Formats of multinational cooperation as main topics of discussion for State Secretary R. Ondrejcsák in Berlin
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- Date: 14.11.2017
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State Secretary of the SVK MOD R. Ondrejcsák held talks with representatives of the German Federal Ministry of Defence and leading foreign policy experts in Berlin on 14 November 2017.
With his counterpart Parliamentary State Secretary R. Brauksiepe, Secretary Ondrejcsák discussed areas of potential multinational cooperation on removing capability shortfalls through different formats – the Framework Nations Concept and the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO). Both officials gave their assessments of the bilateral cooperation in light of the Enhanced Structured Intergovernmental Dialogue, approved in April 2017.
The visit to the German Ministry of Defence occurred the day after both countries had signed up for a joint notification on the EU's Permanent Structured Cooperation (at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting of 13 November 2017). The process of setting up PESCO, including the definition of PESCO commitments and criteria, the governance structure, and a list of concrete projects to be developed under this brand mark, was conducted under the baton of Germany and France.
Speaking after the meeting, the State Secretary said: “This a European process of creating PESCO, which is led, in its entirety, by European countries and they set the processes in a way that they are not delegated by institutions, but rather meet national priorities in response to common capability shortfalls of our armed forces.” He further added that“Having signed up for PESCO, both countries met at the club that wants to do more collectively in the field security and defence. Especially this area is the first where, just a year on after the Bratislava Summit, the tempo of European integration is at a high and intense level.”
Germany is one of the leaders of the multinational cooperation processes that are geared towards mitigating the capability shortfalls of NATO and EU countries. As a result, potential areas of cooperation were discussed from this perspective, including the Framework Nations Concept in the fields of military medicine, logistics, CBRN, etc. Since August 2017 operational cooperation has been underway in the Mediterranean Sea as part of EUNAVFOR MED Operation Sophia, with a SVK Armed Forces Boarding Team operating from a German Navy ship. “Bearing in mind that this is a maritime operation, the training and operations are a unique experience for our service members,” remarked R. Ondrejcsák.
With his counterpart Parliamentary State Secretary R. Brauksiepe, Secretary Ondrejcsák discussed areas of potential multinational cooperation on removing capability shortfalls through different formats – the Framework Nations Concept and the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO). Both officials gave their assessments of the bilateral cooperation in light of the Enhanced Structured Intergovernmental Dialogue, approved in April 2017.
The visit to the German Ministry of Defence occurred the day after both countries had signed up for a joint notification on the EU's Permanent Structured Cooperation (at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting of 13 November 2017). The process of setting up PESCO, including the definition of PESCO commitments and criteria, the governance structure, and a list of concrete projects to be developed under this brand mark, was conducted under the baton of Germany and France.
Speaking after the meeting, the State Secretary said: “This a European process of creating PESCO, which is led, in its entirety, by European countries and they set the processes in a way that they are not delegated by institutions, but rather meet national priorities in response to common capability shortfalls of our armed forces.” He further added that“Having signed up for PESCO, both countries met at the club that wants to do more collectively in the field security and defence. Especially this area is the first where, just a year on after the Bratislava Summit, the tempo of European integration is at a high and intense level.”
Germany is one of the leaders of the multinational cooperation processes that are geared towards mitigating the capability shortfalls of NATO and EU countries. As a result, potential areas of cooperation were discussed from this perspective, including the Framework Nations Concept in the fields of military medicine, logistics, CBRN, etc. Since August 2017 operational cooperation has been underway in the Mediterranean Sea as part of EUNAVFOR MED Operation Sophia, with a SVK Armed Forces Boarding Team operating from a German Navy ship. “Bearing in mind that this is a maritime operation, the training and operations are a unique experience for our service members,” remarked R. Ondrejcsák.
