NATO Secretary General says member countries were aware of the risks of leaving Afghanistan. We did not expect the Taliban to take control so quickly, but the gains we have made in the country, including the education of a new generation of Afghans and Afghan women, will not go away, he told a news conference.

The EU also gives its Member States access to space technology for the needs of its armed forces. However, many countries are developing their own systems. Slovakia is not yet considering its own military satellite, but according to experts in the defence ministry, the sector needs to be monitored at least "marginally".

In a year's time, the current Secretary's mandate is coming to an end, and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member states are already intensively discussing who will replace him. After 72 years of the defence organisation's existence, there is talk in its Brussels headquarters that it is high time for a female leader.

A feminist approach transforms the system much more than traditional foreign policy, says Swedish Ambassador for Gender Equality and Coordinator for Feminist Foreign Policy, ANN BERNES, in an interview. In the early days, she says, the concept of feminism in politics surprised even Swedes themselves. "Today, no one laughs at it anymore because we can see for ourselves that change is possible," she says.