GLOBSEC 2009

Ladies and Gentlemen, Excellencies.

Advance planning for the agenda of foreign and security policy events, including Globsec, has proven to be an ambitious forecasting and futurist exercise. It would have been rather difficult to predict only a few months ago how deeply would the international security community get immersed in dealing with such issues as energy security of Slovakia and other countries of the European Union, or the escalation of the Middle East conflict, not to speak of the worrying context of global financial crisis, creeping economic recession, or accumulation of major global threats looming over these and other foreign policy and security issues of our times.

Yet, this is just another practical illustration of the often repeated assertion of how unpredictable is the development of the present-day international security situation. The assertion that we have no problem accepting in general terms, but whose concrete manifestations never fail taking us by surprise. We are thus facing the question of how to prepare for such surprises. Several answers are possible, each depending on the chosen perspective. One of the best answers is certainly a forward-looking building of alliances. This brings me to the key theme of my remarks and I will certainly make no mistake if I say that, broadly speaking, also the key theme of this conference. The reality clearly demonstrates that we can most effectively face the present-day and future dangers by rallying with other countries and organisations with which we share common values and readiness for mutual assistance.

The recent “gas crisis” has further validated the need for common European solutions. I am pleased to take this opportunity to express our appreciation for the attitudes and support shown by our European Union allies during the crisis, in particular the Czech Republic, Germany, France, as well as Hungary, Poland and the leadership of the European Commission. We have come to an extremely positive realisation that solidarity among the allies can help overcome serious problems faced by one of the allies. This will make Slovakia an even stronger advocate, together with the current Czech presidency of the EU, of strengthening the dialogue in the field of energy security within the EU and NATO aimed at achieving a realistic common energy security of the EU.

I am confident that also in the light of this recent experience we can agree that Slovakia is fortunate in having a wide alliance potential. The alliance that is the most important for the security interests of Slovakia and of the European Union is that with North America – the well-tested transatlantic commitment guaranteeing security of each member state of NATO.

The North Atlantic Alliance that is about to mark its 60th anniversary is preparing its April summit in Kehl and Strasbourg with a general expectation that it will adopt, as one of its key outcomes, a decision on the formulation of a new Strategic Concept of the Alliance. We should, however, be rather cautious in our general expectations of the April 2009 summit, considering the need for NATO to come to grips with at least three fundamental issues underlying its existence. First, the relevance and strength of Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. The Alliance must make it clear and reaffirm that its fundamental mission is the fulfilment of Article 5.

Second, it must accept that non-Article 5 operations represent and will in all likelihood continue to represent a demanding test of the organisation’s internal cohesion, and of the unity and mutual solidarity of the allies. Political consent does not necessarily imply full technical, military or other commitment of individual countries, and it should therefore be expected that non-Article 5 operations will de facto continue to be operations of the “coalitions of the willing”. The third problem consists in the lingering disparity between the number of rapid deployment and territorial forces of most European allies and those of the United States which presents a considerable hindrance for more extensive non-Article 5 operations. The defence-spending gap between the US and the European NATO members continues to be enormous and, given the economic crisis situation, the current level of engagement of the United States is likely to be preserved also in the next few years. The resolution of this problem will predetermine NATO’s ability to successfully handle non-Article 5 conflicts including that in Afghanistan, which has highlighted the gap between the global responsibility of NATO and its military capabilities. It was with this aim that the Slovak government has reinforced its mission to Afghanistan by deciding to deploy an additional guard unit in the Kandahar area.

We perceive the on-going transformation of NATO to be one of primary challenges for the organisation. It encompasses a number of aspects of political and defence military character that respond to complex developments in the present-day world. In our view, the Alliance continues to be the key strategic security forum for peace and stability in Europe and the world, an indispensable military organisation. Also for this reason Slovakia supports the process of NATO enlargement by new countries subject to compliance with the necessary criteria.

As generally known, the Slovak Republic is making a highly specific contribution to this process by acting as a NATO contact embassy in Ukraine from January 2007.

The combination of continuity and change that may be expected of the new US administration in the foreign policy area is likely to entail a weakening of unilateralism of the previous period on the one hand (although we should be cautious in our expectations), and opening up new challenges for the EU on the other hand. Recent statements on the role of diplomacy in the US foreign policy made by Hillary Clinton may be seen as a positive signal for increasing the transparency and relative predictability of US foreign policy. On the other hand, if the Union wants to preserve or, more appropriately, to enhance its credibility, it will have to make a vigorous contribution to addressing the problems of the today’s world.

