According to the Minister of Defence, the terrorist attack in London on Wednesday also highlights the fact that we must pay more attention to security and spend more on it.
István Simicskó made the statements at a press conference on the second day of the NATO Transformation Seminar in Budapest on Thursday. NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller and Supreme Allied Commander Transformation Denis Mercier also expressed their condolences to the families of the victims and injured of the London attack.
“Hungary agrees with the United States that we must take more effective action against terrorism”, the Minister of Defence stressed.
Mr. Simicskó also said that migration represents a good opportunity for terrorists and terrorist organisations to get into Europe. “This is why it is important to maintain a greater military presence in the conflict and danger zones that represent the sources of migration. NATO, which guarantees our joint security, supports all such initiatives”, he said. Europe’s security situation has worsened significantly, said the Minister, according to whom the EU also needs to be capable of protecting its citizens from terrorism within Europe.
NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller called mass migration a human tragedy, which has also being exploited by crime networks and people smugglers. “We must turn to the migrants with compassion, and at the same time do everything possible to ensure the fastest possible processing of their official affairs”, she stressed. “In addition, we must also do everything possible to facilitate stability and security in source countries. This is something that NATO is also helping with, but handling the mass migration that is affecting Europe is primarily the task of the European Union”, the NATO Deputy Secretary General said.