On May 3 and 4 Defence Minister Csaba Hende attended the Defence Ministerial Meeting of the Visegrád Cooperation (V4) countries in the town of Litomericé in the Czech Republic, which is currently holding the presidency of the Visegrád Group.

At their meeting, the Defence Ministers of the Visegrád Cooperation countries – Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland – reviewed the results of the Czech V4 presidency period and the directions for further cooperation. They discussed the formation of a new EU Battle Group, cooperation within the NATO alliance and the possible joint capability development projects of the V4 countries.

The EU Battle Group – the most important element of defence cooperation among the V4 countries – is planned to be set up by 2016.

Speaking at the meeting, Defence Minister Csaba Hende welcomed Poland’s undertaking the framework nation role for the V4 EU Battle Group. The 3,000+-strong Battle Group will be activated on January 1, 2016 and will be on stand-by during the first half of 2016.

During the discussions the Ministers reaffirmed their commitment that they had already expressed at the NATO Defence Ministerial Meeting in Brussels in April by issuing a joint V4 declaration “Responsibility for a Strong NATO”. The V4 countries continue to strengthen their joint defence capabilities by conducting bilateral, regional and wide-ranging multinational cooperation, increase the interoperability of their armed forces and undertake a more active role in the international community with special regard to NATO and the EU.

(Ministry of Defence)