nato
March 08, 2010, 10:25 CET
Radical nationalists urge "eastern" turn in foreign policy
The radical nationalist Jobbik party presented ideas on Friday for a foreign policy that would orientate Hungary towards the East, the party's new foreign policy expert told reporters. Marton Gyongyosi said foreign policy should be based on national interests and... [read complete entry]
February 08, 2010, 10:08 CET
Ministers call for May deadline on NATO command reform
NATO defence ministers asked the alliance's secretary-general to make plans for the reform of NATO command structure within the next three months, Hungary's Defence Minister Imre Szekeres said on Friday. Attending a two-day informal meeting of NATO ministers in Istanbul,... [read complete entry]
January 05, 2010, 03:36 CET
US-Hungarian oil-for-troops-and-terrorists deal best unfounded conspiracy theory of 2009
While we made a strategic decision not to bother with the traditional retrospective pieces looking back at 2009, we feel it's only necessary to tip our hats to what must be the best unsubstantiated political conspiracy theory reported as... [read complete entry]
December 22, 2009, 10:19 CET
Ministry says construction of NATO site to continue despite protests
The construction of a NATO radar on the Tubes hill, overlooking the city of Pecs in southern Hungary, will continue as weather permits, national daily Nepszava reported on Tuesday quoting the Defence Ministry spokesman. The ministry is currently finalising administrative... [read complete entry]
December 17, 2009, 10:17 CET
Pécs council puts up illegal roadblock to stop construction of NATO facility
The local council of Pecs has erected a road block on the road leading to the construction site of the NATO radar site on Tubes hill overlooking the south Hungarian city, the county mayor told a news conference on Wednesday.... [read complete entry]
December 07, 2009, 10:26 CET
Hungary's defense spending to rise next year, reach €1.2 billion
Defence spending will increase in next year's budget to reach a total of 308.2 billion forints (EUR 1.2 bn), or 1.17 percent of gross domestic product, the defence ministry said on Friday. Of the total spending budgeted, 16.687 billion forints... [read complete entry]
December 07, 2009, 09:45 CET
Hungary to expand number of troops in Afghanistan
Hungary will increase the number of its troops serving in Afghanistan by 200, Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai announced Friday afternoon following talks with US Vice-President Joe Biden in the White House. Hungary has 340 soldiers in Afghanistan. Bajnai did not... [read complete entry]
December 03, 2009, 12:05 CET
Amnesty International welcomes Hungary's reception of Guantanamo inmate
Amnesty International welcomed Hungary's decision to receive a detainee from Guantanamo prison camp, which it said would contribute to the closing of the facility, a statement from AI on Wednesday said. Amnesty International asks Hungarian authorities to create the necessary... [read complete entry]
December 03, 2009, 11:16 CET
Bajnai backs Obama's Afghan surge during Washington visit
An increase of Hungarian forces in Afghanistan is now in the planning stage, the Defence Ministry said as Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai arrived in Washington for a four-day visit. He declared that Hungary supports President Barack Obama's strategy in Afghanistanafter... [read complete entry]
November 23, 2009, 08:19 CET
Hungarian, Croatian presidents hold talks near border
Presidents Laszlo Solyom of Hungary and Stjepan Mesic of Croatia held talks on mutual support for national minorities, energy and nature conservation issues in Barcs on Saturday. The two presidents met in the south Hungarian border town to attend the... [read complete entry]
November 20, 2009, 10:45 CET
NATO Chief welcomes Hungary's plan to increase defense spending
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Thursday welcomed Hungary's decision to slightly increase its defence budget next year in spite of the current economic crisis. Meeting reporters after talks with Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai, Rasmussen noted that the guideline for... [read complete entry]
October 28, 2009, 09:21 CET
Hungary to send two helicopters, 30-strong crew to Afghanistan
The Hungarian armed forces will send two Mi-17 helicopters and a 30-strong crew to Afghanistan in 2011, Defence Minister Imre Szekeres said on Tuesday. The Hungarian armed forces will cooperate with other NATO member states to jointly provide the logistics... [read complete entry]
October 01, 2009, 10:16 CET
Defense Minister says Afghan peacekeeping mission a success story
The Hungarian armed forces' peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan has been a success story, Hungarian Minister of Defence Imre Szekeres said at a reception ceremony held in Nyiregyhaza (NE) on Wednesday. The minister welcomed the 6th of the rotating units of... [read complete entry]
July 28, 2009, 12:12 CET
First NATO transport plane arrives at Hungarian air base
