The Co-operation of Austria and Hungary Further Strengthened

During the discussion at Austrian initiative, on the border, the Defence Ministers of the two countries looked at the prospects of the bilateral, European Union and regional co-operation, and also the situation in the Western Balkans.

In the meeting Dr. Tibor Benkő said that Austria is one of the key partners of our motherland in the area of defence co-operation, which should be further strengthened in the future both at the European Union level, and at the regional level, and bilaterally as well.

Minister of Defence of Hungary pointed out during the discussion that the security of Europe and the European citizens is the most important issue for us. In agreement with his Austrian colleague they emphasised the importance of the protection of the EU borders, in the context of which the next phase of the migration crisis management exercise, conducted in September 2017 in Austria, takes place in Hungary in 2019 to be organised by the Ministry of Defence. The border protection and the emergency response belong to the competence of the interior ministries, but we must be prepared to deploy military forces if so required, and to this end an even tighter co-operation and the joint exercises are vital – the Minister emphasized.

Regarding the situation in the Western Balkans, Dr. Tibor Benkő said that the security of the region is equally important for both Austria and Hungary. In the interest of establishing a lasting peace in the region, the continuation of the long-term co-operation of our two countries is necessary, a good example of which is the Hungarian and the Austrian contribution to the operation EUFOR-ALTHEA and to KFOR.