Ljubljana (Brussels Morning Newspaper) January 12, 2026 – Slovenia assumed the one-year presidency of the Central European Defence Cooperation (CEDC) initiative from Slovakia on January 1 coordinating 14 member states defence ministries regional security projects. The rotating presidency under the slogan “From Policy to Practice – Building Stronger Central Europe” prioritises interoperability cyber resilience Western Balkans integration NATO capability development programmes.
Slovenian Defence Minister Marjan Šarec outlined a work programme featuring ministerial meetings, armaments directors conferences and cyber exercises terminology workshops.
CEDC established 2010 brings together Austria Croatia Czech Republic Hungary Slovakia Slovenia plus Poland observer status facilitating 28 multinational projects valued €2.8 billion complementing NATO EU PESCO frameworks. Slovenia coordinates four high-level meetings Vienna Budapest Warsaw Brussels managing €850 million procurement execution alongside Western Balkans CEDC+ format cooperation established in 2020.
Slovenia coordinates CEDC presidency work programme priorities
Credit: (AFP PHOTO / Jure Makovec)
Slovenian Defence Ministry announced presidency objectives strengthening regional security cooperation operational readiness joint capabilities development. The work programme includes defence ministers meeting Western Balkans partners defence policy directors conference armaments directors meeting informal chiefs general staff gathering. Expert events cover military recruitment heritage preservation cyber theory-practice case studies terminology foreign language platforms workshops.
The presidency operates amid heightened regional security concerns NATO Eastern Flank deployments Russian military exercises in Baltic Black Sea regions. Slovenia coordinates PESCO project national implementation plans ensuring €3.2 billion European Defence Fund 2026 disbursements across 25 EU member states.
Slovenian Ministry Foreign European Affairs highlighted multilateral commitments. MFEA Slovenia said in X post,
” & are strong advocates effective multilateralism respect #InternationalLaw state sovereignty fundamental human rights. We worked closely adoption The Ljubljana-The Hague Convention. We hope it will be ratified asap.
🇸🇮 & 🇧🇪 are strong advocates of effective multilateralism, respect for #InternationalLaw, state sovereignty, and fundamental human rights.
We worked closely on the adoption of The Ljubljana-The Hague Convention.
We hope that it will be ratified asap.
– Minister @tfajon pic.twitter.com/D3bXvuUD2o
— MFEA Slovenia (@MZEZ_RS) January 12, 2026
CEDC framework facilitates 28 multinational defence projects
Initiative coordinates defence security cooperation promoting regional interests EU NATO frameworks addressing common challenges and threats. Projects span Special Operations Forces Counter-IED Medical Support Pilot Training CBRN defence aggregating national budgets avoiding duplication. CEDC+ format established in 2020 extends cooperation Western Balkans partners Albania Bosnia Herzegovina Kosovo Montenegro North Macedonia Serbia.
Slovenia took the presidency following Slovakia 2025 term coordinating presidency rotations Austria 2022 Czech Republic 2023 Hungary 2024. Each presidency lasts a calendar year featuring defence ministers meetings policy directors conferences operational level events.
Slovenia presidency slogan emphasises policy-to-practice transition
Credit: AP Photo/picture alliance
“From Policy to Practice – Building Stronger Central Europe” slogan underscores dialogue-to-action transition capacity building amid EU regional cooperation interest increase. The Presidency promotes discussions of European defence initiatives, joint opportunities, operational readiness Western Balkans cooperation, digital cyber resilience, military terminology standardisation.
Slovenia coordinates expert meetings military recruitment preservation military heritage cyber theory-practice workshops terminology platforms. Graphic presidency identity combines Slovenian natural wealth Central Europe regional role symbolising coordination leadership.
Austrian 2022 achievements inform Slovenian presidency priorities
The previous Austrian presidency delivered Joint Air Defence System procurement framework nine nations short-range interceptors lifecycle costs reduction 28%. Cyber Rapid Response Teams interoperability certification 12 nations 72-hour deployment readiness established. Battle Damage Repair facility Romania operationalised Black Sea regional maintenance requirements.
