French–Hungarian Cooperation
Text: Ministry of Defence | 12:49 July 25, 2024MoD Deputy State Secretary for Defence Policy László Hajnik (Hungarian Defence Policy Director) received Alexandre Escorcia, Head of the Department for Europe, North America and Multilateral Action at the Directorate General for International Relations and Strategy (DGRIS) at the Ministry of the Armed Forces of France (French Assistant Defence Policy Director) in Budapest on 15 July.
The discussion was held before the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) Workshop and informal meeting of EU defence policy directors between 16 and 17 July. It was important for the French party to learn the perspective of Hungary as the current holder of the presidency of the Council of the EU on the following issues: 1) the priorities of the Hungarian presidency (with special regard to the main points of security and defence policy); 2) the strengthening of the European defence industry; 3) the Russo-Ukrainian war and 4) the Sahel and its challenges. They also discussed the current NATO issues, concerning the results of the Summit held in Washington D.C. between 9 and 11 July. Escorcia indicated that the French government will remain open to cooperation even after the elections, regardless of its composition.
