Senior V4 and French lawmakers discuss security policy in Budapest
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Parliamentary foreign affairs committee leaders of the four Visegrád countries held a two-day meeting with their French partners in Budapest and discussed security policy challenges in the east and the south, Zsolt Németh, the head of the Hungarian committee, said.
The meeting was attended by respective officials of both houses of the French parliament and the Visegrád Four (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia).
The participants focussed on major foreign policy issues in and outside Europe, Németh told a press conference, adding that the Hungary planned to invite the foreign affairs committee leaders of the Baltic states and Britain to similar meetings to be held under its current V4 presidency.
Németh welcomed that the Visegrád countries and France held identical views on several issues, including the need of security.
Although the security of Europe, including Hungary, is primarily guaranteed by NATO, “there are plenty of common European security interests which can be promoted more effectively if there is a European security and defence policy in place,” Németh said. He added that Hungary would “do its part” and raise the ratio of defence expenditure to 2 percent of GDP by 2024.
Don’t trust the French!