VZCZCXRO2581
RR RUEHIK RUEHYG
DE RUEHSL #0397 1421043
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 221043Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY BRATISLAVA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9852
INFO RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS BRATISLAVA 000397 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL NATO EU IZ LO
SUBJECT: SLOVAKIA TO PARTICIPATE IN EU'S AFRICAN MISSIONS 
 
 ¶1. Slovakia is sending two military officers to Sudan and 
considering a contribution to a possible EU mission to Congo. 
DefMin Martin Fedor confirmed publicly May 18 that Slovakia 
will send two staff officers to Sudan in the coming weeks. 
Fedor explained that there is a growing feeling in Europe 
that countries should not shut their eyes to the situation in 
Africa, and that it is better to apply a small amount of 
preventive force early than to have to deal with a crisis 
later on. 
 
¶2. In a separate presentation to a group of Central European 
political scientists Fedor's chief advisor, Rudolf Michalka, 
said that a divide between NATO and the EU on such 'out of 
area' missions still exists despite frequent claims by 
politicians on both sides of the Atlantic that no difference 
should exist. As an example of the divide, Michalka noted 
that "the EU talks about the Congo, while NATO does not. NATO 
talks about Afghanistan, but the EU does not." 
 
¶3. Fedor also said that while nobody can predict when the 
violence in Iraq will end, he is confident that Slovak troops 
will be able to come home, having successfully completed 
their mission, before the end of 2010. 
VALLEE