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Minister Naď at EU Defence Ministerial: Talks in Stockholm have reaffirmed the EU's unity over Ukraine

Ministry of Defense of the Slovak Republic

08.03.2023

Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď is attending an informal meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council with Defence Ministers (FAC DEF) in Stockholm on 7-8 March 2023. EU Defence Ministers have devoted their attention to Russia's war against Ukraine, the options available for backing the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and the best practice for reimbursing the military equipment that has been transferred from EU countries to Ukraine under the EPF off-budget funding mechanism.

Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: "To make peace in Ukraine without European assistance is impossible. The EU's credibility over Ukraine must be kept up, among others, via the European Peace Facility, which has come to demonstrate the trustworthiness, ability and willingness of European partners to uphold the values of humanism and the right to freedom, even beyond their borders."

Minister Naď reminded that the costs associated with the provision of military assistance to our eastern neighbour are reimbursed through the European Peace Facility (EPF), from which Slovakia has so far received a total of €82m. These funds will go towards purchasing munitions and weapons for the Slovak Armed Forces.

Alongside this, Ministers addressed the collaborative initiative for joint procurement of artillery ammunition to aid Ukraine and replenish domestic stockpiles. "The highest interest is in ramping up production of 155mm artillery shells, in line with the operational needs of the Ukrainian side," Mr Naď explained.

Another part of the discussion was in relation to assessing the results of the European Union Military Assistance Mission Ukraine (EUMAM UA). Under the EU-led training programme for Ukraine's Armed Forces, Slovakia has been involved in training Ukrainian forces for combat since as early as last year.

Bilaterally, the head of the SVK MOD relished separate conversations with Ukrainian Defence Minister Olexii Reznikov, Czech Defence Minister Jana Černochová, Swedish Minister for Defence Pål Jonson, Bulgarian Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov, Slovenian Defence Minister Marjan Šarec, Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren, and EU Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton, on the margins of the Defence Ministerial.