Deputy Defence Minister Majer meets NATO defence planning expert Paul Savereux to discuss defence planning priorities
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- Date: 21.04.2022
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Meeting at the Ministry of Defence in Bratislava today (21 April 2022), Deputy Defence Minister Marian Majer spoke with Mr Paul Savereux, the Director of Defence Planning, Defence Policy and Planning (DPP) Division at NATO HQ, to discuss defence planning priorities. In the context of scrutinising Allies' defence plans, the main subjects of the meeting were Slovakia's defence capabilities development, defence expenditure, and ongoing and future equipment plans.
On the augmentation of defence capabilities and spending, Deputy Defence Minister Marian Majer said: “The Slovak Government has made delivering the NATO Capability Targets its high priority. We have been working very intensely towards reaching 2% of GDP on defence spending at the earliest possible opportunity and investing a minimum of 20% of that into the modernisation of our Armed Forces.”
Mr Majer went on to remind that the SVK MOD's Long-Term Defence Development Plan 2035 has been finalised. Consistent with Slovakia's commitments towards NATO, it underscores, among other things, the need to see the formation of Heavy Mechanised Brigade units through to a successful completion.
On modernisation programmes, Mr Majer remarked: “In the coming period, we are going to make significant investments into our Army. Most recently, on 30 March 2022, the Slovak Government gave the MOD the mandate to sign a contract to procure 76 Patria 8x8 wheeled armoured fighting vehicles. In addition, the bids for the Tracked Armoured Fighting Vehicle Programme are in the process of being evaluated.”
The Thursday meeting with the Director of NATO Defence Planning in Bratislava has taken place in the context of a series of bilateral meetings between Slovakia and NATO, the outcomes of which will be incorporated into the upcoming NATO Defence Planning Capability Review (DPCR). This is conducted on a 2-year assessment cycle as part of the NATO Defence Planning Process (NDPP).
