Seeking National Consensus

In the afternoon of December 9, the Defence and Law Enforcement Committee and the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Hungarian Minorities Abroad of the National Assembly held a joint session. There was only one point on the agenda: the presentation of the national military strategy of the Republic of Hungary.

– National defence is a national cause. Therefore, before the government would discuss the first national military strategy of the Republic of Hungary, I believe it is necessary that the members of these two committees also discussed the draft. This enables all five parties to exert their standpoints – Dr. Imre Szekeres started the briefing. The defence minister added: as the starting point of strategy planning, he asked an independent group of experts, led by Ambassador István Gyarmati, Chairman of the Democracy Foundation, to assist. A team of economists, political scientists, political analysts, professors of social studies, and security policy experts started to work together on this task. The Ministry of Defence and the HDF General Staff have completed the draft of the national military strategy on the basis of the principles put down in writing by the team.

First strategy – with great publicity

For the ministry, it is important that the strategy is supported by society. In order that wider audiences could learn about the national and international commitments of the Hungarian Defence Forces, the draft strategy has been made available for all on honvedelem.hu. A great number of comments have arrived, and efforts have been made to incorporate them in the draft.

The draft strategy has also been discussed by many scientific organizations, for instance the Committee on Military Science of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, Zrínyi Miklós University of National Defence, the Hungarian Association of Military Sciences, Századvég Foundation, and the New Atlantic Initiative.

– This was relevant since we are elaborating the first military strategy – no such an essential document has been compiled since the change of the political system – said the defence minister, adding that when planning the national military strategy, the starting point was to identify challenges the management of which requires the use of military force. In line with this, the strategy sets forth the practical methods of preserving the external security of the country, as well as the methods for contributing to internal security. In addition to that, it specifies the main principles of the deployment, use, and maintenance of the Hungarian Defence Forces, and the long term – 10-15 year – directions of development. The strategy also serves to inform governmental bodies, the personnel of the Hungarian Defence Forces, our allies and partners about responsibilities, practical methods, and development directions, and to create a live contact between the Hungarian Defence Forces consisting of volunteer troops, and society. The national military strategy relies on the national security strategy of the Republic of Hungary – emphasized Imre Szekeres, who then spoke about the strategy summarizing the factors concerning the security of the country, and outlined the changes and challenges we are facing today, which affect the operations, tasks, and development directions of the Hungarian Defence Forces. The security policy of Hungary, as well as the tasks of the Hungarian Defence Forces were elaborated on the basis of these starting points.

Security situation

When elaborating the strategy, reviewing the security situation of the country was a fundamental issue – underlined the defence minister, saying that they started out from the fact that the security situation of Hungary is stable, since the country is a member state of both NATO and the EU. Within a foreseeable period of time, there is no armed attack in the traditional sense that would pose a threat to the country, for the neighbouring states are either already members of these two organizations, or they are making efforts to join them. And this strengthens the security of the region.

However, certain risks of other nature have to be taken into consideration. These threats and challenges may well be global, regional, and may originate from the immediate vicinity of the country, or may emerge simultaneously. And one has to be prepared for them.

In the opinion of Imre Szekeres, these challenges can be categorized into three large groups. The first group includes conflicts emerging in our direct vicinity, which can be predicted in due course, and do not aim at threatening the sovereignty of the Hungarian state, although due to the geographical environment they may have an impact on the security of our country.

Crises in other geographical regions, directly influencing the security of Hungary belong to the second group. In these regions, armed conflicts within a given country or between countries may emerge unexpectedly, and reconciliation may require the contribution of the international community. In this group, potential threats such as international terrorism, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction have to be considered.

Factors posing a threat locally to the security of our country belong to the third group. For instance industrial and environmental disasters, pandemics breaking out in our territory or in our direct vicinity, illegal trade intertwined with organized crime, migration, energy security, and climate change.

Imre Szekeres emphasized: the starting point of Hungarian defence policy is that it does not consider any state an enemy, and it wants to settle debates relying on international law, by diplomatic means.

National defence is a national cause

– The national defence of the Republic of Hungary is a national cause, the two pillars of which are national self-reliance, and allied cooperation – said the defence minister, adding that the defence force and military powers maintained and developed by Hungary are capable of providing for both the defence of the country and allied participation in operations abroad. Hungarian military force can only be deployed beyond the borders if, following the necessary legal authorization, a decision is made, relying on public law.

When elaborating the national military strategy, the responsibilities of the Hungarian Defence Forces also had to be defined. In line with that, the function of the armed forces is the protection of the country by military means, and the implementation of tasks resulting from NATO’s collective defence. Imre Szekeres underlined: the fundamental duty of the Hungarian Defence Forces is to protect the independence and territorial sovereignty of the country – in the framework of the alliance, but until the arrival of these forces, acting individually. Therefore the possibility of introducing compulsory service will remain to be an option, in case there is a threat to the security of the country.

The head of the defence portfolio believes that in a changing security situation, efficient airspace protection is also a fundamental task. Hungary implements the protection of its airspace within the integrated air defence system of NATO, but the provision of selected aircraft, aviation and radar equipments necessary for the completion of this task is our national responsibility.

– These tasks clearly indicate it as well that it is a misunderstanding to interpret the efforts of the government in such a way that it is only preparing for missions. The defence of Hungary and the collective defence of NATO member states require the enhancement of land forces’ deployability, for this is how we can protect ourselves and other member states. And because this is how other member states can protect themselves and us – said Imre Szekeres at the joint session of the two parliamentary committees. The minister then spoke about territorial defence and missions, which do not contradict. What is more, one is a task, and the other is a capability.

