Peter Gajdoš attends conference on strengthening European security and defence

Minister of Defence Peter Gajdoš participated in the Defence & Security Conference in Prague, organised by the Czech Government Office in collaboration with the European Commission. The main theme was European defence and security against the backdrop of the EU's current self-reflection process. As part of the conference, Minister Gajdoš met with the new Minister for the Armed Services of the French Republic Sylvie Goulard to address current security issues and bilateral cooperation.

During the meeting with the French Minister, Peter Gajdoš underscored the defence engagement between the two countries, which is at a very good level, as evidenced by the recent signature of the Bilateral Cooperation Plan between the Slovak Republic and the French Republic for 2017. They also touched on the enduring threats of extremism, terrorism and migration. In connection with the conference theme, Minister Gajdoš remarked that “we decisively support practical, gradual and inclusive steps to boost the Union's rapid response and efficiency in the field of security and defence.” In the margins of the conference in Prague, Minister Gajdoš also met with European Commissioner Elźbieta Bieńkowska to discuss, above all, the newly established European Defence Fund (EDF) and ways how Slovakia might get involved in it. The conference saw ministers of foreign affairs, including SVK Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák, and defence ministers in the presence of EU High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Junckerdiscussing the strengthening of the European Union's position as a global actor.