Membership of Southeast European countries in the European Union is our common strategic interest, which has no alternative, Defence Minister Mario Banozic said at a joint meeting of Central European Defence Cooperation (CEDC) and Southeast European defence ministers.

This year, Croatia is chairing the CEDC, and the Croatian defence minister was the host.

The CEDC initiative brings together Slovenia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. The defence ministers of Austria, Slovakia and Slovenia, Klaudia Tanner, Jaroslav Nad’ and Matej Tonin respectively, were in attendance, as were Czech Deputy Minister of Defence Jan Havranek and the State Secretary at the Hungarian Defence Ministry, István Szabó.

The meeting was also attended by the defence ministers of Southeast European countries — Niko Peleshi of Albania, Olivera Injac of Montenegro, Armend Mehaj of Kosovo, Radmila Shekerinska Jankovska of North Macedonia, Nebojsa Stefanovic of Serbia, and the Deputy Defence Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mirko Okolic.

At the first working session, the ministers and high officials discussed strengthening the partnership with Southeast European countries with the aim of accelerating Euro-Atlantic processes, the Croatian Defence Ministry said in a press release.

Membership of Southeast European countries is our common strategic interests which doesn’t and mustn’t have an alternative. In order to step up that process, I call on you to continue with the reform process, in which we are ready to provide you with support. It’s important that the European Union be a credible partner in the enlargement process and value individual efforts and achievements, said Banozic.

Banozic said that growing hybrid influences, including fake news and disinformation, call for greater cooperation between Central and Southeast European countries in order to ensure long-term stability, security and progress on the path to Euro-Atlantic integration.

This year, two workshops were held on the topic of combating the spread of fake news and disinformation.

Banozic welcomed the continuation of regional cooperation on crisis management, and the conclusions of the joint CEDC tabletop exercise COOPSEC 21, held in the year of Croatia’s presidency, will contribute to that.

The second working session dealt with the finalization of the Strategic Compass, a document aimed at providing clear strategic policy guidelines on the EU’s position in the field of security and defence and strengthening the role of the EU as a global security provider.

The defence ministers adopted a joint declaration, which expressed strong support for continued cooperation in all areas discussed, the press release said.