The meeting of defence ministers of the Visegrád Four (V4) Cooperation recently took place in Liblice, the Czech Republic. The Hungarian delegation was headed by Deputy Minister Tamás Vargha, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence.
The meeting focused on current issues concerning the upcoming NATO Summit in Warsaw. The participants discussed possibilities for the development of defence capabilities on NATO’s eastern flank, and the details of the V4 countries’ contribution to assurance measures for the area of the Baltic States. Further topics on the agenda of the meeting included a number of significant current security challenges to Europe such as migration, terrorism and the relations with Russia.
The participants agreed that NATO’s forward presence on the eastern flank is essential, and that there is a need for further constructive and effective cooperation in the interest of addressing security challenges from the south. At the meeting, Hungary received praise for its efforts made to deal with the migration crisis and protect Europe.
At the end of the V4 meeting, the ministers signed a Joint Declaration of the Visegrád Group Ministers of Defence, in which they “appreciate the progress achieved during the Czech Republic’s V4 Presidency”, and express their support for NATO’s assurance measures.