Discussion Between Slovenian and Hungarian Chiefs of Defence in Gosztola

Hungary’s military-to-military relations with Slovenia are balanced, and the defence cooperation between the two countries is intensive. Both states are members of the same systems of alliances in NATO and the EU. Furthermore, there is ongoing military cooperation between the two countries in several other fields. Two examples are the Multinational Land Force (MLF), which was established in 1998 with the participation of Italy, Hungary and Slovenia, and the Defence Cooperation Initiative (DCI) that involves five nations (Austria, Croatia, Italy, Hungary and Slovenia).

In 2015, military cooperation between the two countries continued with joint training tasks during Exercise Immediate Response in Hungary. By yearslong tradition, the Hungarian Defence Forces regularly send their soldiers to attend courses in the Slovenia-based Centre of Excellence for Mountain Warfare.

There were several current issues on the agenda of the present discussion, among them the important topic of migration, as both counties have been using their military forces in law enforcement tasks to handle the current situation. The discussion was aimed at identifying areas of common interest that enable Hungary and Slovenia to carry out joint tasks in handling the migrant crisis.

The most significant recent decision has been the closure of borders on the Western Balkans route, which resulted in a drastic reduction in the number of migrants entering Slovenia. The military leaders also explored the possibilities for conducting joint training events. While talking about cooperation in the fields of aviation and air defence, they discussed the tasks of search and rescue (SAR) services that involve both nations, the yearly iterated mountain training for helicopter pilots, the recovery of crews of damaged aircraft and the training provided for air base firefighters in connection with the operation of JAS–39 Gripen aircraft.

A central topic on the agenda of the meeting was the role Hungary has assumed in air policing tasks to guard the airspace of Slovenia since October 2014, in cooperation with Italy. At the Wales Summit, NATO leaders made a decision about setting up command centers in countries on the eastern flank of the Alliance. Thus, the establishment of a NATO Force Integration Unit (NFIU) in Székesfehérvár, Hungary is under way, to which Slovenia will also contribute military staff, as Maj.-Gen. Osterman reaffirmed this intention at the meeting.

Photo: WO Lajos Szabó