NATO and EU Chiefs of Defence meet for discussions over video conference for first time

The Slovak Republic's accession into the EU and NATO in 2004 was an acknowledgement of Slovakia's affiliation to the Western civilisation and its will to establish itself as a constituent of the zone of stability, democracy, rule of law and prosperity into the future, and the SVK Armed Forces have regularly proved so. On Wednesday 13 May, Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko joined in with other EU highest military leaders for discussions via a video conference call.

Because of the persisting lockdown restrictions, Chairman of the EU Military Committee (CEUMC) General Claudio Graziano decided to have the date of the planned EUMC meeting delayed until July, though the video conference of the EU's 27 highest military leaders went ahead as scheduled. The main topic of discussions was the impact the pandemic is having on European armed forces and current developments in EU military operations.

One by one, EU Chiefs of Defence delivered their remarks. According to their statements, EU Member States have actively engaged their armed forces in the national response to the pandemic. Individual nations have employed their armed forces not just for assistance and support tasks, but also for separate operations in and out of their own countries, with focus on strategic airlift, evacuation, transport of people and medical supplies, and support to security operations.

Representatives of individual countries concurred that in resolving tasks, they have been mainly faced with shortages of military medical capacities and CBRN units, and so have with the decentralisation and intricacy of managing complex civil-military activities. In tackling the challenges, the adapted unified command structure in the form of Joint Operations Centres and the use of Joint Force HQs for running national military operations in the fight against the pandemic have proved to be critical to the effectiveness of the national response. An important role in this has been played by specific military capacities for countering disinformation and civil-military cooperation.

Gen Daniel Zmeko assured his colleagues of Slovakia's support for ongoing EU missions and operations, with the participation of the SVK Armed Forces. "These days, we are considering ways to extend our involvement in other military missions, especially with EUTM in Mali and, prospectively, with Op EUNAVFOR MED IRINI," explained Gen Zmeko.

In his remarks, the Chief of Defence pointed to the SVK Armed Forces' active role in the battle against the pandemic and their continual deployment on the frontline since early March 2020. Aside assistance and support tasks in response to COVID-19, he particularly underscored the national specialism wherein the Armed Forces have delivered coronavirus testing, transported medical material, distributed supplies to civilian populations, and tackle the urgent situation across marginalised communities by sealing off some critical locations.

In his remarks, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell stressed the need for strengthening strategic transport capacities, joint capabilities and EU programmes, including developing the CARD and PESCO initiatives, and especially furthering cooperation amongst EU countries and external partnerships. On the pandemic situation in Europe, he stated that health is becoming a strategic security issue for the European Union.

On Thursday (14 May), Gen Zmeko will participate in an official session of the NATO Military Committee. For the first time, NATO Chiefs of Defence will meet via secure video conference. It will be chaired by Chairman of the NATO Military Committee Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach along with Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) General Tod D. Wolters and Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT) General André Lanata.