Krstičević na Vijeću za vanjske poslove EU i Upravljačkom odboru EDA-e | Foto: MORH

Minister Krstičević attends EU Foreign Affairs Council and EDA Steering Board

Minister Krstičević attended the EU Foreign Affairs Council and the Steering Board of the European Defence Agency.

The Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Damir Krstičević attended the EU Foreign Affairs Council (in the defence ministers format) and a meeting of the European Defence Agency’s Steering Board in Bruxelles, held on 12 November 2019.

The ministers discussed the implementation of the EU defence initiatives, operations and missions and the EU-NATO co-operation. The Council decided to launch 13 new PESCO projects, focussed on capabilities development and training.

Minister Krstičević underlined the importance of strategic-level discussion for continued implementation of the Global Strategy goals in the fields of security and defence. The member countries made progress with the Common Security and Defence Policy, as evident from the launching and implementation of Permanent Structured Co-operation, the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence, military mobility and through the efforts to establish the European Defence Fund. The Minister highlighted the PESCO projects that provide solid platform for the co-operation of the member countries and enable the development of key EU capabilities.

During the discussion on the EU-NATO co-operation Minister Krstičević reviewed the output of the undertaken activities, and praised Military Mobility and Cyber Rapid Response Teams and Mutual Assistance in Cyber Security as projects with best results.

Vijeće za vanjske poslove EU; EDA; potpredsjednik vlade i ministar obrane RH Damir Krstičević | Foto © Mario Salerno

Minister Krstičević: “Croatia is ready to take over presidency of EU”

Minister Krstičević underlined the Croatian readiness presidency of the Foreign Affairs Council of the EU and the priorities in the domain of security and defence- continued efforts in implementation and coherence of the launched defence initiatives (PESCO, CARD, European Defence Fund and Military Mobility) and the strengthening of NATO-EU co-operation and the Transatlantic Link, strengthening of the industrial dimension of defence and intensified engagement of the EU in security and defence in southeast Europe.

In his contribution to the Steering Board of the European Defence Agency the Minister highlighted the achieved results and the important role of the Agency supporting the member countries with the implementation of defence initiatives such as PESCO and CARD.

Agreement for PESCO’s CBRN SaaS

On the margins of the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in the defence ministers format, Croatia, Austria, Hungary and Slovenia signed the Programme Agreement with the European Defence Agency for PESCO project “Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Surveillance as a Service” (“CBRN SaaS”), aimed at developing a permanent network of sensors, composed of UAVs and UGVs, providing an integral operational CBRN picture. The project is designed to develop the insufficient goals and capabilities of the EU, enhance the regional and bilateral defence co-operation and create opportunities for the Croatian defence industry.

[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”3781″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″]