Relations must be strengthened between the Hungarian Defence Forces and society

Dr. István Simicskó called a professional conference to give information about the results of recent legislation and the plans concerning defence administration. In his presentation held at the annual conference, the minister of defence emphasized that despite the numerous challenges, the system of public administration in Hungary and the Hungarian Defence Forces have given an exemplary performance over the last one and a half years, and thanked the government commissioners and soldiers present at the event. The briefing on the directions being implemented in the new system of volunteer reserve based on territorial defence made the conference especially timely.

Nothing can substitute for nation states

As the minister said, we are doing our work within a strong Alliance, but in the last period we have seen that the leading politicians of the European Union perceived the problem of migration crisis to a lesser extent than the government of Hungary, which was the first to identify the threat. At the same time, the efforts our country is making in the interest of protecting its own borders as well as those of the Schengen area and its citizens have started to trigger certain processes in European public thinking, thus a number of defence ministers attending the latest meeting of the Central European Defence Cooperation (CEDC) and the following Brussels meeting have expressed their support to the solutions proposed by Hungary.

“I hope that the joint efforts made by the V4 member states together with Austria, Slovenia and other countries will be gaining even more acceptance in the European Union too", Dr. István Simicskó said. The recent acts of terror in Europe that are also connected to the migration crisis, as well as the Brexit and the presidential elections in America all convey serious messages to European politicians. The minister stated that it is a wrong approach to hold that countries should renounce even more of their sovereignty in the face of new challenges. As he put it, “nothing can substitute for nation states, because that would mean the end of Europe and at once the end of Hungarian statehood".

Dr. István Simicskó pointed out that unfortunately, there has been an increase in the number of unstable countries, and international terrorism is gaining ground, the effects of which can be felt all over Europe. Hungary continues to attach special significance to the stability of the Balkans region, first and foremost to the security of Bosnia-Herzegovina, a country still considered unstable. In this spirit, the military role of the Hungarian Defence Forces remains important in the region, possibly with a reinforced presence. Besides, the state administration must prepare itself for the tendency of wars to assume an increasingly “civilian" character, for example, the challenges of cyber warfare.

Citizens’ involvement to be enhanced, useable military knowledge

The minister reminded his audience that in accordance with the Fundamental Law, the three pillars of Hungary’ security are the strength of the Hungarian Defence Forces, the system of Alliance and the citizens’ patriotic commitment and sacrifice. These three are closely connected, and the military leadership is determined to further enhance the citizens’ involvement and efforts in national defence. The minister underlined the significance of establishing the National Defence Sports Federation, which was approved by the National Assembly with a more than 80 per cent majority. As he said, this new public body intends to provide useable military knowledge for all those who are willing to join the initiative on a strictly voluntary basis, thereby strengthening relations between the Hungarian Defence Forces and society and bringing people closer to the idea of national defence. In addition, it will give opportunities for voluntary preliminary military studies and increase the number of potential reservists. The sports federation would also be organized along the lines of territorial units of public administration. Furthermore, a shooting range development project will be launched, and the government is also planning to create community spaces and reach out to other organizations, like, for example the militia. Dr. István Simicskó emphasized that the above changes are only part of a comprehensive program for the development of national defence and the armed forces, which is to be implemented, under the government’s decision, in Hungary over the next ten years.

In his presentation, Deputy Chief of Defence Lt.-Gen. Dr. Zoltán Orosz described the concept for implementing the system of voluntary territorial defence reserve. Ministerial Commissioner Maj.-Gen. István Kun Szabó talked in detail about the goals and tasks of the National Defence Sports Federation. He introduced the structure of the freshly established public body, which is to function in close cooperation with specialized sports associations, institution managers, government offices, local governments and the educational institutions run by them. The organizations requested for its foundation are the Budapest Honvéd Sports Club, the National Association of Hungarian Reservists, the National Federation of Honvéd Sports Clubs, the Hungarian Shooting Federation and the Federation of Technical and Mass Sports Clubs in Hungary. The scope of the Sports Federation includes the following as national defence sports: shooting, technical sports and motor vehicle driving, fencing, combat sports, orienteering and military re-enactment sports.

Dr. Zoltán Kovács, State Secretary for territorial public administration in the Office of the Prime Minister also argued for the establishment of an efficient system of reserve, and informed the participants about the most important current challenges and tasks in connection with the changes in the system of defence administration.

The minister pointed out that the cooperation is exemplary among the Ministry of Defence, the Hungarian Defence Forces and the government offices. He thanked its participants for their work, and asked for additional support in the interest of attaining common goals in the future.

Photos by Veronika Dévényi