NATO Counter Intelligence Centre of Excellence Opens in Krakow

Among others, also present at the official opening ceremony of the centre were Admiral Manfred Nielson, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation at the NATO Allied Command Transformation (NATO ACT) supervising the establishment of the Krakow-based centre; as well as Polish Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz, Slovak Defence Minister Peter Gajdos and Romanian Defence Minister Mihai-Viorel Fifor.

After the ceremony, Dr. István Simicskó told MTI that in the modern age, when “new challenges are emerging besides the old ones, it is important to recognize them in time and thereby be ready to respond to them whenever they arise from the east or the south". In his assessment, NATO has strengthened with the opening of the Krakow-based centre, and so has the stability of the Central European region, as well as the security of Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. He also added that Hungary has supported the establishment of the Krakow-based centre from the beginning, and delegates a Hungarian officer to its staff.

He highlighted the role played by the Budapest-based NATO Centre of Excellence for Military Medicine (NATO MILMED COE) in the framework supporting NATO.

The Minister of Defence also told MTI that he had held a discussion in Krakow with Antoni Macierewicz on the future cooperation between the defence sectors of the two countries, and also on possible directions for defence industry cooperation. He stated that “our goal is to develop the closest possible relations with the countries of the Visegrád Four (V4) Cooperation at all points, and within this, Poland is our strategic partner".

The Counter Intelligence Centre of Excellence (CI COE) established in Krakow is one of the 24 Centres of Excellence operating in NATO member countries. COEs cover a wide variety of areas, from military medicine to defence against terrorism and energy security to cyber defence. Established on a joint Polish–Slovak initiative based on intergovernmental agreements, the CI COE began to operate in September 2016 with the tasks of shaping the expert background of the Alliance and organizing courses on the topic of military counterintelligence. The Krakow-based centre obtained NATO accreditation in this February. At present, ten allies – Croatia, Lithuania, Germany, Italy, Romania and Slovenia besides the Visegrád Four countries – are participating in the project.

Photos: Ministry of Defence and mon.gov.pl