“Europe’s immediate environment is suffering repeated crises, which must be handled to assure the security of the international community”, Minister of State for Public Administration István Dankó of the Ministry of Defence said at the conference entitled NATO 2014: The Alliance after the Wales Summit, held in Budapest today.

The Minister of State said that factors affecting Europe’s security have deteriorated significantly, and moreover in a period in which defence spending has fallen significantly as a result of the economic crisis, leading to a partial weakening of Europe’s defence capabilities.

In Mr. Dankó’s view, decisions that are critical from the perspective of Europe’s security were made at the Wales summit; it was declared at the highest possible level that security is indeed important and the member states undertook to increase their defence spending.

Ha also noted that Russia’s actions in Ukraine are in contravention of international law, and the country’s military activities have increased recently. Russia’s activities require increasing attention, primarily within NATO’s north-eastern region, and a determined and unified response must be taken against all challenges that endanger security, the Minister of State added.

In his speech, István Mikola, Minister of State for Security Policy and International Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, stressed that NATO continues to play a leading role in handling crises and is the most important forum for transatlantic dialogue on issues that endanger collective security. The current situation is a test of NATO’s strength, but the Alliance is capable of meeting multiple security challenges, he stated.

Dramatic events have occurred in and in the immediate vicinity of Europe during the past year and the situation in Ukraine is reminiscent of the cold war era, he said, adding that the future of Ukraine is a sensitive issue in view of the shared border and the Hungarian minority living there. According to the Minister of State, collective defence will always be important for Hungary; the country is fulfilling its undertakings and is committed to gradually increasing its defence spending during the upcoming years.

(Prime Minister's Office)