Spain takes command of the battlegroup in Slovakia

What happened

Spain takes command of NATO's multinational battlegroup in Slovakia, which NATO says has shown its ability to form a multinational combat brigade in under ten days. Allies are also exercising their ability to rapidly reinforce the battlegroups in Bulgaria and Romania up to brigade level.

The central and south-eastern battlegroups implement the Madrid decision differently from Latvia and Lithuania: they are not standing brigades but battalions that rehearse becoming brigades. That is the distinction between the module's northern and southern halves, stated by NATO in its own terms.

Confidence: High