Slovakia starts contributing to NATO rapid reaction forces next year

Slovakia will start to contribute to the NATO Rapid Reaction Forces as of the second half of next year, Slovak Defence Minister Juraj Liska said after meeting with his Slovenian counterpart Karl Victor Erjavec in Bratislava on Thursday. Slovakia will provide six commissioned officers, as well as facilities such as training laboratories for protection against radiation and chemical and biological hazards. Also, Slovakia will provide a 20-member guard unit, four commissioned officers in the first half of 2007, as well as the vehicular battalion group in the first half of 2008. According to Liska, Slovakia will support the dispatching of the same army units for NATO as well as for the EU.

Slovakia will mainly co-operate with Poland and Germany. However, Liska didn't rule out the possibility to co-operate with other countries as well. Slovakia plans to reinforce its position in the Balkans, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Afghanistan. Liska and Ervajec agreed that NATO should financially support all its army operations from its own budget because NATO member countries have to pay for NATO army operations from their national budgets. However, not all NATO member countries provide soldiers and military equipment in operations. Liska sees NATO's major task in peacekeeping in non-member, often remote countries. Therefore, according to Liska, Slovakia and Slovenia should help out in NATO operations financially or through transport.

Liska thinks that within NATO there is a need to synchronise the political decisions with NATO's operating capabilities and its financial resources. Therefore, Liska is supporting the creation of a NATO Strategic Plan that would deal with this issue. Slovakia's armed forces are able to contribute some 15 million Euros annually to the NATO budget. Talks were also focused on the fight against terrorism, as well as on NATO reforms and the professionalisation of their respective armed forces.