19.10.2017.
General Diković meets Chairman of the EU Military Committee
Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces General Ljubiša Diković has met today with the Chairman of the European Union Military Committee General Mikhail Kostarakos, at Banjica 2 barracks in Belgrade.
After the ceremonial reception and public address, generals Diković and Kostarakos with their associates held a meeting to discuss the current regional and global political and security situation.General Diković thanked General Kostarakos for accepting the invitation to visit the Republic of Serbia, this time as the Chairman of the EU Military Committee.
- Our goal is to become a part of the EU security structure despite not being an EU member, and our partners from the European Union demand it from us, General Diković said, and recalled that the Serbian troops were already taking part in four out of six missions conducted by the European Union worldwide.
The Chief of General Staff went on to say that all this indicates that the security system of the Republic of Serbia with all its activities is fully committed to and supporting the strategic and political orientation of the country in the process of joining the European Union.- We have almost completed all the formalities for joining the HELBROC battlegroup, and by 2020 we should build the capabilities for active and equal participation in that group for which we have the support of both the members of the battle group and the members of the European Union, general Diković said, pointing out that one of the topics discussed with General Kostarakos will be the security situation in the Balkans, with special emphasis on what the EU Military Committee demands from the Serbian Armed Forces and what needs to be changed in the process of joining the EU in order for Serbia to take all the necessary steps and become its member as soon as possible.
Chairman of the European Union Military Committee expressed his pleasure over the opportunity to discuss common strategic goals of Serbia and the European Union with General Diković.
- The European Union, being a global actor, plays a very strong role in common security and defence policy to which it applies a comprehensive approach. Through our new Global Strategy, we have set up a framework for our future activities, Kostarakos said, pointing out that the three strategic priorities of the European Union are protection of Europe, capacity building and crisis management.
He conveyed the appreciation of the European Union to Serbia for Serbia’s key role in and its contribution to regional stability, reminding that Serbia has already established its place as a partner of the EU Military Committee which highly appreciates the active participation of members of the Serbian Armed Forces in the European Union missions and the HELBROC battlegroup.- I would like to seize this opportunity to commend members of the Serbian Armed Forces for their professionalism, commitment and knowledge. We are grateful to the Serbian leadership for deploying its troops to our operations and missions, which is another indication that the European Union cannot be fully integrated as a union without Serbia, General Kostarakos said, assuring General Diković that Serb soldiers represented their country and the army with pride and honour.
A year ago, in Brussels, General Diković signed a Note on the Accession of the Republic of Serbia to the Technical Agreement on the establishment of the European Union HELBROC battlegroup. On that occasion, Serbian Ministry of Defence expressed readiness to take part in HELBROC battlegroup with one Military Police platoon, a civil-military cooperation team and up to five staff officers in the battlegroup Force Command. The signature of the Note ensured full participation of the Serbian Armed Forces in the battlegroup, once again confirming Serbia’s commitment to the EU Common Security and Defence Policy. HELBROC battlegroup is made up of Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania, Ukraine and Serbia.In continuation of the two-day visit to the Republic of Serbia, General Kostarakos will also talk with ministers of defence and foreign affairs, Aleksandar Vulin and Ivica Dačić, respectively, and attend the demonstration Freedom 2017 taking place at Batajnica airport.
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