CEDC Defence Ministers discuss ways to intensify cooperation on security and defence
- Author:
- Photo:
- Date: 16.12.2020
- Share: Zdieľať na Facebook
The Central European Defence Cooperation (CEDC) Defence Ministers Meeting took place over the past two days in Postojna, Slovenia. The main themes were current security and defence challenges as well as a potential deepening of mutual cooperation, which was confirmed by the participants in the Joint Declaration of the CEDC Ministers of Defence. The SVK Ministry of Defence was represented at the meeting by Deputy Defence Minister Marián Majer.
On SARS-CoV-2, the CEDC countries exchanged lessons learned from the fight against the spread of the infection and discussed the role of the Armed Forces in curbing the pandemic and the increasing occurrence of hybrid threats in the form of disinformation. “The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by a large number of false and imprecise information from external actors. To sustain public confidence, it is inevitable to make public and disclose disinformation, including its methods and goals, based on reliable evidence,” stated Deputy Defence Minister Majer. On communications and efforts to make the CEDC format more visible, he praised the launch of the new CEDC website.
A CEDC contribution to bolstering the EU’s civil-military cooperation on containment of SARS-CoV-2 was a topic of multilateral importance. To this end, Deputy Defence Minister Majer noted: “The current situation is an opportunity to show people the capabilities of the Armed Forces and the fact that soldiers are here to help. It is also an opportunity for the EU and NATO to show the citizens of the Member States the added value of their membership in these organisations.”
One session of the CEDC meeting was joined by partners from the Western Balkans over video conference. The aim of this session was to strengthen dialogue on security and defence with the countries. “The Western Balkans is, unequivocally, one of our foreign policy priorities. Inviting our partners from the Western Balkans to our meeting is an excellent way of showing our support to their Euro-Atlantic path and our interest in their European future,” said Deputy Defence Minister Majer.
The CEDC Defence Ministers Meeting, attended by the Defence Ministers of Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Austria and Poland as an observer, was held under the Slovenian CEDC Presidency, whilst observing strict epidemiological measures.
On SARS-CoV-2, the CEDC countries exchanged lessons learned from the fight against the spread of the infection and discussed the role of the Armed Forces in curbing the pandemic and the increasing occurrence of hybrid threats in the form of disinformation. “The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by a large number of false and imprecise information from external actors. To sustain public confidence, it is inevitable to make public and disclose disinformation, including its methods and goals, based on reliable evidence,” stated Deputy Defence Minister Majer. On communications and efforts to make the CEDC format more visible, he praised the launch of the new CEDC website.
A CEDC contribution to bolstering the EU’s civil-military cooperation on containment of SARS-CoV-2 was a topic of multilateral importance. To this end, Deputy Defence Minister Majer noted: “The current situation is an opportunity to show people the capabilities of the Armed Forces and the fact that soldiers are here to help. It is also an opportunity for the EU and NATO to show the citizens of the Member States the added value of their membership in these organisations.”
One session of the CEDC meeting was joined by partners from the Western Balkans over video conference. The aim of this session was to strengthen dialogue on security and defence with the countries. “The Western Balkans is, unequivocally, one of our foreign policy priorities. Inviting our partners from the Western Balkans to our meeting is an excellent way of showing our support to their Euro-Atlantic path and our interest in their European future,” said Deputy Defence Minister Majer.
The CEDC Defence Ministers Meeting, attended by the Defence Ministers of Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Austria and Poland as an observer, was held under the Slovenian CEDC Presidency, whilst observing strict epidemiological measures.
