Government signs contract on F-16 fighter jets

At its session on Wednesday, the government okayed the purchase of 14 fighter jets F-16 by the Defence Ministry worth EUR 1.6 billion. Defence Minister Peter Gajdoš signed the contract on behalf of Slovakia. "Our bilateral co-operation has reached a new level. Slovakia is an important US ally," said the US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan who signed the contract on behalf of the USA. As he added, this purchase should serve as an example to the rest of the NATO members. Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini agreed with Defence Minister Peter Gajdoš on the fact that the purchase is the expression of the Slovak commitment to NATO. The signature of the contract, however, stirred conflict in the Slovak coalition at the beginning of December with the Defence Ministry, led by the Slovak National Party, signing the purchase of F-16 fighter jets, while Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini of the SMER-SD party considered the contract to be invalid. He criticized the fact that the purchase of new aircraft worth more than €1.6 billion had not been agreed by the Finance Ministry. At its Wednesday session, the Slovak government also agreed that the Slovak delegation at the December EU summit in Brussels, due to begin on Thursday (December 13), will be headed by Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini (Smer-SD). The summit will focus on the multi-annual financial framework, the single market, migration and external relations. "The topics at the meeting will also include the issue of misinformation and preparations for an EU summit with the League of Arab States in Egypt in February 2019," stated the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry in a presentation report.