„I truly praise the dedication, professionalism and knowledge of the Hungarian soldiers”

As Chairman of the European Union Military Committee, how do you asses the mission performance of the Hungarian soldiers?

The relevant commitment of the Hungarian Armed Forces to the European Union’s CSDP missions and operations deserves the highest consideration and appreciation.
Hungarian troops on the field always gather their Commanders’ admiration, and I truly praise their dedication, as well as their professionalism and knowledge. I am proud to say they honour Hungary and the European Union and, for that, I really thank them.

How do you see the future role of the EU MC, what are the intentions and plans?

The implementation of the Global Strategy (GS) for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy presented by HRVP Mogherini in June 2016, has clearly identified the security challenges the EU and its Member States are facing and has led to the establishment of a new level of ambition for EU security and defence policy. Our commitment is particularly intense, and more has been achieved in these last months than in the last 10 years. EU will keep this new momentum for security and defence, pushing forward a more coherent and coordinated mobilisation of all instruments in support of stabilisation and crisis management (the so called integrated approach), placing early warning and conflict prevention at the forefront, as well as identifying resilience as a central security concept both internally and externally. EU will also assist Member States’ cooperation in developing key defence capabilities and preserve a technological edge that will guarantee their long term security. The EU Military Committee is the appropriate forum for such discussions to take place among those who combine the expertise and the responsibility to advice accordingly their political leaderships.

Current geopolitical shifts and growing security threats are definitely compelling EU to become stronger and more effective as a security and defence actor on the global stage. It is also evident that no single player can successfully tackle today’s security challenges on its own, and only a reinforced cooperation will allow us to meet our citizens’ security expectations. In this respect, I am convinced that EU has all the potentialities to be a cooperation platform, able to help its Member States achieve their security objectives, in cooperation with others.
The Global Strategy definitely promotes an EU security and defence in complementarity with NATO and all our partners.

What do you think about the current state of the NATO-EU relations?

The EU/NATO cooperation has long been a point of argument and scepticism, with many being convinced that a European defence capability would have been seen as a hostile act towards NATO. Latest evidences, however, clearly show that the European defence has become the strongest pillar for NATO and, as the HRVP Mrs Federica Mogherini recently said “the strongest reassurance for the transatlantic alliance that Europeans will be there and will continue to be there to keep the military alliance strong from our own perspective, with our own differences. We are not a military alliance and we have Member States that are not NATO allies but it is the best guarantee for NATO to hold a strong position".
Work on all these fronts is ongoing and intense, key results have already been achieved and we will keep our commitment on that.
Rising awareness is also of foremost importance and, in this respect, I have been given the great opportunity, during this my visit to Hungary, to deliver a speech on “European Defence: Responding to the call of times" to the National Public Service University students’. More is expected from all of us, we are ready to take the challenge and encourage new generations to follow this path!

Photo: WO Lajos Szabó