On Tuesday, 12 January, on the initiative of Minister of Defence Dr. István Simicskó, the representatives of parliamentary groups held discussions in the Ministry of Defence about the legislative amendments to be made in the interest of strengthening Hungary’s defence and security and about the tasks of the Hungarian Defence Forces.
In early January, the Minister of Defence initiated the consultation so that the parliamentary parties can jointly discuss whether the Article on Special Legal Orders in the Fundamental Law of Hungary provides sufficient elbow room and possibility for increasing security, and review the legal background to the involvement of the Hungarian Defence Forces in providing assistance to counter terrorist threats.
The consultation was attended by representatives of the parliamentary groups of the parties Fidesz-KDNP (Gergely Gulyás and Mátyás Firtl), LMP (András Schiffer) and Jobbik (Előd Novák). On behalf of the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP), József Tóbiás refused to participate in the consultation.
According to the Minister of Defence, the security situation has changed all over Europe, therefore Hungary and the Hungarian people must be protected. We must be able to give adequate responses to the new types of security challenges, which requires modern legislation based on the principles of proportionality and necessity, prompt decisions and the rapid reaction capability of the Hungarian Defence Forces. The amendments to be made to the relevant article of the Fundamental Law will give a firmer guarantee of attaining these goals.