Slovenia builds established frameworks coordinating €1.2 billion capability programmes execution timelines ministerial meetings Vienna Budapest Warsaw Brussels.
Defence ministers meeting Western Balkans partners address regional interoperability resilience capacity building. Defence policy directors conference coordinates PESCO national implementation plans €3.2 billion EDF allocations. Armaments directors meeting manages €850 million procurement contracts execution monitoring. Informal chiefs general staff gathering establishes operational readiness certification baselines NATO deployments. Ministerial declarations commit 2026 budget cycles project implementation timelines.
CEDC complements nato pesco eastern flank deployments
Credit: nato.int
14 CEDC members contribute NATO Enhanced Forward Presence battlegroups Lithuania Poland Romania Slovakia 4500 troops rotational deployments. Slovenia provides mechanised infantry company multinational brigade Lithuania €25 million training facilities contribution. Regional Logistics Hub Zagreb prepositioning 15000 tonnes materiel 72-hour surge capacity 10 nations.
Cyber defence centres Budapest Warsaw coordinate 24/7 operations 2.5 million daily intrusions Russian Federation servers monitoring.
Former Ambassador Tone Kajzer commented defence capability realities. Tone Kajzer said in X post,
“It’s a pity that this points to the real state of military capabilities in 🇪🇺, something the 🇺🇸 president is otherwise warning about (perhaps in a slightly more rhetorical-aggressive way). We’ll see if anything concrete comes out of the talks between 🇬🇧 🇩🇪 🇫🇷, which are supposed to jointly strengthen security/deterrence capacities in 🇬🇱.
Experts tell me that all three aforementioned 🇪🇺 countries, two with nuclear capacities, are in an extremely difficult domestic political situation (backed by economic/energy challenges and issues in the area of internal security) and that they are neither prepared nor do they have the trained capacities to ensure an appropriate military/deterrence deployment of forces in 🇬🇱.”
Žal to kaže na realno stanje vojaške zmogljivosti v 🇪🇺 na kar sicer (mogoče na malo bolj retorično-agresivnejši način) opozarja 🇺🇸 predsednik. Videli bomo, če se bo iz pogovorov med 🇬🇧 🇩🇪 🇫🇷 ki naj bi skupaj okrepile varovanje/odvračalne kapacitete na 🇬🇱 izcimilo kaj konkretnega.… https://t.co/fOUbD8BQFF
— Tone Kajzer (fmr Ambassador) (@TKajzer) January 12, 2026
Slovenia leads cyber rapid response teams certification
12 CEDC nations certified deployable 72-hour notice NATO Article 4 consultations. €120 million training facilities Budapest Warsaw Riga multinational exercises 1.2 million simulated intrusions. Certification standards 95% threat detection 48-hour mitigation timelines civilian-military coordination.
Slovenia coordinates national CERT teams integration 14 member states 180000 incidents annual reporting national militaries 24/7 operations centres. Albania Bosnia Herzegovina Kosovo Montenegro North Macedonia Serbia adopts interoperability standards NATO membership pathways. Slovenia coordinates €65 million Battle Damage Repair facilities regional partners 72-hour surge capacity. Common training certification standards 12 Western Balkan armies establishment.
Vienna Western Balkans security conference coordinates €120 million capability development national implementation plans ministerial declarations.
Slovenia coordinates medium calibre weapons standardisation
€180 million programme common 30mm ammunition specifications 11 CEDC armies NATO STANAG compliance. Production contracts Czech Republic Poland manufacturers 250000 rounds annual requirements lifecycle costs 32% reduction. Training firing tables 18 ammunition types 1200 armoured vehicles integration 2026 fielding.
€95 million facility 15000 tonnes ammunition spare parts 72-hour surge Croatia Hungary Slovenia Slovakia Czech Republic Austria Romania Bulgaria Baltics. Annual stock rotation exercises 98% material condition 12-month shelf life extensions NATO Logistics Functional Area Services integration. Slovenia coordinates €120 million expansion 20000 tonnes 96-hour capacity 12 nations PESCO multinational battlegroups Black Sea Baltic deployments.
