The Slovak defence industry has been plagued for years by an outdated procurement process for the army. There is a lack of a national strategy for the defence industry, but also a lack of manpower and capital. The advantage, however, is that Slovak defence manufacturers are flexible and able to produce top-quality end products, explains VILIAM OSTATNÍK from the Adapt Institute think tank in an interview.

NATO member countries have welcomed the news that much of the existing aid to Kiev will continue and that the new government will neither impede commercial military cooperation, says Slovak Ambassador to NATO PETER BÁTOR. He points out that the Alliance itself is helping the attacked Ukraine only with supplies of non-lethal material.

My advantage is that my foreign policy assignment has not changed since the attack in Vrbětice, says JAKUB LANDOVSKÝ about the fact that he has served as ambassador in Brussels under two different governments. According to him, in NATO, there has never been a demand for internal regional formats, like the V4. They are looked upon "almost with hostility," he explains.

The defence ministry "is neither right nor left, it is only about Slovakia's defence capability," its former state secretary says in an interview. That is why he "keeps his fingers crossed for the new leadership of the ministry" and advises them to "listen to the people in the ministry and approach things pragmatically". He also recommends listening to the defence industry, which has "fairly high expectations" given its previous cooperation with the department.

"I do not know a single example from history in which an aggressor would stop only because the victim lost the ability to defend himself," says the vice-chairman of Progressive Slovakia. Although he did not support a move to majority voting on EU foreign policy issues in his former party For the People, he now argues that consensus-based decision-making is becoming a problem for Slovakia. The change was "brought about by life" and the experience of Hungary's repetitive veto, TOMÁŠ VALÁŠEK explains in the podcast.