Conference On NATO’s New Strategy

Following the opening address of Colonel (eng.) Dr. József Padányi, Vice Rector of Zrínyi Miklós University of National Defence, Szilveszter E. Vizi said: in the 21st century problems have emerged for which mankind had not prepared earlier. "In the past 100 years science has developed, but morals, the relation between man and environment, between man and man have not," emphasised the chairman, adding that the reason for the crisis we feel today is the lack of moral behaviour. Szilveszter E. Vizi also pointed out in his introduction that the NATO is more than military cooperation, for it means professional and scientific relations as well.

Zsolt Rábai, the Public Diplomacy Officer of the NATO Headquarters in Brussels also held a presentation at the conference, entitled ’Debates over the new strategic concept’. Like the expert emphasised, today we have to face new challenges, be it terrorism, piracy, climate change, cyber defence, or proliferation. He added: "The new concept may bring a revolutionary new approach. The main novelty is that external specialists will also participate in it, in other words, the important questions will be negotiated and discussed at public conferences." The expert said that in his opinion, the key role of NATO in protecting the territory and population of the allies will not change in the future. According to Zsolt Rábai, cooperation, just like the open door policy, will be essential. The pubic diplomacy officer talked about the principle of solidarity as well – he said it is an important question how Article 5 on collective defence works today.

The next speaker was Dr. Péter Tálas, the Director of the Institute for Strategic and Defence Studies, Zrínyi Miklós University of National Defence. His presentation focused on the political debates about NATO’s future. Like he said, the weakening support of NATO by society is a problem. “After 9/11, NATO’s internal solidarity has also tilted," the expert added, emphasising the principle of subjective security, according to which it is important how countries view their own environment – which shows a very varied picture in the NATO. “In Central Eastern Europe, the main guarantee is security, while the US is a global power and it looks at the alliance accordingly – it has different ambitions. European great powers, however, consider the alliance a good political instrument but also a burden," said Péter Tálas, who also explained the contradictions in the alliance. “In order to develop a good strategy, we have to avoid sweeping these differences under the carpet – we should put them on the table," he added. The expert also spoke about the global economic crisis, saying that for the majority of society, security means economic security, and not military security. “This is typical of our region, in other words, the coming years will be determined by economic security. On the other hand, cooperation within the alliance can be a positive consequence of the global economic crisis", he added. In the opinion of Péter Tálas, the differences between member states are also reflected by the different types of challenges, since while Spain or France are countries threatened by terrorism, we cannot tell the same about the countries in Central Eastern Europe.

In his presentation entitled ‘Political debates – possible military consequences’ retired General Dr. Zoltán Szenes, the Chairman of the Committee on Military Science, Hungarian Academy of Sciences said: Article 5, the issue of collective defence has been the subject of debates for long. "The question has to be asked: does it meet the requirements of the time, bearing in mind that it was worded for cases of classical warfare?" – he said, then continued his presentation with the capability development issues of the nations and the alliance. Like he said, there are no civilian capabilities to accompany military operations. Finally the retired general talked about the question of national and joint financing in the alliance.

In the second half of the conference, the representatives of various Hungarian social organizations held their presentations. First retired Colonel Dr. Gyula Hautzinger, Acting Deputy Chairman, Hungarian Atlantic Council (MAT) gave an account of the activities of the MAT. The main duty of the Council is to support NATO’s new strategic concept from the side of society. The deputy chairman emphasised the importance of opinion polls conducted in winter/spring, and the tasks of the autumn/winter period, namely the interpretation of the strategy for society. “We consider NGOs dealing with security policy and Societies for the Dissemination of Scientific Knowledge (TITs) our partners – the latter are important because Szilveszter E. Vizi, who is here with us today is also chairman of the Society for the Dissemination of Scientific Knowledge, and in February we signed an important cooperation agreement," said the colonel. Gyula Hautzinger also called attention to the programs of the Hungarian Atlantic Council: the V4 meeting will be held on 7– 9 April, and in September the chairman of the Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA) will pay a visit to Hungary.

Colonel Dr. István Görög, the secretary of the Székesfehérvár branch of Defence Forces and Society Fellowship also held a presentation at the conference. After a brief introduction, the colonel stressed the role of various events, such as festivities related to the battle of Pákozd, which have been organized for ten years. These events are meant to address the widest audience and keep up the dialogue. In his presentation entitled ‘The new concept and the European defence’ Colonel (eng.) Dr. Bálint Kunos, Chairman, EuroDéfense-Hungary outlined the typical features and main responsibilities of the organization. Like he said this organization has been established in order to support European security policy. He emphasised: “Many of us believe that NATO is in a crisis. There is not a real enemy concept, there is no joint action in Afghanistan for instance. Those who participate in the operation do it in different proportions." Colonel Kunos added: the development of the new strategy will be completed and it will be successful, provided it answers the following questions: “How can collective defence be ensured in the future? How can the security of the European region be guaranteed? What type of common challenges do we have to face in the future? What sort of structure and operational method can guarantee answers to these questions? How does the new strategy contribute to the advancement of the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP)?" – listed the chairman.

In the last part of the conference, Ambassador André Erdõs, the deputy chairman of the United Nations Association of Hungary talked about UN-NATO relations and cooperation, Colonel Ernõ Endresz, the expert of the Military Science and Security Policy Non-profit Organization (TIT-HABE) gave an account of their experiences in public information dissemination, and László Nagy, the chairman of the Hungarian Association of Military Science told about the changes in the alliance.