We're cheating our people, as we aren't telling them the truth about the actual condition of our army, and we're cheating our soldiers, as we're still just promising them anything, said President Andrej Kiska, who attended an annual meeting of commanders initiated by the Chief of General Staff of the Slovak Armed Forces Milan Maxim at the Defence Ministry's premises on Tuesday. The president stressed that soldiers have obsolete military equipment and that the army is behind schedule in meeting its commitments vis-a-vis Slovakia's allies. "Unfortunately, we've just been making promises, but failing to meet our commitments for several years," stated Kiska. Kiska was also critical of the level of communication with the public and allies. "We're cheating our defence capability, we're cheating our citizens by not telling them the truth about the actual condition of our army and security. And we're cheating our soldiers by constantly promising them something, but failing to do it," stated the president, who sees no will to change this situation. Therefore, he asked Defence Minister Peter Gajdoš to push for these problems to be addressed at a cabinet session.
One of the commitments that Slovakia is lagging behind with is the preparation of a mechanised brigade, which should have been completed by 2010. "It's a substantial part of our defence capability. It's a key commitment vis-a-vis our allies and a desired contribution to joint security. However, it doesn't look good at all, as it is seven years since the deadline expired," said Kiska. Another problematic commitment, according to Kiska, is halting decreases in the defence sector's budget. Although the defence sector's expenditures should equal 1.6 percent of the country's GDP by 2020, the president sees no credible plan from the Government on how to bring this about. He stressed that the defence sector's budget will be high on the agenda of upcoming NATO discussions.
Gajdoš said that the defence sector's budget has gradually grown to stand at 1.18 percent of GDP this year, although he stressed that the armed forces' budget has been undersized, remaining below 1 percent for a long time. Gajdoš underlined that the preparation of a mechanised brigade will be the main task this year. "Everything has been focused on meeting this target. Nevertheless, I realise that even with the increased budget the task will not be met 100 percent," he stated. The minister announced that he's preparing a long-term plan for developing the armed forces and that he wants to present this in mid-2017.