The first C-17 Globemaster III aircraft to arrive in Hungary - part of NATO's Strategic Transportation Fleet - was presented to the media at the Pápa military airfield on Monday. Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai, Defence Minister Imre Szekeres and NATO... [read complete entry]
July 16, 2009, 11:08 CET
First NATO cargo jet expected at Hungarian airbase
The first US-made C-17 military cargo jet is expected to arrive in Hungary within two weeks under NATO's Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) programme, national daily Magyar Nemzet said on Wednesday. The Boeing C-17 with the Hungarian national tricolour and military... [read complete entry]
July 10, 2009, 10:33 CET
Bajnai hails Croatia's NATO membership bid
Croatia's membership in NATO will contribute to the peace in the whole region, Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai said at the Croatia Summit 2009 conference in Dubrovnik on Thursday. "Croatia, the country of a thousand islands, will become (...) an... [read complete entry]
May 20, 2009, 09:27 CET
No decision yet on moving Guantánamo inmates to Hungary
No decision has yet been reached in Hungary on whether to receive prisoners from Guantánamo, as the US has not yet made a definite offer, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zsuzsanna Mátrai told reporters on Tuesday. Mátrai was speaking after US chargé... [read complete entry]
May 12, 2009, 08:55 CET
Constitution Court voids municipal ban on NATO radar project
The Constitutional Court has thrown out a municipal decision by the city of Pecs (S) thwarting a NATO radar construction project on nearby Tubes Hill, the press chief of the CC told MTI in a statement on Monday. The body... [read complete entry]
May 11, 2009, 08:29 CET
None injured as Hungarian troops attacked in Afghanistan
A group of Hungarian soldiers serving in the provincial reconstruction team (PRT) in northern Afghanistan was attacked by local gunmen on Saturday but no injuries were reported, the Defence Ministry told MTI.... [read complete entry]
May 08, 2009, 09:50 CET
Ministry abandons politically-unpopular NATO radar project
Defence Minister Imre Szekeres on Thursday instructed the ministry's legal department to withdraw its challenge to the suspension of the construction permit for a NATO radar station atop the Tubes hill near Pécs. It said it continues to respect the... [read complete entry]
April 29, 2009, 09:18 CET
NATO chief meets Bajnai, praises Hungary's performance
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer praised Hungary's performance in the organisation at a meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai in Brussels on Tuesday.... [read complete entry]
April 06, 2009, 08:17 CET
Hungary's defense minister pushes for common NATO budget
Financing NATO out of a common pool of funds would help the organisation mitigate the effects of the global economic crisis, Hungary's Defence Minister Imre Szekeres said on Saturday, at the NATO summit currently underway in Strasbourg.... [read complete entry]
April 02, 2009, 09:55 CET
Parliamentary Speaker joins opposition to key NATO facility
Parliamentary Speaker Katalin Szili, who is also the Socialist Party's candidate for mayor of Pecs in south Hungary is strongly against the NATO radar planned for nearby Tubes Hill, a local Socialist official told MTI on Wednesday.... [read complete entry]
March 19, 2009, 08:04 CET
War of words continues between Hungarian and Romanian presidents
Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom on Wednesday rejected a charge by his Romanian counterpart Traian Basescu that he had not respected Romania's constitution.... [read complete entry]
March 09, 2009, 07:30 CET
NATO Secretary-General to visit Budapest this week
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Secretary-General of NATO, is scheduled to visit Hungary and attend a conference marking the tenth anniversary of Hungary's membership in NATO, the Foreign Ministry told MTI on Friday.... [read complete entry]
March 04, 2009, 09:30 CET
Hungary to take "one or two" former Gitmo prisoners, no big influx of Iraqis
Hungary does not plan to receive Iraqi refugees in any organised way, Foreign Ministry state secretary Márta Fekszi Horváth told the state news agency MTI on Tuesday.... [read complete entry]
March 04, 2009, 08:51 CET
Parties agree on need for financing for Hungary's Afghanistan mission
In view of deteriorating security in Afghanistan, the main opposition centre-right Fidesz party would support increasing the budget of the Hungarian provincial reconstruction team (PRT) stationed in the northern Baghlan province, Zsolt Nemeth, head of Parliament's foreign affairs committee, told... [read complete entry]
February 24, 2009, 11:06 CET
Fidesz calls on gov't to stop appointing ambassadors for rest of term
main opposition Fidesz on Tuesday called on the government not to appoint new ambassadors before the next general election, Fidesz deputy Zsolt Nemeth told reporters.... [read complete entry]
February 23, 2009, 08:52 CET
Defense Minister says joint financing of NATO response force needed
The principle of joint financing should be applied to the NATO response force (NRF), Hungary's Defence Minister Imre Szekeres said on Friday.... [read complete entry]
February 20, 2009, 10:15 CET
