Meeting of the defence and law enforcement committees of the Parliaments of V4 countries and Slovenia, 27-28 January 2022
In the framework of the Hungarian Presidency of the Visegrád Group (V4), a meeting of the defence and law enforcement committees of the national Parliaments of Visegrád (V4) countries and Slovenia was held in Debrecen on 27-28 January 2022, organised by the Hungarian National Assembly. Discussions were held on issues related to the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum and on defence co-operation among V4 countries. The event was hosted by Lajos Kósa, Chair of the National Assembly’s Committee on Defence and Law Enforcement, and attended by dr. Miklós Simon, Deputy Chair of the Committee, and Mónika Bartos, Member of the Committee.
The meeting was attended by Pavel Fischer, Chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security of the Czech Senate, as well as Pavel Růżička and Josef Flek, Deputy Chairs of the Committee on Defence, representing the Czech Chamber of Deputies. The Polish Sejm was represented by Michal Jach, Chairman of the National Defence Committee, Waldemar Andzel, Vice Chairperson of the National Defence Committee, Wiesław Szczepanski, Chairman of the Committee on Administration and Internal Affairs, Zdzisław Sipiera, Deputy Chair of the Committee on Administration and Internal Affairs, and the Polish Senate by Jarosław Rusiecki, Chairperson of the National Defence Committee and Rafał Ślusarz, Deputy Chairperson of the National Defence Committee. On behalf of the Slovak National Council, Juraj Krupa, Chairman of the Defence and Security Committee, as well as Gábor Grendel and Anna Andrejuvová attended the meeting. Under the V4+ initiative, Branko Grims, Chairman of the Slovenian National Assembly's Committee on the Interior, Public Administration and Local Self-Government, also participated as an observer. During the meeting, participants discussed two topics: 1. the current status of negotiations on the European Commission's draft Pact on Migration and Asylum and 2. co-operation at the level of V4 in the defence industry, as well as in the field of joint battlegroups and joint procurement.
At the event, Dr. Mátyás Hegyaljai, Deputy State Secretary for International and European Union Matters of the Ministry of Interior, delivered detailed information on the current status of the negotiations on the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum and on the co-operation of V4 countries in home affairs. The second agenda item on defence co-operation among V4 countries was presented by Lieutenant General Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi, Commander of the Hungarian Defence Forces, who stressed that the Hungarian V4 Presidency also attached great significance to the co-ordination of the positions of V4 countries on current NATO and EU defence initiatives and the representation of any common positions.
In his addresses, Lajos Kósa stressed that V4 countries were committed members of NATO and the EU. He considered it essential to build an EU-level asylum and migration system capable of coping with the current challenges, the constant migration pressure on the EU's external borders and the hybrid attacks using migration as a tool. He also welcomed the defence co-operation and defence industry links between V4 countries and projects aimed at the joint procurement of military equipment and ammunition.
At the end of the meeting, the representatives of V4 countries unanimously adopted a joint declaration.