György Csóti, President of the Hungarian Atlantic Council (MAT), delivered his assessment of the international conference held on May 7, 2024, entitled “European Security: The Future of Atlanticism and European Strategic Autonomy.”
The event took place at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest and attracted wide interest. Prominent Hungarian and international speakers shared their views on the recent value crisis and emerging tensions within the transatlantic community, as well as on the future of Atlanticism.
The conference was officially opened by György Csóti. Seated at the head table were the event’s keynote speakers: Werner Fasslabend, former Austrian Minister of Defence; Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, Hungarian Minister of Defence; and Karl Lamers, former President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
The first panel, titled Transatlantic Relations: Values, Interests, Politics, and Institutions, featured the following speakers: Gábor Fodor, former Minister; Péter Sztáray, State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Réka Szemerkényi, International Republican Institute; György Csóti, President of MAT; and Wendin D. Smith, Political Director at NATO.
The second panel focused on Military Capabilities: Defending Europe in the Event of a “Europeanized” NATO. Speakers included Ferenc Kajári, Deputy Chief of the Hungarian Defence Staff; Marcin Zaborowski, Polish security policy expert; Tibor Benkő, former Minister of Defence and Vice President of MAT; István Gyarmati, Secretary General of MAT; and Lieutenant Colonel Viktor Csabiánszki.
The third panel, titled Hungary and NATO – The Long Road from 1999 to 2024, featured Péter Siklósi, security policy expert; Péter Tálas, Senior Research Fellow at the National University of Public Service; István Szent-Iványi, Vice President of MAT; Zsolt Németh, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Hungarian National Assembly and Vice President of MAT; and Zoltán Szenes, former Chief of Defence.
As a politically neutral, public-benefit civil society organization with a broad social base, the Hungarian Atlantic Council facilitated a conference that showcased a diversity of opinions. Despite differing perspectives, one common message emerged clearly: for Central Europe—and for Hungary in particular—there is no alternative to transatlantic cooperation, to NATO, and to the European Union.
