The defense ministers of Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, and Slovenia signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the creation of a Regional Special Operations Component Command (R-SOCC). The signing ceremony was held at NATO headquarters in Brussels (all four countries are members of this organization).

“The goal of this new initiative is to create a command of special forces ready and able to respond to threats and challenges that arise inside and outside the surrounding areas. Interstate cooperation in this area will allow us to use special forces in a more efficient, effective and coordinated manner. With the full pooling of contributions from the participating countries, this new command will provide benefits far superior to what its individual components are capable of, ”said NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Joane, who was present at the signing.

He drew attention to the memorandum was signed only eight months after the approval of the corresponding protocol of intent. According to Joan, this indicates that the countries of the alliance "seek fruitful interstate cooperation."

The Minister of Defense of Hungary Tibor Benkyo spoke in more detail about the goals and objectives of the R-SOCC.

“Based on our understanding of NATO’s needs, work should begin here in the Central European region with the creation of a component command of special operations forces with the active support of experts from Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, and later Austria,” the minister said.

Recall that Austria is not a member of NATO and is a neutral state. It should be noted that in February, after signing the protocol of intentions, Benkyo announced that the Western Balkans, where not all states are members of the alliance, will be one of the priority areas of R-SOCC activity. Thus, we are talking about a structure whose activities will not be limited to the framework of NATO member countries, experts say.

According to the approved plan, the regional command of special operations will begin its work in January 2021. It is expected that by 2024, cooperation between the forces of the special operations of all four countries and the start of full functioning of the R-SOCC should be established.

"Ownerless" space

The memorandum signed in Brussels can be seen as an attempt to overcome the difficulties that NATO faced in the Balkans, experts say. Georgy Engelhardt, a researcher at the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, recalls that the alliance began to pay increased attention to its southern borders after the events in Ukraine in 2014. The US and its European allies were worried that there were several countries on the Balkan Peninsula that were not members of NATO and, at the same time, had historically quite close ties with Russia.

“We are talking primarily about Serbia and Montenegro. But in general, the fact that the peninsula turned out to be “ownerless” in a geopolitical sense could not but worry Brussels and Washington, ”he said in an interview with RT.

  • Memorandum Signing Ceremony
  • © Nato.int

Previously, the alliance has taken several steps in this direction. The negotiations that lasted for many years on the accession of Montenegro to NATO were successfully completed. In addition, thanks to the mediation of Brussels and Washington, it was possible to end the long-standing Greek-Macedonian dispute over the name of the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia. It was renamed Northern Macedonia, and Greece lifted its veto on the country's admission to NATO.

But further in the process of expanding the alliance, there was a pause. Serbia is interested in joining the EU, but does not want to join NATO. In addition, Belgrade is hindering the entry of a partially recognized Kosovo into the alliance, and NATO is extremely reluctant to take countries that have potentially conflicting relations with their neighbors, says Engelhardt. The Republic of Srpska is guided by the position of Belgrade. It is part of Bosnia and Herzegovina and blocks the entry of this state into NATO.

“As for Northern Macedonia, they clearly made it clear: from their point of view, joining the alliance and the European Union are closely interconnected. If you want to see the country in NATO, take it at the same time in the EU. This is the position of Skopje. And here a problem arose because a number of European countries did not want to accept this country into the European Union, ”said Pavel Kandel, head of the Center for Ethnic and Political Conflicts of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

In July, negotiations on the accession of Northern Macedonia, as well as Albania to the EU were postponed. France, the Netherlands and Denmark opposed their admission to the European Union, citing the fact that the Albanians and Macedonians are not actively pursuing the necessary reforms. The head of the Ministry of Defense of Northern Macedonia, Radmila Shekerinsky, admitted that the ratification of the protocol on the country's entry into NATO could be delayed indefinitely.

Therefore, Brussels decided to strengthen contacts with the Balkans so that they would not lose interest in Euro-Atlantic integration. Within the EU, the process of joining the Schengen agreement has been intensified. In particular, the European Commission commended Croatia for its efforts.

Measures were also taken by NATO. So, in the summer, the largest military exercises of Northern Macedonia during the NATO military exercises called "Decisive Blow" took place. In addition to the Macedonian military, several thousand troops from the United States, Montenegro, Albania, Lithuania and Bulgaria took part in them.

“Strengthen the southeastern flank”

The emergence of the regional component command of special operations is largely demonstrative in nature and is intended to show that NATO pays special attention to its members in Eastern Europe, experts say.

“The creation of the R-SOCC is an element of the development of the alliance's infrastructure in Eastern Europe in general and in the Balkans in particular. The new organization will interact with other states that are not members of NATO. It is, first of all, about interaction at the level of power structures, ”says Engelhardt.

  • Hungarian soldier
  • © honvedelem.hu

According to the expert, the creation of the R-SOCC is consistent with the NATO leadership strategy. It aims to make membership in the alliance attractive to small states and less burdensome for large ones.

“Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia and Slovenia received a special, kind of privileged status in NATO, a separate structure within which they can realize themselves. At the same time, they will deal with those issues that could be dealt with by the USA, Germany, and Great Britain. It turns out such an American "subcontract". Roughly the same thing exists on the other flanks of NATO. For example, in the Baltics, emphasis has been placed on cybersecurity issues, ”says Engelhardt.

We are talking about the NATO Cyber ​​Defense Center, which was created in Estonia. In addition, exercises to combat cyber attacks are held in the Baltics.

Kandel believes that the creation of the R-SOCC is an attempt by NATO to “strengthen its southeastern flank” and make decision-making within the alliance more operational at the local level.

“A structure is emerging aimed at autonomous action ... One of the long-standing problems of the alliance is its slowness in decision-making. It made itself felt repeatedly when NATO was faced with the need to use troops. The alliance consists of 29 countries, each of which has its own interests and understanding of what and how to do, ”the expert concluded.