V4 EU Battlegroup will be reinforced by Croatia in 2019

The V4 EU Battlegroup will be reinforced by Croatia in 2019. This was confirmed by the V4 defence ministers and their Croatian counterpart as they signed the Note of Accession of Croatia in a signing ceremony held on the margins of the EU Defence Ministers Meeting in Brussels today (20 November).

 

Commenting on the reinforcement of the V4 EU Battlegroup, Minister of Defence Peter Gajdoš said: “Accession of Croatia to the Battlegroup under development follows on from a series of meetings at an expert level and it was also confirmed last week during the V4 Defence Ministers Meeting in Tatranská Lomnica. I am convinced that the capabilities Croatia will contribute will be an important reinforcement of this grouping.”

 

Also discussed at todayʼs meeting of EU defence ministers was NATO-EU cooperation, with focus on hybrid and cyber threats and EU missions and operations.

 

During the meeting, Head of the MOD underlined the role of EUNAVFOR MED Operation Sophia as an important tool in the fight against illegal migration. The Slovak Republic was actively engaged in Op Sophia between August 2017 and June 2018. The reviewing of the rules for disembarking migrants rescued by the vessels of Op Sophia in the international waters, with which Italy conditions the extension of the mandate, was high on the agenda.

 

In this context, Minister of Defence Peter Gajdoš said: “In cooperation with Germany our ambition is to renew the Slovak contribution to the Operation at the beginning of 2020, which I declared at todayʼs meeting. At the same time, I confirmed our positive view on resolving the current situation and extending the mandate of the Operation. In light of the migration wave and the fight against human trafficking networks, we can allow no other scenario.”