Kalinak: Defence Ministry Cooperating with Other Ministries on Consolidation

Bratislava, 17 September (TASR) – The Defence Ministry's contribution to consolidation is not only in direct savings within the ministry or investments in dual projects in the field of health care, but also in cooperation with and assistance to other ministries, said Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD) following the government meeting on Wednesday. "We've implemented savings, we've laid off 10 percent of our employees, and we're interested in continuing to streamline some of our structures. But at the same time, we can see an opportunity to communicate with other ministries in the area of Slovakia's defence and resilience," said Kalinak, mentioning several examples. "For example, we saw no reason why the contribution to NATO should also be borne by the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry. It has a lot of other concerns and also needs to somehow renew the diplomatic service and representation of Slovakia, which is looking for opportunities for exports from Slovakia. So, we took on that contribution ourselves," he pointed out. The minister also mentioned cooperation with the Justice Ministry in the case of the military justice agenda. "Many countries have military courts, military prosecutors and military prisons. We don't have those, and the Justice Ministry performs this work in the area of military justice on our behalf, so we have to take on some of the responsibility, which we've also done," added the defence minister. am/df