Parliament approved Slovakia's new Security Strategy on Thursday. For the first time in 16 years, such a document was okayed not only by the government, but also by parliament. The Security Strategy states that global security has deteriorated in several ways, which directly affects Slovakia's security and resilience. The threats and challenges with which the country is confronted are ever more difficult, immediate and interconnected and have bigger impacts on people's security. Seventy-seven of the 122 MPs present at the vote supported the document, while 14 were against and 31 refrained from voting. Even though the previous government approved its own Security Strategy in October 2017, the document was not submitted to parliament, meaning that it was not ultimately greenlighted. The last such strategy to be approved by Parliament dates back to 2005.
Parliamentary Vice-chairman Juraj Blanár, from the opposition Smer-SD, though unhappy about the partisan nature of the document, praised the strategy for responding to the latest challenges, including cyber-attacks and issues concerning social networks, while stressing the importance of multi-lateralism and international law.
"Slovakia needs a new strategy, as the world is changing dramatically," said Foreign and European Affairs Minister Ivan Korčok (an SaS nominee) on Wednesday. According to Korčok, responsible states invest in defence. However, on Thursday Korčok already had to object to disinformation related to the strategy, denying that the document would allow foreign troops to be based in Slovakia and rejecting certain statements in connection with Russia. According to him, factual lies and disinformation were heard during the discussion, spread with the aim of manipulating public opinion.