Hungary to send 40-member rifle platoon to Afghanistan
Hungary will send a 40-member rifle platoon to Afghanistan to secure the August presidential elections there, Defence Minister Imre Szekeres said on Thursday.... [read complete entry]
February 03, 2009, 11:09 CET
New contingent of 250 Hungarian soldiers leaves for Afghanistan
A new Hungarian contingent of 250 soldiers to Afghanistan were seen off in Debrecen, E Hungary, on Monday.... [read complete entry]
January 22, 2009, 09:19 CET
Green ombudsman says planned NATO radar station raises legal questions
The planned NATO radar facility on Tubes Hill near Pecs, S Hungary, raises legal problems, environmental ombudsman Sandor Fulop told MTI after talks with civil opponents of the scheme on Wednesday.... [read complete entry]
December 10, 2008, 07:53 CET
Defense minister calls for increased spending on armed forces
Hungary's government must gradually boost defence spending to above 1.3 percent of gross domestic product, Defence Minister Imre Szekeres said in a briefing to lawmakers on Tuesday.... [read complete entry]
October 10, 2008, 08:27 CET
Hungary to hike defence spending by 0.2% of GDP
Hungary will increase defence spending by 7% next year and by 0.2% of GDP annually over the next five years, Defence Minister Imre Szekeres announced Thursday as NATO defence ministers began a two-day informal conference in Budapest. Prime Minister Ferenc... [read complete entry]
October 09, 2008, 08:00 CET
Hungarian official voices support for European anti-missile shield
The missile defence shield to be stationed in the Czech Rep and Poland will be vital to the whole of European defence, said a leading Hungarian parliamentarian on European security matters after talks with Czech officials on Wednesday in Budapest.... [read complete entry]
October 08, 2008, 07:46 CET
Budapest NATO meeting to focus on key 2009 summit
The NATO meeting in Budapest will play an vital role in preparing for next year's jubilee NATO summit, Hungary's Defence Minister Imre Szekeres told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday.... [read complete entry]
October 06, 2008, 11:15 CET
NATO defense ministers to meet in Budapest this week
Budapest will host a meeting of NATO defence ministers on October 9 and 10, one of the largest-scale diplomatic events this country has ever seen, Defence Ministry Spokesman Istvan Bocskai told MTI on Friday.... [read complete entry]
October 02, 2008, 08:32 CET
Hungarian troops take charge of Kabul airport
Hungarian soldiers serving in NATO's Afghanistan mission are taking charge of Kabul international airport on Wednesday, Hungary's Defence Ministry noted in a statement.... [read complete entry]
October 02, 2008, 08:25 CET
NATO's Georgia committee to hold Oct 10 session in Budapest
NATO's recently established Georgia committee will have its next session - to be its second - in Budapest, on the sidelines of an informal meeting of defence ministers of the organisation next week, NATO spokesman James Appathurai announced in Brussels... [read complete entry]
September 30, 2008, 02:32 CET
Hungary to up military spending next year by 6%
Hungary's defence ministry budget is expected to grow by 21 billion forints next year as more funding is directed towards defence spending, military technology and support for the ministry's main health-care facility, a gov't official told MTI on Tuesday.... [read complete entry]
September 29, 2008, 09:41 CET
Hungarian airspace control clears NATO inspection
NATO officials assessed a regiment in charge of airspace control at Veszprém for a week and deemed it "capable of carrying out duties," unit commander Pál Szűcs told the state news agency MTI at the weekend.... [read complete entry]
September 19, 2008, 08:39 CET
Russia's ambassador to Hungary warns on Ukraine, Georgia NATO bids
Relations between NATO and Russia are bad enough in the wake of the Caucasian conflict but they could get worse if NATO invites Georgia and Ukraine to join its Membership Action Plan (MAP), Russia's ambassador to Hungary told MTI on... [read complete entry]
September 18, 2008, 08:22 CET
Foreign minister pledges support for Georgia/Ukraine NATO bids
Hungary supports the planned NATO membership of Georgia and Ukraine and welcomes their invitation to the organisation's membership action plan, the foreign minister said on Wednesday.... [read complete entry]
September 12, 2008, 08:57 CET
U.S. Ambassador urges Hungary to rethink Russia pipeline talks
Hungary should consider suspending its negotiations with Russia over the South Stream natural gas pipeline, United States Ambassador April H Foley told MTI on Thursday.... [read complete entry]
September 09, 2008, 07:49 CET
Foreign Ministry official says Hungary supports Georgia's NATO bid
Hungary supports Georgia's accelerated accession to NATO, state secretary at the foreign ministry Marta Horvath Fekszi told MTI on Tuesday.... [read complete entry]
September 03, 2008, 08:13 CET
Göncz meets Serb leader in Belgrade
Foreign Minister hears complaint that relations will suffer due to Budapest's recognition of Kosovo. [read complete entry]
August 22, 2008, 11:27 CET
Hungary says Russia must withdraw from Georgia
