Hungary does its share in NATO’s collective tasks

Since the Vilnius NATO Summit at the level of heads of state and government in July, this has been the first time that ministers of defence of the Alliance gathered to discuss current issues. At the discussions, Hungary was represented by MoD State Secretary for Defence Strategy and Human Resources. The Brussels meetings focused on the implementation of the tasks of collective deterrence and defence, the operationalization of NATO’s new collective defence posture, as well as on NATO’s ongoing missions and operations. Two initiatives were signed in the margins of the NATO Defence Ministers’ Meetings: Germany and the United Kingdom joined the NATO Flight Training Europe (NFTE) High Visibility Project, and 13 Allies and Sweden as invitee signed an agreement of cooperation on cross-border Airspace Management (AER).

Hungary does its share in the collective tasks, which is well exemplified by the Hungary-led multinational NATO enhanced Vigilance Activity Battle Group (NATO eVA BG HUN) responding to the challenges in the zone of the eastern flank, and also by the Székesfehérvár-based Headquarters Multinational Division Centre (HQ MND-C), which Hungary co-established with Croatia and Slovakia.

In the presence of the European Union’s representative, the Allies addressed the situation of operations under way in Iraq and the Balkans, and discussed the possibilities for cooperating with the EU to increase regional stability. With respect to this engagement, Hungary drew attention to the fact that within the frameworks of international alliance systems, the Hungarian participation is realized at the highest levels in the region of the Western Balkans. Recently, a Hungarian soldier served as commander of KFOR, NATO’s largest land operation in Kosovo, and, starting from January 2024, another Hungarian soldier, Major General Dr. László Sticz will be appointed commander of the EUFOR Althea mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Hungary consequently represents the keeping of challenges from the south on the agenda in NATO. The situation in the southern region is tense, as is shown by the tensions running high in Kosovo in the recent period, and therefore, we consider it very important to maintain NATO’s and the EU’s presence in the region, in the interest of preserving our security.

Naturally, the previously approved topics on the agenda were complemented with a survey of the developments of the terrorist attacks against Israel, which also threaten the security of the southern region. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant briefed the allied ministers by video conference on the situation. During the conference, Hungary expressed solidarity with Israel and assured the country of its support.

The NATO-Ukraine Council at defence ministerial level took place for the first time in the framework of the Meetings of NATO Ministers of Defence. Hungary reaffirmed that it would not like to make NATO part of the war in Ukraine, and shared its concerns over the situation of the rights of ethnic minorities. Besides, it also stated that cooperation must continue to be based on shared values and collective decisions.

Press release of the Ministry of Defence