Defence Minister J. Naď: “Regional cooperation in the V4 format brings concrete results and has added value, we want to preserve this dynamics”

Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď participated in the Visegrad Group (V4) Defence Ministers Meeting in Prague today (24 June 2020). This was the final meeting of the defence ministers under the Czech V4 Presidency, to be taken over by the Republic of Poland on 1 July 2020. Therefore, central themes of the meeting included taking stock of the CZE V4 Presidency results and the upcoming POL V4 Presidency priorities and activities.

At the meeting, the heads of the V4 MODs underlined the importance of the revised strategic document “Long Term Vision of Visegrad Group Countries on their Defence Cooperation”, which they affirmed with their signatures today. “Regional cooperation in the V4 format brings concrete results and has added value. Our goal is, therefore, to preserve the current dynamics of cooperation and projects development, which is beneficial not just to the Slovak Armed Forces, but also to SVK citizens,“ said Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď, adding that his V4 partners can count on his full support in the coming period.

The V4 defence ministers also paid close attention to the conclusions of the recent NATO and EU defence ministerials and the V4 countries' contribution to new defence initiatives and overall resilience and readiness. “It is important for us to preserve continuity and communicate the unity of the Alliance strategically, even in these difficult times of the pandemic. Given the expected negative influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on our defence budgets, we support the coherence of defence initiatives to the maximum extent possible,” said Minister Naď.

At the same time, he acknowledged that Slovakia remains fully committed to delivering on its commitments vis-à-vis its partners. “I am doing my best I can to reach the 2% defence expenditure target. Despite this, we cannot predict with certainty how hard our economies will be hit by the coronavirus pandemic and what the nominal value of our contributions will be. Beyond any doubt, some budget cuts must be expected,” he explained.

Additionally, Minister Naď updated his colleagues on the current and planned deployments of SVK military personnel on international crisis management missions and operations. “Slovakia wants to be part of building security in the world and hence confirm that we are a reliable partner, both in the NATO Alliance and in the European Union,” he said.

On bolstering the EU's engagement in the world, the V4 defence ministers focused on further progress in the stand-up of the V4 EU Battlegroup. “For the EU, the joint V4 EU Battlegroup means an important operational capability and I am immensely pleased that our countries have unanimously declared their interest in standing up the V4 EU Battlegroup in the first half of 2023. At the military level, military recommendations on the parameters for the stand-up of the Battlegroup have already been approved,” he said.

The official programme of the V4 defence ministers in Prague will continue on Thursday with their speeches and panel discussion at the Czech Republic's 7th National Conference titled “Our Security Cannot Be Taken for Granted“.