The Defence Minister takes the view that in the interest of guaranteeing security, it would under any circumstances be useful if the military, too, were able to help the police with the maintenance of order in the event of an act of terrorism.

István Simicskó added on the Saturday morning programme of the public service television news channels M1: soldiers should not march on the streets of Budapest without good reason, but – bearing at all times the principle of proportion and necessity in mind – the Government should be empowered to also deploy the military in order to help with the work of the police.

Five consultations have been held with respect to the counter-terrorism action plan, some of the critical comments have been accepted, and a proposal has been reached which „has gone to the utmost limit” as far as compromises are concerned, he said.

Mr Simicskó said: if an act of terrorism occurred in Budapest today, they would not be able to deploy the military, despite the fact that this possibility exists in a number of European countries. In Paris, for instance, tens of thousands of soldiers were directed to the streets of the French capital in the wake of the terrorist attacks.

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)