The defence and interior ministries as well as the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) and the police have agreed to boost cooperation in guarding the state border, said the Defence Ministry on Wednesday, announcing additional measures, including a reform of the rules governing the military’s deployment on the border.
The meeting took place on Tuesday and featured Defence Minister Matej Tonin, Interior Minister Aleš Hojs, Chief of the General Staff, Brigadier General Robert Glavaš, and acting Police Commissioner Andrej Jurič.
The Defence Ministry said it will tweak the rules and prepare four levels of deployment in line with Article 37 of the defence act, which enables SAF members to help the police patrol the border without having any police powers.
The green level will signal the deployment of 150 soldiers along the border, the yellow level 400, the orange level 800 and the red level will mean 2,000 soldiers are to be deployed, reads the ministry’s press release.
The SAF will also start conducting the majority of their military exercises at areas close to the border in coming weeks to strengthen its presence there and “help citizens who are facing negative consequences of migrations”, said Tonin.