Visegrad Group states proved their worth to NATO: PM

The Visegrad Group PMs and defence ministers including Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki took part in the celebration of the 20th anniversary of Poland’s, the Czech Republic’s and Hungary’s accession to NATO.

The event was hosted by Poland on Sunday, March 10, in Warsaw’s district of Wesoła. It is where Poland’s PM stressed that “the geopolitical uncertainty of [Central-Eastern Europe] left in the aftermath of the ‘iron courtain’s’ fall was settled with our states’ accession to NATO.”

“One cannot find another power in the global security architecture like the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. The Alliance is unique in that it attracts democratic states while not depriving them of their sovereignty,” said PM Morawiecki.

“The sacred rule of consensus on decision-making and upholding shared values encapsulated in the Washington Treaty, namely democracy, freedom and the rule of law, render all NATO members co-responsible for the security of the Euro-Atlantic community,” said Poland’s PM.

“Today our expectations… are heightened because the international security context demands it. The war in the east of Ukraine is where traditional military threat meets hybrid modes of warfare. Instability prevails on NATO’s southern flank and the threat from international terrorism does not abate. Let us also add to this threat is related to cybersecurity,” said Mr Morawiecki.

For his part, Poland’s Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak stressed that after 20 years of the V4 states’ membership in the Alliance, they have become seasoned members of NATO. “We create a community that is the strongest alliance in world history. We constitute a community of free states that guarantees security to us all,” said Mr Błaszczak.

Poland’s defence minister stressed that the First Armoured Brigade’s base has not been picked as the celebration’s venue without reason, as the formation’s soldiers will soon start serving in Afghanistan as part of a NATO mission. “This is a symbol of our collaboration. This is a symbol of our concern with common security,” said Mr Błaszczak.

The Czech PM Andrej Babiš stressed that “20 years ago, NATO became the pillar of security and defensive capabilities of most Central-Eastern European states.” Talking about the advantages that NATO accession brought for his country, the Slovak PM Peter Pellegrini said that “Slovakia became a part of a community of states that have the decisive say not only in regional but also in the global dimension.”

Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary joined NATO on March 12, 1999.