The next few weeks and months will show what position will the US take concerning the formulation of the European Defence and Security Policy (ESDP), especially in the context of NATO’s fight against terrorism. A certain distrust regarding the building of European military capabilities can be overcome only through the efforts at finding an optimum compromise between the harmonisation of EU and NATO activities and the independent formulation of ESDP. Further development should pursue the goal of formulating a common vision of cohesion, complementarity and shared responsibility of both organisations for facing the challenges of the 21st century.


Ladies and Gentlemen,

The future of the European security has been debated for several months at the European political science and security forums. The debate was sparked off by the Russian initiative to change the European security architecture. The EU and NATO members should obviously prepare for extensive discussions within the OSCE; we believe, however, that the existing landscape framed by the upcoming economic crisis will change the hierarchy of priorities for both the European countries and Russia.

From our country’s perspective, the new European security architecture does not represent a hot or a priority theme although we recognise that the suspension of the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty, the last year’s military conflict in Georgia, frozen conflicts, observance or non-observance of commitments or the recent gas crisis are the themes that shed a new light on the issue of stability of the European security. At any rate, Slovakia will closely consult and coordinate these issues with other EU and NATO members.


The crisis in Georgia and the recent Russian-Ukrainian “gas dispute” with its damaging consequences for EU members including Slovakia have fundamentally altered the NATO’s and EU’s perception of Russia as their strategic eastern partner and, as regards the gas, also that of Ukraine. It has undermined the political credibility of these countries as well as their credit as trade partners. The conviction is growing that especially Russia misuses economic instruments as a means of pressure for attaining its geopolitical objectives. However, given the situation where Slovakia was held hostage to the Russian-Ukrainian dispute, it is relatively difficult to take an unbiased stance towards the countries that have only recently caused us tremendous problems, oblivious of their impact.

Having said that, Slovakia is committed to maintaining and further deepening a systematic dialogue on the future shape of relations with Russia both in the Euroatlantic and the European framework. Slovakia has the ambition to become its active part. We have a preference for a cooperation model of developing relations between the West and Russia. Slovakia’s commitment to this model of cooperation does not mean that it agrees with the creation of such sphere of interest of Russia that would prevent the countries from deciding their foreign policy orientations and the choice of key allies.

The Slovak Republic is committed not to allow the implementation of a cooperation model in the development of relations with Russia being at the detriment of Euroatlantic institutions. We firmly believe that the strongest asset of the transatlantic space lies in its unity, and we will therefore continue to emphasise the need for its attainment and preservation of that unity.

Slovakia acknowledges the interests of the Russian Federation in the post-Soviet space while condemning the processes that would ultimately lead to a new division of the world. In this regards, the crisis in Georgia was an opportunity to demonstrate the value foundations of Slovak foreign and security policy. This concerns mainly such issues as the strengthening of the respect for international law, exclusion of force in dispute resolution, or use of multilateralism.

In spite of the complexities and setbacks in the relations of Russia with the EU and NATO, Russia should not be demonised and there is no place for Russophobia. What needs to be done is to examine and seek such pragmatic models of correct cooperation that will be mutually advantageous, ensure stability of the relations, and their sustainability and predictability. The cooling of the relations with Russia and Ukraine or shrinking the activities vis-à-vis eastern partners is neither in the interest of Slovakia nor in the interest of NATO and the EU. If anything, the crisis has only confirmed the need for communication and close cooperation with these countries.

We are of the opinion that the right answer by the Union to the current state of affairs in eastern Europe lies in the EU’s Eastern Partnership policy – policy based on a combination of bilateralism and multilateralism, modernisation and sectoral integration. It opens up good prospects and a choice of the way of life. A stable and democratic Eastern Europe will strengthen both EU and Russia. Eastern Partnership is the best way how to achieve it. Slovakia can serve as a good example.

Slovakia continues to take an active part in the shaping of the EU and NATO policy in the Western Balkans region. The examples of Kosovo and EULEX show that Slovakia stands ready and is able to contribute to building a consensus and to take a constructive stance also as regards the issues where it does not share the view of the majority of EU member states.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to conclude my remarks by the reference to the forthcoming 5th anniversary of full-fledged membership of Slovakia in NATO and the EU.  Slovakia’s NATO and EU membership to date, and its recent two-year membership of the UN Security Council, have enhanced in an unprecedented manner the international standing of Slovakia and its responsibility for the developments on the international arena. This was made possible not only by exerting great efforts at the national level but, to a no lesser extent, by the extremely helpful and friendly support by our allies.

I would be very pleased if this plea for unity and alliance resounded as a key message in conclusion of this conference in these turbulent times of global development. Thank you.