The Czech Defence Minister Visited Hungary

Tibor Benkő said that they covered three main topics, including the issue of security, the co-operation of the two countries and the defence forces development. He explained that the two countries have similar thinking about the change in the immediate security situation: although the threats are multifaceted, the greatest threat for the people could be losing their sense of security. “Therefore the Hungarian Government states that for us security comes first, and to this end it takes steps" – he said. According to NATO, the threats have two main directions, coming from the south and from the east, however attention should be paid on the Central European ones, too– Tibor Benkő highlighted –, and greater emphasis should be placed on the security of the region.

This security could be served by the Central European multinational division command, and the Regional Special Operations Component Command (R-SOCC), to be set up at Hungarian initiative. “Both guarantee and serve the security of the Central European countries, nations" – he added. The co-operation between the regional countries is envisaged mainly in the context of the Visegrád Fours (V4s), involving those states – for example Croatia – which are interested in this. “I am convinced that the organisation of V4s can be one of the keystones of the region’s security" – Tibor Benkő emphasised, adding that France and Germany also need to be involved in the joint work, and the situation, to be applied after Brexit, should be developed jointly with them.

He also said that his Czech colleague especially thanked Hungary for undertaking the organisation of the large-scale border-protection exercise (COPSEC 2019) in October. The objective of the training exercise is to prepare the participants for the challenges of the migration crisis, i.e. for the protection of the external borders. Fifteen countries have indicated their interest in the exercise so far – he added. He mentioned among the bilateral relations the co-operation between the military secondary schools; in Hungary the Debrecen-based Károly Kratochvil Military Secondary School and Student Hostel represents this type of educational institutions. The Minister called it important, that the co-operation in this area should be even closer, for example due to the exchange of experiences. He added that the results of Kratochvil encourage the Defence Ministry to open even more such schools.

In connection with the defence forces development, he said that the co-operation in this field between the two countries is excellent, and they have the same view about the areas that need to be modernized. He mentioned that the Hungarian Defence Forces procured Czech training aircraft, and the manufacture of small arms under Czech licence can soon be started in the Kiskunfélegyháza Arms Factory. He emphasised that attention will be given to the so called PESCO, i.e. the EUs Permanent Structured Co-operation project, as there are many common points in that, for example in the areas of innovation, research & development and investments. “My view is that effective and useful work is behind us, which provides us with a well-founded opportunity to further develop the co-operation" – the Minister closed his words, wishing much success to the Czech Republic in the Presidential duties of Visegrád Fours.

In the press conference Lubomír Metnar, the Czech Minister of Defence noted that the Czech Republic will take over the V4 Presidency from Slovakia on 1st July. He added that the Slovakian Presidency did an excellent job, with which they set the bar high. At the current meeting they discussed the program points of the Czech Presidency; he mentioned among these the issue of regional security, the defence forces development, the setting up of joint tactical units and the extended V4 co-operation.

The Czech Minister considered important the unified action within NATO and the EU, and the co-operation in the framework of the V4 battle group. He highlighted that the first meeting of the Czech V4 Presidency is held on the 19th and the 20th September, which is followed by the so called NATO Days, with the participation of the defence ministers of the co-operating countries. He spoke about the illegal migration, mentioning that after shutting down the Balkan route, we cannot sit back yet, as migration will intensify. He added that in this issue they share the position of the Hungarian Government, namely the problems should be handled in the countries of origin.