“Hungarian Defence Force (HDF) management staff have appeared at further enterprises”, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement to Hungarian news agency MTI on Friday. The list includes food industry, shipping and chemical industry companies.

According to the statement, the number of enterprises at which HDF management staff are facilitating secure and unhindered operations in the interests of the country’s security of supply, as a result of a decision by the Action Group for the Security of Vital Hungarian Enterprises, increased to 93 on Thursday.

Based on the Action Group’s decision, the following companies have been included on the list of vital enterprises: Rail Cargo Hungaria Freight Transport Plc., Waberer's International Plc., Bonafarm Zrt., Kometa 99 Food Industry Zrt., Pápai Meat Limited, Goodmills Hungary Milling Industry Limited, GLOBUS Canning Industry Zrt, BONDUELLE CENTRAL EUROPE Vegetable Processing Limited and ALKALOIDA Chemical Plant Zrt.

The HDF management staff are not taking over the management of the enterprises in question. They are taking part in the lives of these companies to assure their continuous operation and the security of supply of the country’s population. Their main task is to provide assistance if required via their professional knowledge and the instruments available to the Hungarian Defence Force, for instance with relation to logistics, freight and personal transport, supply and security tasks. the Ministry highlighted.

“Following the setting up of the Action Group for the Security of Vital Hungarian Enterprises, led by Minister of Defence Tibor Benkő, on 13 March, HDF management staff were first deployed at 71 enterprises on 19 March, following which the list of companies that have been designated as vital to the country’s continuous functioning was expanded by a further 13 enterprises on 25 March. Thanks to Thursday’s decision, the list of companies where HDF management staff are facilitating unhindered and secure operations has now increase to a total of 93”, the statement reads.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced on 13 March that he will be setting up several action groups within the framework of protecting against the coronavirus pandemic. The Action Group for the Security of Vital Hungarian Enterprises is one such action group, and is headed by Minister of Defence Tibor Benkő.

(MTI)