“The Defence Of The Country And The Homeland Is The Duty Of Every Citizen”

In her introduction State Secretary Ágnes Vadai said she had welcomed the request of the club since sometimes she feels that national defence concerns only a few who are ‘obsessed’, while it is clearly stipulated in the Constitution of the Republic of Hungary: the defence of the country and the homeland should be the duty of every citizen. The state secretary underlined: since she has been in this position, she has learned a lot about the operation of the Hungarian Defence Forces and international relations. As state secretary, she can see the operation of the Hungarian Defence Forces from another dimension, therefore she often leaves her office and travels in the country, visiting the corps and the clubs of retired servicemen. For she believes it is crucial to know these environments as well, and engage in a normal conversation with them in a human tone about important things, for example the issue of defence.

Speaking about the development directions of the Hungarian Defence Forces, State Secretary Ágnes Vadai emphasized: the National Assembly adopted a resolution on the development directions of the Hungarian Defence Forces back in 2007. In this document a direction was set which has to be followed by the Hungarian Defence Forces in the coming decades.

– Those people who have met the Hungarian Defence Forces in recent years because for instance a natural disaster hit their town or village, obviously have a totally different approach to the army and the troops; for them it is not a question if we need the military or not – said Ágnes Vadai. She also mentioned that for the Hungarian Defence Forces, it is already a serious challenge in itself that currently they are going through a technological transformation the funding of which puts an enormous pressure on the defence budget. It is enough to think of the Gripen aircraft, the annual rental fee of which constitutes a very large share in the budget.

– We have to realize that soon it has to be discussed in Parliament as well how the country wants to fund this technological transformation, since this is a very serious challenge. We can put it down in writing that for the Hungarian Defence Forces we would like to source technologies that are modern, allow for long term deployment and economic operations, and respect the environment. But if there are no budgetary resources for that, we cannot purchase them. In other words, we have to understand that this issue requires that we think together and technical modernization does not concern the Ministry of Defence alone – said the state secretary of the portfolio, and she quoted the example of the An-26 transport aircraft used at the moment, the running time of which will expire sooner or later and the planes will have to be replaced with new ones. And this is not throwing money out of the window, for the security of the troops is the first priority thus they cannot use technical equipment the running time of which has already expired.

In the opinion of State Secretary Ágnes Vadai, the leading politicians – regardless of the colour of the government – will have to bring a decision soon whether the country would jointly finance such a technological upgrade. For the sake of this clear decision, the parties present in Parliament have to form an alliance, since without this alliance there is absolutely no point in starting any kind of development because that would turn the whole case into a political issue.

The State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence continued her presentation with the missions, underlining that much to her regret, this is the topic which is the most popular in the Hungarian press, even though it is only one segment of the Hungarian Defence Forces, which is of course an important one by all means.

– Many people know about me that I am a friend of the West Balkans. In spite of all the difficulties, I find it a very nice region. What I have learned as a student was that if there is no peace in the Balkans, then there is no peace in Europe either. Moreover, this region is in our direct vicinity and we should not forget either that the situation in the Balkans always had a very powerful impact on Hungary as well – said Ágnes Vadai, who continued with telling us that half a year ago – under the French presidency of the European Union – Hungary was alone with her opinion, saying that the Althea mission has to continue and the EU cannot withdraw its troops unilaterally from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

And last week, at the Prague informal meeting of EU defence ministers it turned out that the world has changed a lot. For the member states of the European Union have realized that the mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot be considered in itself. It has to be examined in a wider regional, security policy context, and what is more, the mission has become a very serious internal issue in Bosnia. For at the moment, the presence of the Althea mission is the only point the three major political powers ruling the country agree on, while there are debates going on among them in every other issue. Therefore State Secretary Ágnes Vadai can hardly imagine today that the EU would withdraw from this mission overnight.

– It is very beneficial for the reputation and economic relations of the Republic of Hungary if we are present in Bosnia and Herzegovia. Foreign policy and foreign economic policy instruments include the Hungarian Defence Forces’ abroad mission. This kind of presence, which in the case of Hungary means several years and a great number of personnel in the Balkans – as regards the number of personnel, the West Balkans has the most Hungarian troops –, helped us very much in the development of Hungarian economic relations – said the state secretary.

Ágnes Vadai continued her presentation with the other major Balkans mission of the Hungarian Defence Forces, the Kosovo-based KFOR. As she underlined: the Hungarian Defence Forces are present in the region with a maneuver battalion, and since a long term presence of international troops is expected, Hungarian troops will probably be stationed in the country for a long time as well.

– Of course the role our foreign policy has undertaken in the West Balkans cannot end with the military missions, for the relations we are establishing with other countries are also very important. I would like to mention Serbia specifically, with whom we have very intensive military relations. We also assist them by transferring our experiences gained in the Euro-Atlantic integration and military reform – said Ágnes Vadai, adding: the priority of the Balkans is clearly seen in the program of the government as well. The Prime Minister also makes very intensive efforts for the integration of the West Balkans. Therefore it is not a coincidence either that 60 percent of the 1000 Hungarian troops currently stationed abroad are serving in the EUFOR, KFOR, or in various individual positions, but in the same region.

Speaking about the most dangerous mission of the Hungarian Defence Forces, the one in Afghanistan, State Secretary Ágnes Vadai said: we are present in the Asian country with a considerable number of personnel. For there are 240 troops in the PRT and 66 troops at the Kabul airport. Although the latter mission will end soon – our country has undertaken to control the international airport only for six months –, there are quite a lot of soldiers in Hungarian uniforms in various individual positions at the ISAF Command as well. In addition to that, a new Hungarian division is expected set off for the region, since our country would like to support the August 20-21 elections with a rifle platoon. There will be a five-party discussion about this issue next week.

– As regards Afghanistan, I would like to ask a political question as well. Our greatest challenge from this aspect is that we have never sat down to define what we consider success in Afghanistan. I, personally, regard it a very big success that in Afghanistan, the girls are also allowed to attend school. In a country were a few years ago women had to veil their faces whenever they were in public, this is a huge step forward – said State Secretary Vadai, in the opinion of whom if the Alliance wants to be successful in Afghanistan, it has to win the hearts and minds of the international public. For the relation of those who are ’standing on the good side’ is not the best with the media, while the terrorists have learned the lesson in recent years how the advantages provided by the media can be exploited.

The state secretary believes that it is not Hungary in the first place where communications problems cause an issue, for the majority of the Hungarian public, even after the tragic accidents of last year, support our country’s Afghanistan mission. But the situation is not so good in western countries.

Following the presentation the participants of the debate of the foreign and security policy club had the opportunity to raise questions. To the question of how the security situation has changed in Afghanistan, Ágnes Vadai responded: as the elections are nearing, it has worsened to some extent, unfortunately. And what makes it even more difficult is that a part of the Afghan police force cooperate with the Taliban, which means a grave security risk for the Hungarian troops serving in the region. Naturally, the high command of the Hungarian Defence Forces – mainly after the tragic fatalities of last year – will do everything to enhance the security of the troops. Nevertheless, we also have to be aware of the fact that there is no such thing as hundred percent security.