Minister Banožić attends Framework Nations Concept meeting

The joint development of military capabilities and the establishment of larger combat formations are fundamental areas of the FNC’s work, and at this seventh informal ministerial meeting, strong support was expressed for continued operation within the FNC and the “Fourth Progress Report” has been adopted.

The report outlines clear guidelines for the development of the FNC in order to address the challenges faced by the armed forces of Allied and Partner countries today, and places the emphasis on the importance of a major focus on collective defence, without neglecting international crisis management and co-operative security. The emphasis is placed on the further development of credible and capable military forces grouped into larger formations.

Minister Banožić in his contribution said that the Republic of Croatia would continue contributing to the development of the FNC, and underlined the importance of synchronised development of capabilities between NATO and the EU, and that the establishment of larger formations would certainly enhance the European defence. The Minister also highlighted Hungary’s and Croatia’s activity in formation of the Multinational Division Command in Székesfehérvár (HU), and extended appreciation to the Federal Republic of Germany for the support and mentoring with the process.

Bearing in mind the new financial situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, initiatives for multinational development of military capabilities are gaining increasing importance”, said Minister Banožić.

The Republic of Croatia declared the following forces in the major formation within the FNC in 2017: a motorised infantry battalion, a MP platoon, a logistic support platoon and up to five staff officers in senior commands. Croatia is presently active in two capability development clusters – “Logistics” and “Joint Fire Support“, while it also plans to join the clusters “Larger Formations” and “Multinational Air Transport Unit”.

The Framework Nation Concept (FNC) initiative was launched by the Federal Republic of Germany at NATO defence meeting held in June 2013. The FNC is a framework for the interested allies and partners build a platform for joint maintenance and upgrade of the existing and joint development of new military capabilities and setting up of larger military formations.

It was officially promoted at NATO Summit in Wales in September 2014, then three groups of nations were announced and subsequently established, with three framework nations: Federal Republic of Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy. Today the German FNC comprises 21 countries – 17 NATO and 4 Partner countries (Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria and Finland).