22.03.2010.

Military reforms to accelerate the pace of Serbia’s EU accession

Minister of Defence of the Republic of Serbia Dragan Šutanovac received the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Hungary Imre Szekeres in the Guard House, Top?ider, today. After the official talks the two ministers signed the Agreement on Defence Cooperation.

- Bilateral military cooperation with Hungary is at an extremely high level. During the talks, the Hungarian side assured us that they endorse Serbia's EU integration and will continue to do so in the future, as well as that the Hungarian Armed Forces will not reduce its contingent within the KFOR – Minister Šutanovac said on that occasion.

Serbian Defence Minister thanked to the Hungarian Armed Forces for their participation in the air show last year in Belgrade, as well as for the donation to the CBRN Defence centre in Kruševac and the assistance the Hungarian party provided within the bilateral military cooperation to the Military Academy during its accreditation.

The Hungarian Armed Forces turned fully professional six years ago, so that their experience in this field will be beneficial for the Serbian Armed Forces.

- At the meeting both sides expressed mutual desire to jointly participate in a peacekeeping mission in which the Hungarian Armed Forces are already engaged, and we believe that we will realise it in due course. I wish to underline that both our militaries are partners with the Ohio National Guard and we believe that this cooperation is also at the high level. Last year there were many joint activities, some of which were even trilateral; this showed the readiness of the Hungarian and Serbian forces to respond in emergency situations – Šutanovac said and added that the signed agreement represents a legal framework for further cooperation, first of all in the field of education and exchange of experiences in the peacekeeping missions as well as in the military economic cooperation.

One of the most important reforms in Hungary on its path to the EU accession was the reform of its military. - It is organized in the most avant-garde manner compared to all of the armies in our region. The Serbian Armed Forces will be similarly organized, which might accelerate the European integration of Serbia – the Serbian Minister of Defence pointed out .

The guest from Hungary commended Serbia's defence reform.

- I wish to acknowledge that what you have done is the most important step regarding the integration into the European Union. I can assure you that Hungary fully supports Serbia's EU integration. Of course, we know that the reform of the armed forces is one of the key steps in that respect. Security of the Balkans is very important for Hungary. The Republic of Hungary supports the stability of the region. As a part of KFOR, the Hungarian units are still keeping the stability. Hungary agrees with the withdrawal of forces from Kosovo only if all the conditions are fulfilled. As for the reduction of these forces, Hungary still wants to stay in the same framework - Minister Szekeres said.

He also added that Hungary supported the peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where they also have their soldiers. We evaluate the cooperation between Serbia and Hungary in a special way, and the military cooperation in particular. The agreement we have just signed includes 17 points and allows joint training of soldiers and cooperation in other areas, such as a joint efforts in finding explosives and the surveillance of the air space. We also consider as important capability of clearing up the consequences of disasters - the Hungarian Defence Minister said, concluding that the Agreement complements the cooperation so far.