Deputy Defense Minister of the Republic of Croatia Višnja Tafra has participated at the informal meeting of EU defense ministers in Athens, February 20-21. It was the first meeting of the EU defense ministers after the meeting of the European Council on December 19 and 20, 2013 in Bruxelles regarding the Common Security and Defence Policy. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and UN Under-Secretary General for Peacerkeeping Operations Herve Ladsous have attended the meeting as well.
The results of the meeting of the European Council, the Common Security and Defense Policy, support for partner countries and organizations in capacity building, development of political framework for the systematic and long-term oriented defense cooperation and the ways of improvement of cooperation on projects have been discussed at the meeting.
In her intervention Deputy Minister Tafra has stressed the results of the European Council held in December 2013 and emphasized the need of maintaining focus on the issues and aims which have then been agreed upon. She has strongly supported the announced EU Strategy of Maritime Security, where Croatia is ready to play an active role, and in this framework stressed the importance of the Mediterranean basin, due to the actual security situation in Northern Africa, Sahel and the Middle East.
She has also touched upon the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the context of the recent developments, stressing that it requires deeper EU engagement, both in the sense of comprehensive understanding of the political, social and economic reality, as well as taking into account specific features of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the process of its approaching to the EU and NATO.
The ministers have discussed EU military operations, based on reports submitted by their commanders. Final part of the meeting was the discussion about the situation in the Central African Republic, as well as the preparations for the start of the EU he peace operation EUFOR/CAR.
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