In November, the Ministers of National Defense of Hungary and Turkey convened in Ankara to sign an agreement on the reciprocal protection of confidential defense information between the two countries.
By M. Ferhat Yuksel
The agreement, signed by Turkish Minister of National Defense Nurettin Canikli and Hungarian Minister of Defense Dr. Simicskó István, ensures the confidentiality of defense information obtained during reciprocal cooperation between the two nations. The Declaration of Intent on Defense Cooperation aims to strengthen the capacity of the Land and Air Forces, to promote the sharing of logistics, and to empower defense and security relations between the two countries. Finally, a Declaration of Intent was signed that foresees a study of Turkish and Hungarian military history, with the aim being to initiate a joint research of the military documents of the two countries, prioritizing the demonstration of Turkish-Hungarian Military history relations, on the 100th anniversary of WWI. On the night the agreement was signed, Démarche was received at the Hungarian Ambassador’s Residence by the Hungarian Defense Minister István who spoke about both the Agreement and the security of Turkey PESCO (Permanently Structured Defense Agreement) and the European Union.
Can you give us a brief summary of the contents of this agreement, and how it will benefit our two countries?
I believe that the Turkish and Hungarian people have reached a historical point. We have been striving for a long time to have these three agreements signed, and the friendship and brotherhood of our peoples, as well as the powerful companionship between your President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and our Prime Minister Viktor Orbán have encouraged us in this regard. Based on these existing good relations, we wanted to strengthen our cooperation in the field of defense, and it is our hope that such endeavors will soon be implemented. It is fundamental for two friendly countries like us, as NATO members that share a joint history, to have these three agreements signed. Hungary is one of the most trustworthy countries in Europe and the world, and this is why we are stressing these security issues with Turkey.
TURKEY’S SECURITY IS IMPORTANT
For us, the security of Turkey is fundamental, because it means the security of Europe and, of course, Hungary. If Hungarians are living safely and secure today, it can be said that the role of Turkey has been huge in this. In short, the key to security in Europe lies in Turkey. You may think I am exaggerating, but I believe the friendship and the relations between Turkey and Hungary is in fact a guarantee of security for Europe. It is for this reason that immediately after the attempted July 15 coup d’état, Hungary did not hesitate to condemn those involved, and to pledge its full support to Turkey.
One of these three agreements relates to the sharing and protection of confidential defense information between two historically long-term friends and NATO-member countries. We have always stood by each other, which is evident in the fact that we struggled together on many fronts like Francis II Rákóczi as allies in Gallipoli during WWI.
Can the Hungarian and Turkish historians and researchers benefit from this agreement and shed light to our joint history?
This is exactly what needs to be clarified. Primarily, reciprocal researches and the necessary preparations will be made, which of course will further increase the trust between our peoples. In fact, an agreement that is to be put into practice needs to be based on reciprocal trust.
OUR AIM IS A STRONG HUNGARIAN ARMY
The Hungarian economy has been developing rapidly in recent years. This year, our growth rate has topped 4 percent, which is higher than average for all European countries. This growth in the economy paved the way for the development of the Hungarian army, and we need to develop this military branch in the Hungarian army, and to be ready to face up to threats, provocations and terrorism, both in the south and east of our country. To this end, the Hungarian government has pledged a budget that will increase each year to reach a maximum of 2 percent of GDP in 2024. This figure was only 0.89 percent during my term as Minister of Defense in 2015, while now in 2017 it has already reached 1.1 percent. This 2 percent of budget is in harmony with NATO regulations. Likewise, we are here to establish military cooperation with Turkey, although we already have strong bilateral relations, and Turkey is the second largest military power in NATO. Within the context of this cooperation, we may choose to work through joint companies in common productions, and in R&D activities. I hope the agreements signed today will make our cooperation practically feasible. In this manner, we have been in contact with many representatives from the Ministry of Defense, and they have stressed that they are ready for such cooperation.
I AGREE WITH THE US PRESIDENT
In November, the EU made a significant decision to launch a defense power known as PESCO. As the Minister of Defense of Hungary, and an EU member state, could we hear your views on this issue? What is PESCO?
Europe should be able to defend itself effectively from all of the threats and dangers it has faced in recent years, plus the European countries and the EU have the capacity to protect themselves. The EU provides a high quality life to its citizens and is economically at a very high level, but this has raised problems related to security. This is what is missing in the EU, and it represents a potential risk to its future and security. The outer borders of the EU should be protected, but the larger EU leaders do not want this. We, as Hungary, on the other hand, have put made the effort to protect our borders. This is a decision we reached and applied on our own, but we have certain responsibilities in the EU.
NATO IS NOT LEFT OUT
The second aim of PESCO is to maintain a presence in crisis areas. If security is provided when such crises occur outside of the EU, then the rush of refugees to the EU can be prevented. This is why we need to provide peace and stability in those regions. As we always say, the security of the EU and its capacity in this regard is not contrary to the works of NATO, because NATO already provides collective security. In this way, you can think of PESCO as an arm of NATO.
WE DO NOT WANT A UNITED STATES OF EUROPE
Some EU leaders are thinking with the Fukuyama philosophy, which says that peace has come to the world and history ended there. We would be fooling ourselves if we believed this. I agree with the US President that good neighborly relations are a result of the strong walls that stand between those on either side. This means that if I have strong walls, my neighbor will be a good one. We tend to think through the eyes of nations and states. When we express ourselves on this issue, we do not accept that this is a conservative approach or idea. One of the basic conditions for the existence of a state is its settlement on a piece of land or some part of the world, and this must be specified through borders. The second condition for the existence of a state is to provide security. If a state cannot protect or defend her boundaries, whether with walls or fences, that state will not exist for long. Briefly, we do not want a United European State like the one in the United States. Now, there are some EU leaders who do not want nation states within the EU. They want to blend all of the borders, which will lead to a tangled EU.
