The General Director of the General Directorate of National Defence and International Relations (GDNDPIR) of the Ministry of National Defence (MoD), Dr. Konstantinos Balomenos, and his Hungarian counterpart, László Hajnik, have agreed on a common framework of action in the immigration crisis both at the military and political levels. The said action aims to highlight the geopolitical role of the two countries in the wider region of Europe, the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean, and was agreed upon during the officials’ talks in Athens held within the framework of an initiative by the GDNDPIR to strengthen the bilateral defence relations of Greece with the Visegrad countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia).

Considering that during the escalation of the immigration issue in 2015, Hungary and the rest of the countries of the Visegrad group diverged from the common European policy applied for the management of the immigration issue and criticized Greece for the way it managed the immigration crisis, this specific action is deemed to be of utmost national importance, as it is an excellent opportunity for:

• highlighting the role of Greece in dealing with the immigration problem (compared to 2015, a 95% reduction in immigration flows has been achieved), and its contribution to European security,
• the consolidation on the part of the Visegrad countries that the eastern borders of Europe both on land and at sea are identical with those of Greece and that during the crisis of March 2020 on Evros, Greece defended – in the most effective way – the borders of Europe from the hybrid threat of Turkey,
• the update and internationalization of the experience and the useful conclusions drawn from the immigration crisis of February-March 2020 in the Evros region, and
• the improvement of bilateral defence relations with the Visegrad countries and the creation of a positive narrative for Greece, in relation to its contribution to dealing with the immigration issue and as a pillar of stability and security in the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean region.

According to the relevant announcement of the GDNDPIR, within the framework of the visit, the Hungarian delegation led by the Defence Policy directors of the two countries visited:

• the airport of Alexandroupolis, where they were briefed on the operational activities of the Hellenic Armed Forces to deal with immigration, as well as on the strategic role of the airport in the wider region,
• the port of Alexandroupolis, where they were briefed on its operational use as an allied base by the head of the US mission in the region,
• the headquarters of the 12th Mechanized Infantry Division in Alexandroupolis,
• the regional center for Integrated Border Management and Immigration in Alexandroupolis,
• the headquarters of the 16th Mechanized Infantry Division in Didymoteicho,
• the military outpost of Kipi in the Area of ​​Responsibility of the 31st Mechanized Brigade, and
• the Kastanies checkpoint (“Checkpoint-1”) on the northeastern border of the country with Turkey and the border fence in the area of ​​Kastanies.

The purpose of the visit was to inform the Hungarian delegation on the ground about the decisive role of the Armed Forces in dealing with the immigration crisis in Evros in February – March 2020, about the continuous instrumentalization of illegal immigration by Turkey and the current situation in respect of the immigration issue.

In the context of the specific visit, the Defence Policy directors of the two countries had the opportunity to exchange views on the immigration issue and onTurkey’s destabilizing role in the region as well as to talk with officers of the Armed Forces deployed on the operational field.

Finally, the delegations of the two countries led by Dr. Konstantinos Balomenos and László Hajnik talked about:

• deepening the bilateral defence relations between Greece and Hungary,
• strengthening their cooperation within the framework of NATO and the EU,
• the security situation in the Western Balkans,
• the security situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, while they analyzed the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the wider geopolitical environment.

The same initiative was repeated by the GDNDPIR with a corresponding delegation from the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic.

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