The Central European Defence Cooperation (CEDC) is a military collaboration consisting of the

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

an states of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

and

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

has an

observer status Observer status is a privilege granted by some organizations to non-members to give them an ability to participate in the organization's activities. Observer status is often granted by intergovernmental organizations (IGO) to non-member parties and ...

in this cooperative framework. The joint objective is enhancing the defence co-operation, including the pooling and sharing of defence capabilities of the member countries and organizing common training and

exercises Exercise is a body activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. It is performed for various reasons, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardiovascular system, hone athletic s ...

. Since the

European migrant crisis The 2015 European migrant crisis, also known internationally as the Syrian refugee crisis, was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and migrants into Europe in 2015, when 1.3 million people came to the continent to reques ...

of 2015-2016 the cooperation has focused on handling mass migration too. The CEDC was created in 2010. All members are also members of

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

and all except Austria are in

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

. The presidency rotates yearly. As of 2022, the presidency is held by Austria. The CEDC geo-political borders are more or less the same borders of the former Habsburg monarchy, and its successors, the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

and

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. Territory of participating states is 381,682 km² while the territory of the Austrian Empire in 1804 was 698,700 km².

History

Formation of the group started in late 2010, the first meeting of defence ministers took place in June 2012 in Frauenkirchen, Austria. From March 31 to April 1, 2016, a conference of defense ministers from the CEDC member states as well as those from

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

and

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

took place in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. The central theme was the

. Germany and Greece were also invited but did not participate. A joint initiative was taken to secure the external border, a continued closure of the

Balkan route The 2015 European migrant crisis, also known internationally as the Syrian refugee crisis, was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and migrants into Europe in 2015, when 1.3 million people came to the continent to reques ...

and the implementation of settlement measures of migrants who had arrived previously. On 19 June 2017 the six countries pledged in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

closer cooperation on tackling illegal migration including the use of armed forces. Among the group's goals is that all migrants who want to apply for asylum in any EU country must do so from out side the bloc. Countries are working on the joint action plan, which will distribute tasks between member's armies, police forces and other organisations when common response is needed. In September 2017 the group organized a joint military exercise Cooperative Security 2017 (COOPSEC17) in Allentsteig, Austria focused on fortifying borders against mass migration.

References

External links

Djordjevic attends CEDC meeting

{{Authority control Intergovernmental organizations Foreign relations of Austria Foreign relations of Croatia Foreign relations of the Czech Republic Foreign relations of Hungary Foreign relations of Poland Foreign relations of Slovakia Foreign relations of Slovenia Central Europe Austria–Hungary relations Austria–Croatia relations Croatia–Czech Republic relations Czechoslovakia–Poland relations Czech Republic–Poland relations Czechoslovakia–Hungary relations Poland–Slovakia relations 2010 in Europe 21st-century military alliances European integration Central European intergovernmental organizations Military of Austria Military of Croatia Military of the Czech Republic Military of Hungary Military of Slovakia Military of Slovenia Bottom-up regional groups within the European Union

History

See also

References

External links