“The role of information, and so the attachés’ work, always become more valuable in times of international crises”, Minister of Defence Csaba Hende said at the annual conference of defence, military and air attachés in Budapest on June 30.

The annual conference of defence, military and air attachés was held in Monday morning at the Military National Security Service. In his speech, Minister Hende said that the public does not really grasp the significance of the service done by the attachés to their countries, but in times of major crises, the role of information, and thereby their own role, become more valuable. “The government and the Ministry of Defence highly appreciate your activity, especially the job you have done last year”, the Minister of Defence said.

Minister Hende pointed out that the crisis in Ukraine had profoundly changed the security situation in Europe, and we have to prepare for a protracted conflict to which Hungary, the Hungarian Defence Forces and NATO must equally react. The reassurance security measures taken since April in NATO demonstrate the unity and solidarity of the Alliance and that collective defence cannot be undermined. Hungary too is contributing to NATO’s efforts, and the participants of the Wales Summit in September may make important decisions and assessments about the strategic requirements of the crisis. It is of key importance that at the summit, the Alliance should adopt a unified stance on its relationship with Russia. The role of the states situated on NATO’s eastern border becomes more valuable, since equipment and troops are expected to be deployed to these areas. A Readiness Action Plan is under preparation with a view to summing up the strategic effects and the long-term measures to be taken by NATO.

Committed Hungarian engagement

Minister Hende added that apart from the shifting focus onto Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, NATO’s founding document, there is a continuing need for more work in the fields of crisis management and cooperative security, as the challenges of the last 15 years have not gone with the start of another crisis. This year, Afghanistan will see the beginning of a new epoch, since after more than a decade, ISAF will be replaced by a significantly smaller operation called “Resolute Support”. Hungary continues to keep the ambition level of 1,000 troops deployed on foreign missions, and wishes to turn more attention to its engagement in the Western Balkans. Besides, it is committed to the enlargement of NATO and the “open doors” policy.  

Minister Hende stated that the Ukrainian crisis has pointed again to a long-standing issue, which is that the disproportion between US and European defence expenditures is untenable. In this matter, it is expected that a transatlantic declaration will also be issued in Wales. Hungary supports the increase of defence budgets. “In the years to come, we must increase military expenditures prudently, because the economy does not stand on feet of iron”, Csaba Hende quoted Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s recent statement. He reminded his audience that the governmental decision No. 1046/2012 also specifies the boundary conditions for financing, under which between 2013 and 2015, the main appropriation under the defence heading will be kept, as a minimum, at the nominal value of 2012, and will increase annually by 0.1 per cent of the GDP from 2016 on, until it reaches 1.39 per cent of the GDP by 2022. The Minister added that the government will strictly economize on the continuously expanding resources, and spend them on eliminating decades-long shortfalls in materiel, equipment and armament. The time has come to start upgrading the weapon systems step by step, and this work must be integrated into the rebuilding of Hungary’s defence industry too. In this regard, the Minister asked the attachés to “keep an eye open” and look for opportunities.

Strengthening Europe

Speaking about the common defence policy of the European Union, Minister Hende said that some important steps had recently been taken in the right direction. As he said, European countries should do more in the interest of their own security; the defence dimension of the V4 cooperation process has gained a new impetus too, we had opportunity to witness many new initiatives over the last one year when Hungary was the presidency nation. “The defence sector is one of the engines of cooperation among the four countries”, Minister Hende pointed out. Among the results, he mentioned the joint development of a long-term vision which lays the political foundations for further joint capability development projects, the formation of combined units and the conduct of joint exercises. Currently they are working out the details of V4 military exercises to be held annually, and those of a joint project on tracked vehicle platforms and wheeled transport vehicles. 

The close to 3000-strong EU Battle Group of the V4 countries will be set up by 2016 and  ready to deploy in ten days, up to 6000 kilometers from the borders. This battle group will have a modular structure and comprise 670 Hungarian soldiers. Besides, its engineer, non-kinetic and Special Forces modules will operate under Hungarian command. Thanks to a HUF 3 billion-plus additional allocation made recently by the government, Hungary has been able to offer a close air support (CAS) capability too, so it can participate in the joint activity as a lead nation in this field, since the Hungarian Gripen fighters can support the battle group in eliminating targets in the air and on the ground.

Minister Hende noted that our Special Forces soldiers had passed with flying colors the test of supporting the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, which is clearly shown by the fact that US-led Special Forces soldiers were subordinated to the Hungarian command. As a result of the work done in the last four years, the Gripen capability has been fully generated, due to which Hungary belongs to the elite of NATO in this respect too, as the Puma Squadron has just been granted full membership in the NATO Tiger Association.

The Minister asked the attachés to represent Hungary deservedly in their host countries and promote the political and defence industrial interests of Hungary and the Ministry of Defence, improve the standards of international contact, and keep themselves up-to-date by obtaining credible information about military policy and other military matters.

(Ministry of Defence)