One year ago, the last conscript left the Hungarian armed forces. Hajnalka Vincze, one of the authors of the book “Defence in Europe” published recently by the French Documentation Center, outlines the state of play in Hungary’s defence policy orientation on the basis of a professional army

The professionalisation of the military, though welcome, is part up to now of a series of pseudo-reforms undergone by the defence sector since 1989. Those are characterized by a constant reduction of manpower (the army counts 30 000 troops nowadays, the ratio of officers being close to 1:3) and budgetary constraints (1,26% of the GDP are devoted to military expenditure in 2005 instead of 1,81% to which Budapest committed itself in NATO).

Just like in other countries facing the same problems, the temptation is considerable for Budapest to compensate by acts of allegiance towards the United States. However, under domestic political pressure Hungary had withdrawn its troops from Iraq in December 2004, while promising to redeploy them there under NATO banner. The Alliance, however, has so far formulated no request to this effect.

Budapest is now exploring the possibility of a more significant participation in Afghanistan. Notably by stepping up its contingent of 150 soldiers and by assuming a larger role in the PRTs (Provincial Reconstruction Teams). The Americans are in fact seeking to withdraw from this theatre of operations and to delegate their responsibilities to the Alliance.

Nonetheless, Hungary also activates itself within the framework of the European Union. It was already present at the time of the missions in 2003 in Congo and in Macedonia, contributes to EUFOR in Bosnia-Herzegovina and is on the point of setting up a battlegroup of 1500 soldiers together with Italy and Slovenia before the end 2007, to reinforce the EU’s military capabilities.