Visegrad defence ministers to discuss cooperation

The defence ministers of the Visegrad Group -a lose alliance of four Central European states - are to meet in Prague on Monday to debate future cooperation within the European Union. The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary joined the EU on May 1st but have agreed to maintain Visegrad Group cooperation which helped them meet EU accession criteria. The Czech Republic and Slovakia have particularly close ties, due to 70 years of coexistence in the former Czechoslovak federation. Both countries faced similar problems in bringing their military technology to NATO standards and are now considering the possibility of close cooperation in protecting their air-space.