NEWS

According to an announcement by the Ministry of Defence, on 21/10 Defence Minister Mr. Charalambos Petridis participated in the EU Defence Ministers meeting on “Strategic Compass”. The meeting, held in Brussels under the auspices of High Representative Josep Borell, outlined the next steps in the final drafting of the Strategic Compass, the EU text of strategic importance expected to guide EU defence and security policy over the next years.

During the meeting, the Ministers of Defence exchanged views on the prospect of establishing a European military crisis response force, the development of a collective ‘toolkit’ for dealing with hybrid threats, the dynamics of strategic capability development initiatives and the further development of the EU – NATO cooperation.

In his speech, the Minister of Defence stressed the great importance of developing the EU’s capability of autonomous response to crises that threaten its security, citing as an example the illegal actions of Turkey in Cyprus with the continuous violations in Cyprus’ EEZ, in the national airspace and the violations of the relevant Security Council/UN resolutions in Varosia, while it continues to occupy a large part of the Republic of Cyprus for 47 years. He also referred to the need to establish an operational framework that would encourage the acquisition of effective military capabilities. Any strategic planning, added Mr. Petridis, should respond to the threats we are currently facing and aim at strengthening European strategic autonomy. 

Regarding the EU’s cooperation with NATO, the Minister of Defence stated that it should be based on the agreed principles and work for the benefit of both organisations, taking into account their common strategic vision.

Source: Ministry of Defence

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