Visegrád Battlegroup Explained

Unit Name:Visegrád Battlegroup
V4 EU Battlegroup
Country: Poland
Czech Republic
Slovakia
Hungary
Type:Regiment
Branch:EU Battlegroup
Dates:1 January 2016 – 30 June 2016
1 July 2019 – 31 December 2019
Command Structure:European Union Military Staff
Size:3700

The Visegrád Battlegroup or V4 EU Battlegroup is an EU Battlegroup led by Poland, in which the other fellow Visegrád Group countries – the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary participate. It was on standby from 1 January until 30 June 2016[1] and from 1 July until 31 December 2019. It is scheduled to go on standby in the first half of 2023.[2]

History

On 12 May 2011, Polish Defence Minister Bogdan Klich said that Poland would lead a new EU Battlegroup of the Visegrád Group. The decision was made at the V4 defence ministers' meeting in Levoča, Slovakia, and the battlegroup became operational and was placed on standby in the first half of 2016. The ministers also agreed that the V4 militaries should hold regular exercises under the auspices of the NATO Response Force, with the first such exercise to be held in Poland in 2013. The battlegroup included the members of V4 and Ukraine.[3] On 14 March 2014, a pact was signed on a joint military body within the European Union, in response to the 2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine. The deal involves joint military exercises, coordinated defence procurement and joint defence development of the four central European countries.[4] In the Bratislava Declaration of 9 December 2014, the V4 stated that, considering "Russia’s aggressive actions against Ukraine (...) V4 countries will coordinate their national positions to maximise the efforts to support Ukraine", confirming Ukraine's participation in the Visegrád Battlegroup in the first half of 2016. On Polish suggestion, the V4 agreed "to form another V4 EU Battlegroup in the second semester of 2019".[5] The V4 are considering to keep the Battlegroup as a permanent unit after 2016, which would set a precedent. The Battlegroup is deemed the 'flagship'[6] of intensified future "systemic and systematic defence planning, exercises and perhaps even procurement and maintenance"[7] amongst the V4.[8]

The V4 EU BG was reinforced by Ukraine in 2016 and by Croatia in 2019. In 2023, the V4 EU BG will be reinforced by Croatia, Latvia and Lithuania.[9]

Composition and equipment

The Battlegroup in 2016 consisted of around 3,700 troops:[10] [11]

Poland1 870main manoeuvre combat forces
Czech Republic728logisticians, helicopter unit, electronic combat team, medical unit
Hungary640combat engineers, civil-military cooperation unit
Slovakia460unit for protection against weapons of mass destruction
Ukraine 19

See also

External links

Visegrad Group website

Notes and References

  1. News: V4 invites Ukraine to set up joint military unit . . Ukrainian Government . 4 June 2014 . 8 July 2015.
  2. Web site: Ministři obrany V4 se dohodli na vytvoření další společné evropské bojové skupiny . Lidovky.cz . 23 February 2019 . cs . 15 November 2018.
  3. News: Вишеградський майданчик України (Visegrád playground of Ukraine) . . 13 May 2011 . 10 July 2015 . uk.
  4. News: Former Soviet satellites sign joint military pact . Agence France-Presse . Agence France-Presse . Defence Talk . 18 March 2014 . 10 July 2015.
  5. Web site: Bratislava Declaration of the Visegrad Group Heads of Government on the Deepening V4 Defence Cooperation . Visegradgroup.eu . . 9 December 2015 . 10 July 2015.
  6. News: Visegrád Battlegroup: A flagship that should not substitute for real defence cooperation . Tomáš Weiss . Visegrád Revue . 4 June 2012 . 10 July 2015.
  7. News: Polish passion for Visegrad . Beata Balogová . . Petit Press . 8 September 2014 . 11 July 2015.
  8. Web site: DAV4 II Report: From battlegroup to permanent structures . Milan Šuplata. Central European Policy Institute . 18 November 2013 . 10 July 2015. etal.
  9. Web site: V4 EU BG will be reinforced by Croatia, Latvia and Lithuania in 2023 . Visegrad Group . 26 January 2023 . en-en.
  10. Web site: V4 EU Battlegroup with 728 Czech troops to be on standby in 2016. Prague Monitor. 2 November 2017. en.
  11. Web site: Státy V4 převzaly vojenskou pohotovost EU. Euroskop. 2 November 2017. cs.