Croatia is to participate 9-16 March in the NATO Crisis Management Exercise 2016 (CMX16), taking place simultaneously at NATO Headquarters in Brussels and in the member states. NATO’s Crisis Management Exercises are simulations based on fictitious scenarios and involve no actual deployment of forces.
CMX16 will test the North Atlantic Council’s crisis management procedures at the strategic political and military level and practice the mechanisms of strategic political and military consultations as well as collective decision-making by way of existing and development crisis management procedures and concepts. The exercise will include civilian and military staffs at NATO Headquarters as well as in allied capitals.
In accordance with the 2014 Wales Summit declaration, the CMX16 scenario, although not based on actual events, is realistic. The complex civilian-military scenario will play out a comprehensive response to the hybrid warfare model by following procedures from Article 4 (consultations in case of threat) and Article 5 (collective defence) of the North Atlantic Treaty. As the hybrid tactical model entails employment of a wide range of civilian, paramilitary and military means of both conventional and unconventional nature in an integrated manner, CMX16 will play out determent and response procedures. Also taking part in preparing and implementing CMX16 are partner countries Finland and Sweden, with the EU as observer.
This is NATO’s seventh CMX that will see Croatia’s participation. The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs is to coordinate the activities, while participating in its implementation will be the Office of the President, Office of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, Ministry of Health, Office of the National Security Council, Security and Intelligence Agency, National Protection and Rescue Directorate, Information Systems Security Bureau and CARNet – the National CERT.