Agreement Signed on Setting Up V4 Battle Group

The joint fighting unit consisting of the soldiers of the four Visegrád countries – Poland, the
Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary – must be ready to conduct EU military operations
as a stand-alone force. Therefore, the V4 countries need a rapid reaction, high-readiness
formation with complex capabilities, which meets the criteria of joint forces, the Minister of
Defence stressed.

Csaba Hende told MTI that in addition to the V4 letter of intent, he signed a
bilateral agreement with his Polish counterpart on the cooperation between the Special Forces
of the two countries, their joint training and exchange of experience. Minister Hende noted
that the Hungarian Defence Forces were planning to hold several joint exercises together
with the Polish soldiers this year. By way of example, the Minister mentioned the Polish-led
NATO Response Force (NRF) Exercise “STEADFAST JAZZ 2013", which is to be held with
the participation of many other NATO member states.

The Minister informed MTI that joined by their counterparts from the countries of the
Weimar cooperation – those of Germany and France apart from Poland – the V4 defence
ministers discussed some current issues in the European Common Security and Defence
Policy (CSDP) at their Wednesday meeting in Poland, also touching on security issues
concerning Afghanistan and the Western Balkans.

Additionally, the French defence minister gave a detailed account and assessment of the
ongoing operation in Mali and thanked the countries contributing to the mission, including
Hungary. Csaba Hende told MTI that there still were some capability niches in the French-
led operation, but as soon as everything is in place, the Hungarian troops would also join the
mission, probably in early April.