Kül-, biztonság- és védelempolitikai parlamentközi konferencia

Interparliamentary Conference on Common Foreign, Security and Defence Policy (IPC for CFSP/CSDP)

Budapest, 9-10 September 2024

As the Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Hungarian National Assembly, I welcome you to the website of the 25th CFSP/CSDP Inter-Parliamentary Conference to be held in Budapest on 9-10 September in the framework of the second Hungarian presidency running from 1 July to 31 December 2024. As Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (CFA), it is with great pleasure and anticipation that I undertake my duties as co-host.

As one of the most important standing committees in the Hungarian legislature, the CFA is a body of the National Assembly in charge of putting forward initiatives, making proposals, delivering opinions, making - in specific cases - decisions, and contributing to monitoring the work of the government. Another important aspect of its activities is parliamentary diplomacy. It maintains close and regular contact with the ambassadors accredited to Hungary and often receives guests and delegations from abroad, from parliaments, governments and international organisations. The Committee's work traditionally followed with great interest is the hearing of ambassadorial candidates prior to their appointment.

I am proud to say that Hungary, after the successful presidencies of its partners in the trio, Spain and Belgium, is delighted to continue the important and fine tradition of holding a meeting of the foreign affairs and defence committees of the EU national parliaments. The year 2024 is particularly prominent from a Hungarian perspective: this year we celebrate the 20th anniversary of our EU membership. This autumn's conference will be the second one hosted by Hungary, following the first Hungarian presidency event in 2011.

In my opinion, it is safe to state that the upcoming six-month Hungarian presidency – and thus the CFSP/CSDP conference – will take place in a historically significant period. Unfortunately, the whole European continent – including the European Union and the Central European region with Hungary – and the rest of the world are facing and are threatened by a number of regional and global security, foreign policy, military, social, economic, institutional, demographic and cultural challenges of unprecedented scale and depth. The future of the EU, recurring wars, resurgent military conflicts, energy and food crises, migratory pressures, and natural disasters are all elements of this bleak picture. This is reflected in the topics and issues on the conference's planned agenda, such as external border protection and illegal migration, the EU enlargement process, or strategic geopolitical changes in the world.

It is a tailor-made challenge, but also a great opportunity for Hungary, holding the presidency of the Council of the EU, to shape the EU agenda (including in the field of common foreign and defence policy), to ensure united EU external action and solidarity, and to act as an honest broker, or “careful shepherd”, in line with the stated aim of its presidency amidst these trying international circumstances.

I am convinced that this conference once again provides an excellent opportunity for the representatives of the Member States' parliaments to have a personal exchange of views on the most topical and urgent foreign, defence and security policy issues. Participants are able to discuss and listen to each other's views on the issues on the agenda in a constructive manner, even in the face of possible differences of opinion.

I am certain that the wonderful Hungarian capital, Budapest, and the Parliament building provides an ideal venue for the event, and the national parliamentary dimension once again makes its voice heard.

To this end, I wish you good luck, fruitful networking and successful meetings.

Welcome Address by Lajos Kósa, Chair of the Committee on Defence and Law Enforcement

Dear Visitor,

Greetings on behalf of the Committee on Defence and Law Enforcement of the National Assembly.

The Committee on Defence and Law Enforcement is a committee of mandatory establishment in Parliament. One of its main tasks is to participate in the work of the National Assembly in monitoring government activities. In the framework of its general operation, it performs its duties as stipulated in the Fundamental Law, laws and the provisions of the Rules of Procedure, and discusses bills, draft resolutions and reports that include defence and law enforcement regulations. As a specialised committee, it shall give its opinion on draft EU legislation falling within its remit, in particular on illegal migration and the protection of the EU's external borders, in the framework of the scrutiny procedure.

In addition to the above, you can find more information on the website of the National Assembly, including the names of our committee members, the minutes of our open meetings and the motions we are debating.

For my part, I am delighted that Hungary holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union for the second time, in the second half of 2024. Although the preparation and implementation of the presidency is essentially a governmental task, the experiences of the past years show that national parliaments play an indispensable and prominent role in the implementation of any successful presidency.

I trust that the Committee on Defence and Law Enforcement, as the host and organiser, is the driving force behind our interparliamentary discussions, and that we are able to discuss our agenda items in a forward-looking and constructive debate. I hope that the outcome of our conference contributes to the further success of the European Union.

Enjoy your browsing and follow us.

Overview of the conference

The Interparliamentary Conference for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) was set up following the conclusions adopted at the Conference of Speakers of European Union Parliaments (Brussels, 4-5 April 2011 and Warsaw, 20-21 April 2012). The first interparliamentary conference on parliamentary scrutiny of the CFSP and CSDP was organised by the House of Representatives of Cyprus, which was responsible for the parliamentary dimension of the presidency in the second half of 2012, between 9 and 11 September 2012. The interparliamentary conference replaced the previous frameworks for cooperation, the Conference of Foreign Affairs Committee Chairpersons (COFACC) and the Conference of Defence Committee Chairpersons (CODACC). The interparliamentary conference provides a framework for discussing current issues in the field of CFSP and CSDP, sharing information and best practices.

The Rules of Procedure of the Inter-Parliamentary Conference were adopted at the CFSP and CSDP Conference in Rome in November 2014. According to the Rules of Procedure, the Inter-Parliamentary Conference is held every six months, organised by the Parliament of the country holding the presidency of the Council of the EU, in close cooperation with the European Parliament. The delegations to the conference are composed of members of national parliaments and members of the European Parliament, with national parliaments nominating 6 representatives and the European Parliament 16, and members of national parliaments from EU candidate countries and European NATO member states may also attend as observers. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy is also invited to the conferences.

Three members of the Hungarian National Assembly attend the conference: due to the nature of the topic, two from the Committee on Foreign Affairs and one from the Committee on Defence and Law Enforcement.

The Rules of Procedure of the conference adopted in 2014 are available here.

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