Experts in defending against radiation and chemical and biological weapons will form part of the Slovak contribution to a joint European Union military unit representing the Visegrad Four (V4) countries (Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland), according to a report in the Pravda daily.
The unit will include a total of 560 Slovaks, with the expenditures necessary to prepare the Slovak contingent standing at €6.7 million. The unit should be ready to begin operating in the first half of 2016, while it should be possible to deploy it within ten days of an EU decision. Slovakia will also provide transport and medical personnel, along with bomb-disposal experts.
Poland will supply the largest number of troops (1,450) for the V4 unit, while the Czech Republic will contribute 650 and Hungary 600. Each country will be mainly responsible for a certain area of operations, with Slovakia's role focused in particular on defence against the aforementioned weapons of mass destruction. The maximum range of the V4 unit will be 6,000 kilometres from Brussels. It will be mainly responsible for separating hostile countries, peacekeeping, supplies and heading off conflicts. The soldiers will also enforce embargoes, evacuate civilians and assist international organisations with their humanitarian operations.
