Central European nations agree to set up joint combat force

EUBusiness.com ^ | 04 May 2012, 21:12 CET | (via AFP)

[Olog-hai]

Defense ministers from Visegrad Group states grouping the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia agreed Friday to create a 3,000-strong joint combat unit to be put at the EU's disposal.

"We want to put into place a combat unit for EU forces before the end of the first quarter of 2016," Czech Defense Minister Alexandr Vondra told reporters at Litormerice, north of the capital Prague.

"This will be a strong joint unit of more than 3,000 personnel," he added.

The unit will be under Polish command and its first exercise is due to take place in 2015, before it becomes fully operational, Vondra said.

"This is a strong signal saying that four central European countries are capable of taking on such a task without a great European power behind them," the Czech minister added. …

[SatinDoll]

Uh...watch the Russians for the next couple years and what they do to stop this cold.

[Olog-hai]

Yup; Putin’s already got his eye on it.

But also watch to see if both the EU and Russia work something out in a very Molotov-Ribbentrop-like manner.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Wow! A small brigade. I’m sure the Russians are shaking in their boots.

[Olog-hai]

It’s a token gesture. Most likely to drum up popular enthusiasm for the EU military that nobody but the elites want.

[WellyP]

This is smaller than first thought but it is still a big find. Russia is PO’d but can do nothing about it!

“...On Wednesday the institute said in a study prepared with help from the U.S. Geological Survey that shale gas, combined with conventional reserves, could cover 35 to 65 years of Poland's demand for natural gas, despite the lower estimates...”

Couple this Polish find with Israel’s super giant gas and oil field that will be plugged into the southern European gas distribution system and Russia will have less leverage. The gas and oil will outlast Putin!