There Is No Alternative to Cooperation

Szöveg: Ádám Draveczki-Ury | 2011. december 9. 16:58

Sharing and pooling capabilities is especially important in the current international economic-financial situation, and increasing multinational cooperation is a necessity – this was what Defence Minister Dr. Csaba Hende said at a Swedish–Hungarian conference on regional military cooperation held in Budapest.

On December 5-6 a joint Swedish–Hungarian seminar was held in Budapest. The items on the agenda included military cooperation and the regional pooling and sharing of capabilities. Defence Minister Dr. Csaba Hende conducted bilateral talks with his partner, Swedish Defence Minister Sten Tolgfors. Prior to their discussions, the two Ministers jointly opened the seminar.

In his speech, Dr. Csaba Hende stressed that the international economic-financial crisis has its impacts on the defence sphere too. In this situation, the only way to success leads through cooperation, the Defence Minister pointed out, emphasizing that Europe’s military dependence can only be reduced by strengthening the common security and defence policy (CSDP), and that the aforesaid is essential with respect to the transatlantic relations as well. The capability development of the armed forces is vital because there is a permanent need for crisis management. The Defence Minister recalled the November 30 meeting of the EU Defence Ministers in Brussels, where Hungary made commitments to participate in the shared military capability development among the EU member states in four areas. It fully intends to benefit from the lessons learnt during the establishment of the Nordic Defence Cooperation framework in 2009 and the following period. Speaking about Central Europe, the Minister highlighted the significance of the V4 cooperation. He expressed his hope that the Swedish–Hungarian strategic partnership created in the course of the Gripen-cooperation will continue to develop fruitfully for both partners just like it has done so far.

Sten Tolgfors delivered a speech, in which he noted that the defence reforms and the rational transformation of the defence sphere are considered very hard tasks even in problem-free periods, not to mention the present global economic situation. He added that the way out lies in the efficient pooling and sharing of capabilities based on close international cooperation. As he said, the obligations deriving from this would present every nation with a different range of tasks. Everyday dialogue and the exchange of experiences are indispensable for this process, which means that there is no alternative to cooperation.

Eight countries participated in the two-day seminar respectively from the North European and the Central European regions. The meeting was aimed at sharing the lessons learned in the Nordic Defence Cooperation, applying them in a Central European context, and introducing/ discussing the new Central European initiatives on cooperation on an expert level.