Regarding the war in Ukraine, the minister emphasized: Hungary’s position is clear, an immediate ceasefire and peace are needed. He added: now, when the danger of escalation is increasing, it is particularly important that Hungary represents this approach in all forums. Regarding the CEDC, Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky emphasized: the countries participating in the CEDC share a common history, common roots, and common geographical location, so it is important that they have the most open and honest dialogue with each other about the key issues of the region.
He added: Hungary is interested in the continuation of the dialogue and in the region retaining its defining role, which it has always played throughout history. Even now, the voice and opinion of Central Europe is needed, he noted. The CEDC, established in 2010, aims to contribute to the strengthening of regional security. The cooperation was initiated by Austria, Austria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia participate in the CEDC. This year, the rotating presidency is held by Hungary.
Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said: the defense ministers of 11 countries were invited to the meeting in Budapest, in addition to the six founders, the defense ministers of the Western Balkan countries will also join the meeting. According to the minister, the Western Balkan countries are characterized by fragile security, so it is important to support the European integration efforts of these countries. He reminded us: Hungary has been a member of the European Union for 20 years and of NATO for 25 years, so we know how important membership is, that these international organizations contribute to the country’s security and prosperity. We want to promote this stability and security in the case of the Western Balkan countries as well, he said.
The minister recalled that military missions are also present in the Western Balkan countries, such as NATO’s KFOR mission in Kosovo and the EU’s Althea mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina, whose command was taken over by Major General László Sticz from January. The minister also talked about the ongoing preparations for the military training academy for the Western Balkan countries, initiated by Austria, and the development of drones with ABV (atomic, biological, chemical) sensors.
At the press conference, Austrian Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner emphasized that the Western Balkan countries must be supported at the European level, because the EU is not complete without the countries of Southeast Europe. He congratulated Bosnia-Herzegovina for starting its accession negotiations with the EU. The Austrian Minister of Defense emphasized: regional cooperation and military-political dialogue are important for Austria, this is essential for success. He added: for the sake of European peace, the EU must be a strong partner for the Western Balkan countries.
The next CEDC presidency will be held by Slovakia next year. Slovak Deputy Minister of Defense Martin Vojtasovic said at the press conference that they highly value Visegrad cooperation (V4) and CEDC, and are interested in continuing the cooperation. The important thing is not that we all belong to the same political camp, but the joint efforts, the opportunities that we could not realize alone, he said. He indicated: they support the European integration of the Western Balkan countries. At the same time, he drew attention to the fact that security is at risk on “multiple fronts”, which is why analysis, cooperation, coordination, and information exchange are essential, which the CEDC creates an opportunity for.
