Defence cooperation of V4 has gained in strength

Speaking at the press briefing held in Castle Garden Bazaar, Tamás Vargha said the V4 cooperation is more important and stronger than ever before in the current security situation. The participants of the meeting agreed that NATO’s defence structure has also gained in strength in the recent period. The Parliamentary State Secretary noted that last year Hungary sent a company-strong force to Estonia as part of the NATO assurance measures. At the same time, all four countries support NATO in stepping up its counter-terrorism efforts, for example by expanding its Iraq military training mission in an official format. They also wish to participate in the work of the Strategic Direction South Hub at JFC Naples, which analyses threats to Europe from the south such as migration.

During the two-day conference, the participants supported the governmental measures taken to increase defence expenditures. For example, the government of Hungary has pledged to spend 2 per cent of the GDP on defence by 2024. Tamás Vargha also pointed out that the Zrínyi 2026 National Defence and Armed Forces Development Program has been launched with the support of the government of Hungary, which means comprehensive modernization in the Hungarian Defence Forces. The deputy defence ministers of the four countries also discussed the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) which is aimed at reinforcing the defence of the European Union, the projects financed by the European Defence Fund, the preparations for the V4 EU Battle Group to be established again next year, and the new NATO Command Structure. “In the context of common European security and defence policy, we all agreed that the European military crisis management capability should be strengthened and more effective and independent action from EU is needed, in a way that complements NATO but does not duplicate its structures", the State Secretary said.

Slovak Deputy Defence Minister Dr. Róbert Ondrejcsák called the solidarity among NATO member states a key issue, and noted that his country has sent 150 troops to Latvia to strengthen security. At the same time, he also emphasized the significance of the Iraq mission, noting that the stability of the Middle East may depend on the situation in Iraq and Syria. Czech Deputy Defence Minister Dr. Jakub Landovsky said at the press briefing that the V4 countries are ready to contribute to the establishment of the new NATO Command Structure. He said that the Hungarian V4 presidency has set very high standards. Polish Deputy Defence Minister Tomasz Szatkowski stated that the V4 cooperation is going in the right direction in the long run. He expressed pleasure that the cooperation encompasses security policy alongside EU- and NATO-related matters.

Photo: Tünde Rácz