MOD State Secretary Simunovic met Nordic Battle Group Commander

General Anderson has been visiting Croatia as part of the final visit of countries that contribute to Nordic battle group. Croatia in the battle group is participating with two helicopters and 20 CAF members. Apart from Croatia, the Kingdom of Sweden as the leading nation, the Kingdom of Norway, Finland, Ireland and the Republic of Estonia have been participating in the Nordic battle group. Nordic battle group, under the concept of EU battle groups and the maintenance of high-readiness force for potential crises, has been in high-readiness mode from 1 January to 30 June 2011. This is the first time that Croatia, as a future EU member, is participating in one of the EU battle groups.

During the meeting, general Andersson has specifically expressed satisfaction with Croatian contribution and professionalism of CAF members, and thanked Croatia on the prompt provision of critically needed skills, such as helicopters for medical transportation for the Nordic battle group. General Andersson presented the most significant experiences and lessons learned from the six-month period, where he particularly stressed the importance of the political – military consultations that contributed to the visibility and credibility of the EU battle groups and the coordination between the two EU battle groups that have been on standby at the same time.

MOD State Secretary Simunovic said that engagement of CAF members in the EU battle groups has been a priority contribution that Croatia has been providing to the EU Common Security and Defence Policy, especially in light of the expectation that Croatia will soon become a full fledged EU member. Also, it was pointed out that this kind of cooperation contributed significantly to the improvement of bilateral defence cooperation. Simunovic also agreed that the EU battle groups would remain an essential element in achieving the tasks and missions of the EU Common Security and Defence Policy and in this sense, Croatia welcomed steps aimed at increasing their efficiency and usability.

In addition to involvement in the battle group, during the meeting, the discussion was on future developments and expectations from the Common Foreign and Security Policy in relation to the existing challenges, particularly in the areas of operations, and on possibilities of cooperation in the future with special emphasis on the EU Battle Groups.