthening NATO's eastern borders, we have been part of them after all,” he said. The Minister went on to remind that the V4 countries are joining Allied efforts by deploying their troops to the Baltics on a three-month rotational basis. The SVK Armed Forces will take on their role in Latvia in the second quarter of this year. He called on his partners to evaluate their lessons learned from the deployments to the Baltics once they were completed, and to discuss the V4's potential future involvement in stepping up the so-called enhanced Forward Presence (eFP).
On another joint initiative by the V4 countries – the V4 EU BG, Peter Gajdoš said: “I am pleased that expert level talks have begun on another joint V4 EU BG, which will be on stand-by in 2019. This is an important political message we are sending to our Allies. The added value for us is joint training, regular meetings and coordination of our activities. At the same time, we should bear in mind the significance of the certification exercise and our efforts to enhance the compatibility of our militaries.” According to Minister Gajdoš, the continuity of the battlegroup project may well result in the stand-up of a V4 Permanent Modular Force (V4 PMF), which will be deployable on NATO and EU operations and missions as well as on domestic crisis management operations.
During the meeting, the Czech Republic put forward a suggestion to the current Polish V4 Presidency to organise a meeting in Brussels of the V4 Ministers of Defence with the new United States Secretary of Defence, Mr James Mattis. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Ministers signed a joint communiqué where they reaffirmed their interest in pressing on with the projects under development.