About current and future conflicts

In his presentation of the national military strategy, the defence minister has also underlined that the circumstances of the deployment of the Hungarian Defence Forces probably differ from what has been considered usual until now, for the armed forces complete their tasks amongst new challenges. There are four determining factors: the first one being that the conflicts of today and in the future are getting more and more asymmetric, and in the majority of these conflicts the powers of the clashing forces cannot be compared.

The second important factor is that the complexity of military operations will continue to increase, and civilian-military cooperation and coordination will have a key role. Moreover, it is also important that the use of military force today means more than armed combat in the classical sense. The prevention and management of conflicts, and the settlement that follows, furthermore disarmament and demilitarization, and the reform of the security sector may require the contribution and assistance of the military.

The conflicts of the 21st century draw the attention of the global media – thus this is the fourth factor. The public is extremely sensitive about military and civilian casualties. Therefore it is not enough to fight and win a conflict in the theatre of operations; it has to be accepted by the public as well.

The defence minister highlighted: the national military strategy also identifies the directions for the development of the armed forces. In line with this, the defence of Hungary is realized under the consistent leadership of the administration, by utilizing all the available powers and means, and national and allied efforts. For the efficient deployment of the military, other national resources also have to be mobilized. However, the necessary legal provisions and plans need to be elaborated first, and concerned bodies and institutes must be involved.

Most demanding tasks

– The prerequisite of the efficient operations of the Hungarian Defence Forces is a stable, at the same time flexibly adapting structure, which is characterized by the proper ratio of military services and branches, operative leadership, the ability to act independently on unit-division level, and the integrity of structural blocks – said Imre Szekeres, adding: this is why Hungary – in accordance with NATO’s practice of integrated defence planning – does not endeavour to set up the full spectrum of military capabilities. Therefore the capabilities and structure of the Hungarian Defence Forces have to be developed after having considered the most probable operations, and the military have to be prepared and trained to implement the most demanding tasks.

Which are these? – asked the head of the defence portfolio, answering immediately. As it is stipulated in the national military strategy, only those forces can be successful in operations, which are able to adapt to the requirement of shorter and shorter decision-making cycles, in other words, only those can be successful who are able to make decisions fast. Furthermore it is an important requirement for the further modernization of the Hungarian military that selected units, as well as regional commands are capable of being integrated into other national or multinational task forces, and also to integrate the task forces of other militaries.

In addition to all the above, the national military strategy also wants to deal with the issue of the scientific base and research&development institutions of the national defence sector, furthermore with the collection, assessment, and adaptation of the learnings of operations, national and international manoeuvres implemented with the participation of the Hungarian Defence Forces, and also with environmentally conscious thinking and actions.

– These development directions may only be realized if the necessary conditions are available. In other words, if the troops serving in the Hungarian Defence Forces are prepared for their tasks, and have excellent physical and psychic stamina, for their work and personal sacrifice is a key determinant in the deployability of the military – said Imre Szekres, who also highlighted when speaking about the budgetary principles of the strategy that the consistent and scheduled increase of defence expenditure is an essential factor in obtaining the capacities required for the implementation of military tasks. Therefore the government wants to increase the defence budget by 0.2 percent between 2009–2013, so that it would exceed 1.3 percent of GDP by 2013. However, the efficient utilization of available financial assets is another important aspect. Therefore the military will continue to utilize the development options which can be implemented in the framework of NATO’s Security Investment Program.

Comments, questions

Following the ministerial presentation, the representatives of the committees had an opportunity to share their opinion and ask questions. According to MP Zsolt Németh (Fidesz party), Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Hungarian Minorities Abroad, the national military strategy is a proper basis for a national consensus, since in national defence, maintaining consensus is of national interest. Fidesz agrees with the main directions of the concept – said Zsolt Németh, adding that they also agree that for Hungary, NATO is the organization to provide security policy guarantee in the first place.

MP József Kozma (MSZP party), Vice Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Hungarian Minorities Abroad said: the draft that has just been presented is a systematic, coherent military strategy, therefore in these issues a consensus can be reached. With the necessary added values, consensus can be reached in strategic issues as well.

MP György Keleti (MSZP party), Chairman of the Defence and Law Enforcement Committee said: so-called national defence principles had existed before, which had been elaborated for a similar purpose, even though the expression strategy had not been so fashionable in earlier days than it is today. The representative added that in his opinion, the role of the EU is not emphatic enough in the document, for it focuses on NATO too much. György Keleti also raised the issue that in the introduction of the strategy it should be explained to the citizens why we have to participate in the Afghanistan mission, thousands of kilometres away from our borders for the security of the country, because a part of the society still do not understand it.

At the end of the joint committee session, upon answering the questions Defence Minister Imre Szekeres said: the reason why they have elaborated the national military strategy now was that by the end of 2007, a stage in the transformation of the Hungarian Defence Forces has ended, and they considered it important that the strategy would be complete by 2008. There is a year’s work behind the preparation of the document, and the minister hopes that the government will adopt it in January.

Before the closing of the session, Imre Szekeres promised to answer the questions in writing, and invited the members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Hungarian Minorities Abroad to visit one of the corps of the Hungarian Defence Forces in the framework of a special session.