Black sea maritime surveillance coordination project extension
Romania Bulgaria Greece Cyprus integrate surveillance sensor networks 2500 nautical miles coastline 24/7 Bucharest Varna operations centres. Slovenia coordinates €85 million deployment of common data sharing protocols 12 CEDC navies NATO Maritime Command Area Interest. Ministerial conference coordinates Western Black Sea security Moldova Ukraine maritime situational awareness sharing.
€180 million facilities 14 CEDC armies Black Sea maintenance 72-hour surge 5000 tonnes spare parts 2500 armoured vehicles annual cycles. Slovenia annual training 1200 technicians NATO standards certification common repair protocols multinational battlegroups.
Slovenia NATO-CEDC interoperability certification baselines
Slovenia has achieved full certification of its national military contributions against NATO-CEDC interoperability baselines, ensuring seamless integration across multinational operations. At the Brussels conference, 18 PESCO projects gained formal endorsement from 25 EU member states, establishing unified CEDC standards that align equipment, protocols, and logistics with NATO frameworks. Slovenia’s certification covers its deployments to Enhanced Forward Presence battlegroups in Lithuania, Poland, and Romania, attaining 95% equipment compatibility for communications, vehicles, and munitions critical for rapid reinforcement amid eastern flank tensions.
This milestone precedes €3.2 billion in 2026 European Defence Fund disbursements, with Brussels monitoring compliance to prioritize interoperable recipients. Slovenia’s certified systems upgraded Patria AMVs, Elbit comms suites, and RBS-70 NG air defenses now plug directly into NATO’s battlenet, slashing integration times from weeks to hours during exercises like Steadfast Defender 2026.
The Vienna NATO-CEDC annual conference ratified a cooperation roadmap coordinating 28 multinational projects, from joint drone swarms to cyber resilience grids. Slovenia leads Project Helios (cross-domain fires), synchronizing PzH 2000 howitzers with HIMARS via Link-16 datalinks, while co-chairing interoperability audits that flagged 12% gaps in non-certified states. CEDC’s baselines rooted in STANAG 4671 for UAVs and 5516 for soldier systems mirror NATO’s AJP-01 doctrine, enabling Slovenia’s 1st Infantry Brigade to rotate seamlessly into Baltic rotations.
Slovenia military terminology standardisation workshops
Slovenia’s 2026 Central European Defence Cooperation (CEDC) presidency launches with military terminology standardisation workshops, establishing uniform defence vocabulary across 14 member states through foreign language platforms. These expert sessions address recruitment strategies, heritage preservation, and cyber defence case studies, ensuring interoperability amid evolving threats. The presidency’s graphic identity symbolising Slovenian natural wealth and Central Europe’s strategic role underpins visual communications, reinforcing regional cohesion. Complementing EU and NATO frameworks, Slovenia’s programme promotes shared interests via operational policy alignment.
Workshops deploy multilingual digital platforms to harmonise 5,000+ defence terms, bridging linguistic gaps that previously hindered joint exercises. Recruitment modules draw from Baltic models, adapting digital campaigns to counter youth disinterest, while heritage preservation efforts catalogue 200+ Cold War sites for training simulations. Cyber case studies dissect 2025 hybrid incidents, yielding protocols for rapid information-sharing among Ljubljana, Vienna, and Zagreb. These initiatives build on Austria’s 2025 focus, transitioning seamlessly through CEDC’s rotational mechanism.
Presidency rotations Slovenia 2026, Croatia 2027, Austria 2028, Czech Republic 2029, Hungary 2030, Slovakia 2031 maintain continuity via handover protocols ratified in 2022. Each nation coordinates defence ministers’ meetings, policy directors’ forums, and operational staff gatherings over calendar-year terms, averaging 18 events annually. Slovenia schedules 22 engagements, including a June terminology summit in Bled and October cyber drills near Maribor, synchronised with NATO’s Steadfast Defender and EU’s PESCO timelines to maximise efficiency.