Minister Naď attends Informal Meeting of EU Defence Ministers in Slovenia

Today (2 September 2021), Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď met his counterparts at the Informal Meeting of EU Defence Ministers in Slovenia. Central themes of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Defence Ministers' formation were the EU's international crisis management missions and operations and the current developments in Afghanistan. Topics of discussion included the EU's Strategic Compass and the joint proposal to establish an EU Military Advisory and Training Mission in Ukraine.

In his statement, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “The strategic goal of the EU's engagement in the Sahel region must be to strengthen the countries' capabilities to ensure the security of their citizens and to eliminate the threat of terrorism. Also for this reason, we need to gradually restore the training activities in Mali.”

While meeting at the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Defence Ministers' formation, Ministers addressed the current developments in the Sahel region, Mozambique, and the progress of Op IRINI, which is aimed at enforcing the arms embargo against Libya. In this context, Minister Naď provided an update on the ongoing deployment of SVK military personnel in support of Op EUFOR Althea in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

EU Defence Ministers also met with NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană and United Nations Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix for discussions on ways to improve cooperation between the EU, NATO and the UN.