The Defence Ministry is updating its White Paper regarding the defence of the Slovak Republic. The term 'White Paper' is generally used for an authoritative report that informs concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. The document of the Defence Ministry describes the development concepts of our defences, evaluates the requirements of the transformation of the armed forces' and describes its current state. At the same time, it defines the future tasks of the armed forces and their further development. The reason for updating the document stems from changes in the global security environment. "We know about the situation in Ukraine and Crimea. It's mostly terrorist threats, extremism and migration waves that have affected the process of securing and the building of defences not only in Slovakia but also in Europe", said Defence Minister Peter Gajdos (Slovak National Party nominee). According to him, the new document places emphasis on making Slovakia self-reliant in the defence of its territory.
In the document, the Defence Ministry states that weaknesses still remain in capabilities of the Armed Forces; mostly attributed to long-term underfinancing and inefficient resource management in the past. Among some consequences is the lack or obsolete state of equipment and armament, inadequate length and quality of training and low interoperability with allied forces. The updated White Paper is based on the 2013 White Paper, approved by the previous government of Prime Minister Robert Fico, ruling until 2016, and will feature the vision of development for the Armed Forces until 2030. Currently, the updated version has been submitted for comments and is slated to be submitted to Cabinet at the end of July.
