V4 Chiefs of Defence Meet in Liblice, Czech Republic

The discussion was led by Lieutenant General Karel Rehka, Chief of General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces, who represented the hosting Czech Republic. It was also attended by General Dr. Gábor Böröndi, Chief of HDF General Staff, General Daniel Zmeko, Chief of the Slovakian General Staff, and General Wieslaw Kukula, Chief of the Polish General Staff.

At the conference, the military leaders discussed the current situation of the conflict in Ukraine, the effect of the new NATO Force Model on the armed forces of the four countries and the logistical challenges of partner countries – said the press department of the Czech General Staff. Joint training and the future of the V4 EU Battlegroup (EUBG) were important topics of the discussion, and Host Nation Support for NATO forces was also mentioned. They also talked about the EU Battlegroup to be undertaken by Poland from July 2024 to July 2025, and the forces declared to the V4 EU Battlegroup, which will be deployable again in 2028. During the exchange of experiences about the war in Ukraine, actions against the hybrid threats arriving from Russia and support provided to air defence and logistics were on the agenda.

Discussions about the above topics reflect the effective cooperation of the V4 countries when it comes to the modernization of their armed forces.

The V4 rotating presidency will be taken over by Poland from the Czech Republic in July; the presidency of a country lasts for one year. During the presidency of the Czech Republic, the Visegrad Group’s main topic has been the aid and support provided to Ukraine. The first conference of the Visegrad Group was held in Budapest in 2005. The representatives of the four countries used to meet once a year between 2005 and 2015 but since 2016, they meet twice a year.