Allied Defence Ministers meet for talks on the present and future of NATO

Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď and Deputy Defence Minister Marian Majer took part in the NATO Defence Ministers Meeting at NATO's HQ in Brussels on 17-18 February 2021. Due to epidemiological restrictions in place, the defence ministerial took place via videoconference. Allied leaders talked about current developments and challenges in the field of defence and security. Looking into the future, they also addressed NATO 2030.

Speaking during the meeting, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď emphasised: “Through collective efforts, all NATO countries seek to remain strong, united and ready even into the future. Therefore, meeting our commitments is an important precondition for attaining our goals.”

In this spirit, Jaroslav Naď updated Allies on the surging trend of SVK defence expenditure. It has grown by over 120% since 2014. For the first time ever, Slovakia reached the target of 2% of GDP on defence in 2020. The head of the MOD also briefed his colleagues on Slovakia's newly adopted strategic security and defence documents.

During the meeting, Ministers recommended launching the process of updating the NATO Strategic Concept (NSC) and approved the NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept (NWCC), which is to guide the Alliance's warfighting development, with a view to maintaining NATO's military and technical supremacy over a 20-year horizon. On current Alliance activities, NATO Allies discussed Iraq and Afghanistan, agreed the next steps ahead, and reiterated their shared interest in supporting stability in these countries.

In a separate session via VTC, Ministers also met with NATO partners – EU High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell, and the Defence Ministers of Finland and Sweden for talks on the alignment of NATO and EU processes, especially of NATO's Strategic Concept and the EU's Strategic Compass. On NATO-EU efforts in this field, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď explained: “Indeed, these two processes are similar. That's why it is in our shared interest to coordinate their progress so that their outcomes mean no duplication, but rather complement each other to the benefit of reinforcing the transatlantic bond.”