Croatian Chairmanship of Central European Defence Cooperation
On 1 January 2021 the Republic of Croatia took over the chairmanship of CEDC from the Republic of Slovenia.
The priorities of the Croatian Chairmanship of the Central European Defence Cooperation in 2021 encompass:
- Strengthening the resilience to security threats and the response capabilitie and capacities through the establishment of a CEDC cooperation mechanism to counter misinformation and false news
- The development of partnerships of the countries of central and southeast Europe by fostering dialogue on the importance of strategic communication related to crisis management, with the aim of procuring effective response tools
- Coordination of positions on open issues and ongoing projects of the European Union, focussed on enhanced solidarity and co-operation with the partners and operational links between NATO and the EU and the continued discussions and expert workshops on the subject of military mobility
Throughout the year 2021 the Republic of Croatia will place the emphasis on the implementation of the conclusions from the Zagreb Summit, held on 6 May 2020, particularly in the context of building resilience to threats arising from misinformation and related hybrid activities.
Increasing the resilience
The spread of fake news and misinformation the so-called infodemia, calls for an efficient response to misinformation campaigns.
The Croatian chairing of CEDC in 2021 will feature expert workshops and training activities and the establishment of a CEDC cooperation mechanism aimed at increasing the resilience to the threats arising from misinformation and fake news.
The co-operation in Central and southeast Europe within the framework of Central European Defence Co-operation will contribute to the building of wider regional resilience to the given aspect of hybrid action.
Development of partnerships of the central and Southeast European Countries
The strengthening of the CEDC partnerships with the south European countries will take place by raising the awareness and expertise related to prevention and countering hybrid threats arising from the spread of misinformation and fake news.
The activities accompanied by top political level discussions will encourage the dialogue on the importance of strategic communication in crisis management aimed at procuring efficient tools of response to misinformation campaigns and fake news.
The exchange of experiences and good practice of the strategic communication with the emphasis on crisis response from the perspective of defence systems will promote the cooperation between the CEDC member countries and the Western Balkans.
Co-ordination of attiudes on Open issues and ongoing EU projects
A priority of the Croatian chairing of CEDC in 2021 is to strengthen the solidarity and co-operation with partners, and to strengthen operational ties between the two partner organisations, NATO and the European Union.
Within the CEDC, the Republic of Croatia will promote discussions and coordinate positions of the member countries on the European Defence Fund (EDF), and on further development of the Strategic Compass – an initiative aimed at linking the European Union Global Strategy (EUGS) and military planning processes at the EU level.
Given the emphasis placed on the importance of civil-military co-operation and on their elements in the EU defence initiatives, the Croatian chairing will feature continued discussions and expert workshops on military mobility, aimed at improving the existing mechanisms and drafting recommendations for more efficient use of available resources.