European foreign and defence ministers in Brussels – Hungary voices support for European defence cooperation

Brussels, March 6 (MTI) – Hungary supports the reinforcement of Europe’s defence cooperation, plans of setting up a common European army, and building European capabilities to launch peace missions in its neighborhood, Péter Szijjártó said on Monday.

Speaking after a meeting of European foreign and defence ministers in Brussels, Hungary’s foreign minister insisted that the recent “massive and uncontrolled influx of migrants” has involved an “unprecedented increase in the threat of terrorism”, which requires making security a top political priority for Europe.

The EU must give a “reasonable” answer to the security situation through “reinforcing the European leg of NATO”, Szijjártó said.

The EU’s defence capabilities should be expanded in coordination with NATO to avoid overlaps, he said.

Szijjártó insisted that security cooperation should continue to be addressed in the framework of intergovernmental cooperation.

He stressed the importance of stability in Europe’s neighbourhood, which is a prerequisite for the EU to set up registration centers outside its territory with a view to mitigating migration pressure on the bloc.