Decoding the news: Italy’s Chief of Defence, Gen. Luciano Portolano, attended the 13th annual meeting of the Defence Cooperation Initiative (DECI) in Budapest, alongside the Chiefs of Defence of Albania, Austria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia and Hungary.
Key points:
- Regional stability: Portolano described DECI as a “crucial instrument” for supporting the Euro-Atlantic integration of the Western Balkans and better aligning regional efforts with NATO and EU priorities.
- Focus on the Southern flank: He highlighted the growing challenges emanating from the wider Mediterranean and stressed the need for coordinated responses.
- Advanced interoperability: Cooperation within DECI centres on interoperability, interconnectivity and “interchangeability” — enabling effective operations in modern multi-domain environments.
- Concrete tools: expanded use of Government-to-Government (G2G) agreements already active with some DECI partners; access to the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument; promotion of integration between platforms and systems through harmonised requirements and standards.
Military doctrine update. General Portolano briefed partners on Italy’s newly approved National Military Strategy, which translates political decisions into strategic and operational guidelines, outlines major military threats, and updates the employment of the Italian Armed Forces across all domains.
Security picture. Participants received updates from:
- the commander of NATO KFOR in Kosovo;
- the deputy commander of EUFOR Althea in Bosnia and Herzegovina;
- NATO’s Joint Force Command Naples;
- the Multinational Land Force (MLF), currently led by Italy.
DECI remains a key platform for preparing high-readiness forces for the EU Rapid Deployment Capacity (EU-RDC), which Italy will lead again in 2027.
Regional integration. A Letter of Intent was signed to boost cooperation in Advanced Military Education and Research.
- Partners launched new cyber defence training and best-practice exchanges: “Strengthening regional cyber resilience is not just a technical requirement but a strategic imperative,” Portolano said.
- North Macedonia joined the MLF as an Observer, aligning the force’s composition with the DECI membership.
What’s next: The next DECI meeting will be held in Albania in 2026.
(Photo: X, @SM_Difesa)
