Macedonia to join EU Battle Group exercise

Macedonia to join EU Battle Group exercise

Macedonia will take part in the military manoeuvres Rampant Lion 2014 in Belgium.

A Macedonian mechanised infantry unit will participate in the EU Battle Group military exercise Rampant Lion 2014. [AFP]

Macedonian soldiers will be among those participating in an EU Battle Group exercise next week in Belgium. The 150 Macedonian soldiers join 2,900 soldiers from Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Luxembourg and Belgium in the exercise that begins Monday (May 26th).

The EU Battle Group will evaluate the soldiers' abilities, and they will then be placed in stand-by readiness status for speedy deployment in the second half of 2014.

Macedonia will deploy a mechanised infantry unit, staff officers and a national support element in the exercise, said Defence Minister Talat Xhaferi.

"By participating in the EU Battle Group, Macedonia shows a serious political readiness to contribute to the joint security and development of peace and democracy in Europe," Xhaferi told SETimes.

Xhaferi also said participation is significant in order to introduce and implement the EU forces' procedures and practices in the Macedonian military.

Macedonia is participating in EU Battle Group exercises for the second time. It joined Germany, Austria, Ireland, Croatia and the Czech Republic in the military exercise in late 2012.

The costs of participating in the exercise are minimal while the benefits are many, said Colonel Metodi Hadzi-Janev, a professor at the Military Academy in Skopje.

"The military wisdom in Macedonia gets an opportunity to be 'updated,' to view how the partner countries implement operational planning in the future EU missions and, accordingly...