The move, which has been approved by the North Atlantic Council on the level of permanent representatives, is expected to be debated by NATO defence ministers soon. The team should be composed of 41 people, with Slovakia covering 21 posts. The rest will be filled with soldiers of other NATO countries, the TASR newswire wrote.
“It will be a team of planners – it won’t be a combat group, nor it will involve creating a military base, as it’s sometimes being misinterpreted,” said Slovak Defence Minister Martin Glváč, as quoted by TASR.
NATO wants to see the integration team boost its ability for combat, mainly in deploying super-fast reaction units and fast reaction troops. This team should make sure that NATO forces will be received smoothly in Slovakia if they are deployed in the country. They also should coordinate exercises involving Slovak and NATO military units.
The costs will be covered from the Defence Ministry and NATO budgets. Currently Slovakia is preparing to build the necessary infrastructure, TASR wrote.