NATO Has Had a Positive Effect on the Hungarian Defence Forces

Szöveg: Szabolcs Nyulas | 2016. április 17. 9:29

On Monday, 11 April at a security policy forum held in Stefánia Palace – Military Cultural Centre in Budapest, it was stated that the North Atlantic Alliance has had an important effect on the Hungarian Defence Forces, and thanks to the foreign missions, these days the military tasks are executed in a truly professional manner in several fields.

The event took place in Stefánia Palace – Honvéd Cultural Centre to mark the anniversary of Hungary’s accession to NATO, with the participation of a civilian and a military expert who looked to NATO’s purpose and tasks and its effect on the Hungarian Defence Forces. The two speakers were Col. János Szőnyegi, Head of the MoD Defence Planning Department and Professor of International Law Dr. Tamás Lattmann.

In his lecture entitled “NATO’s role in the workings of the Hungarian Defence Forces – the organization’s effect on the development of internal and international laws", János Szőnyegi talked about the period of Hungary’s accession to NATO, the transformation of the Hungarian Defence Forces and the abolishment of conscription. He said that in the early 1990s, the collapse of the Soviet Union caused an identity crisis in NATO, because with the disappearance of the “great opposing bloc", its role and even its necessity were called into question. At the same time, the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact created a security vacuum and the Eastern European countries remedied it by becoming members of NATO. Mr. Szőnyegi noted that Hungary joined NATO in 1999.

Eventually, the Hungarian Defence Forces became professional with the abolishment of conscription in 2004. One of the drawbacks of this transition was that they started drifting apart from society. The introduction of the volunteer reservist system and cooperation in disaster management both improve this situation, he added.

In the expert’s opinion, international operations strengthen the professional character of the Hungarian Defence Forces, as today a lot of soldiers speak foreign languages and as a result of Hungary’s NATO membership, they regularly participate in significantly more exercises and training events than before.

The other lecturer at the forum, Professor of International Law Dr. Tamás Lattmann said that since the winning of the Cold War, NATO has diverged from its original goals, and being based on the principle of collective defence, nowadays this community of shared political goals and values is functioning in a more complex way. According to him, the North Atlantic Council has an important role in rationalizing the political processes of member states in the field of defence.