Government spokesperson declines to reject opposition's tough line on Moscow. [read complete entry]
August 21, 2008, 08:42 CET
No NATO split over Russian-Georgian conflict, Göncz says
Foreign Minster echoes calls by alliance allies to stand behind Tbilisi, while hoping that relations with Moscow can be maintained. [read complete entry]
August 19, 2008, 09:35 CET
Defense Minister sees Georgia joining NATO
Imre Szekeres concurred with US Ambassador April Foley about Georgia's future in NATO. [read complete entry]
August 18, 2008, 08:39 CET
Youth group stages protest at Russian embassy
Several hundred opposition supporters gather to denounce Georgian situation. [read complete entry]
August 18, 2008, 08:01 CET
Orbán calls for regional response to Russia
Says "clear-cut moral position" needed after incursion into Georgia. [read complete entry]
August 14, 2008, 08:18 CET
Government postpones decision on aid to Georgia
Budapest waits for lead by EU foreign ministers. [read complete entry]
August 14, 2008, 08:16 CET
Hungary denies selling arms to Georgia
Allegation made in left-leaning Czech newspaper. [read complete entry]
August 11, 2008, 01:12 CET
Hungary takes stand in uproar over Russian invasion of Georgia
There's probably not a whole lot that a little country like Hungary could do to help even smaller Georgia in its life-or-death struggle against the recently reawakened Russian bear. But given the widespread sentiment in Hungary that the West was... [read complete entry]
August 11, 2008, 08:48 CET
NATO defense ministers to meet in Budapest in October
Informal summit would include officials from Croatia and Albania. [read complete entry]
July 25, 2008, 08:47 CET
Retired demolition expert disposal stokes controversy over Hungarian bomb squads
Colonel says bomb disposal experts sent to Afghanistan were unprepared. [read complete entry]
July 24, 2008, 10:39 CET
Slain Hungarian troops victims of booby traps
Terror groups were probably monitored by Afghan terrorists, commander says during hearings into deaths. [read complete entry]
July 23, 2008, 08:56 CET
Leader of Hungary's Afghan military contingent slams local media
Inaccurate press reports and leaks only serve to make soldiers tense and endanger their security, commander charges. [read complete entry]
July 21, 2008, 08:08 CET
Expert pushes for withdrawal of Hungarian bomb squad from Afghanistan
Recent deaths lead to rethink of support role in NATO deployment. [read complete entry]
June 13, 2008, 09:17 CET
Socialists divided on Tubes radar controversy
The on-off plans to construct a NATO radar station near Pécs have drawn protest from local residents, environmentalists, Brussels, and within the Socialist Party. [read complete entry]
June 03, 2008, 10:33 CET
Parliament passes bill on school de-segregation
Law ties local authorities' compliance to availability of EU funds; pays parents to keep children enrolled in kindergarten. [read complete entry]
April 21, 2008, 09:40 CET
Hungary pushes NATO entry for Croatia, Albania
Gyurcsány urges Secretary General to begin talks on expanding alliance by summer. [read complete entry]
February 07, 2008, 09:32 CET
US, UK untroubled by KGB-trained Hungarian committee head
The US NATO mission has not nor will it interfere in Hungary's choice as head of the intelligence committee of the alliance, according to a statement issued in Brussels on Wednesday. The document states that the US respects Hungary's decision... [read complete entry]
February 05, 2008, 09:28 CET
Diplomats see KGB-trained Hungarian committee head as danger to NATO
A story in Monday's International Herald Tribune quoted anonymous Western diplomats as saying that the appointment of Moscow-trained Sándor Laborc to head a special NATO committee on intelligence may endanger the security of the alliance. Laborc, controversially appointed to head... [read complete entry]
February 04, 2008, 08:07 CET
Russians Tanks Mass on Border; Hungarian Army to Respond with Targeted PR Campaign
As you may have heard, Hungary is in deep doo-doo with its NATO allies for failing to live up to its commitments in the area of defense spending and preparedness. But that doesn't mean the country is wholly neglecting its... [read complete entry]
December 21, 2007, 11:17 CET
Pécs vetoes building NATO radar on Tubes hill
The general assembly of Pécs has vetoed the building of a NATO radar station on Tubes hill, and modified regulations so that any new decision will affect related questions currently being discussed, writes Magyar Nemzet. The Defense Ministry said the... [read complete entry]
November 20, 2007, 10:02 CET
NATO base to be opened near Pápa
Pápa has been chosen as the location for a NATO airbase which will supply troops currently in Iraq and Afghanistan, Defense Minster Imre Szekeres announced, writes BBJ.hu. Selected over Germany’s Ramstein and Romania’s Konstanca, the base will also add 300-500... [read complete entry]
November 08, 2007, 09:32 CET
KGB past haunts nominee for top security post
Opposition slams appointment of Sándor Laborc, claiming his stint at Moscow's Dzerzhinsky University renders him unfit. [read complete entry]
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