Hungarian V4 Presidency Starts Implementing Defence Policy Priorities

Organized by the Ministry of Defence as the opening of work in the field of defence under the Hungarian V4 presidency, the defence policy directors’ meeting aimed at reviewing the defence policy priorities of the Hungarian presidency, and discussing possibilities for deepening cooperation in these fields.

The Hungarian delegation was led by Péter Siklósi, Deputy State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence for Defence Policy and Planning. The deputy state secretary informed his partners about the defence policy priorities of the presidency that Hungary assumed on 1 July. Our most important goals include coordinating our positions and effectively channeling the Central European interests with relation to a number of strategic issues on the agenda of NATO and the EU, such as the Alliance giving more effective responses to terrorism and, in general, to challenges from the south, including the causes of mass migration, as well as enhancing the EU’s military crisis management capabilities, so the agenda of the meeting included issues such as the possible ways of cooperation in the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL and also in NATO’s engagement in Iraq.

Another important topic at the discussion was the opportunities for collectively benefiting from such initiatives as the European Defence Fund that are aimed at strengthening the common European security and defence policy.

On Thursday, 20 July, the second day of the conference, the delegations are participating in the Distinguished Visitors’ Day of this year’s high-visibility V4 Exercise Brave Warrior 2017 at the HDF Bakony Combat Training Centre.