Hungary, as part of the Spanish-Belgian-Hungarian Trio Presidency, will take over the Presidency of the European Union in the first semester of 2011. The Spanish-Belgian-Hungarian team is the third Trio Presidency in the EU’s history; however, it is the first one to work in the framework provided by the Lisbon Treaty. The 18-months joint Trio Programme adopted by the Spanish-Belgian-Hungarian Trio Presidency ensures the achievement of long term goals beyond the scope of a single Presidency semester.

The Hungarian Ministry of Defence – through its special focus on the European Union’s Common Security and Defence Policy and the EU’s crisis management activities – pays special attention to the preparation of the Presidency.

The preparation process is led by the State Secretary for Defence Policy and coordinated by the Defence Policy Department. In order to ensure effective coordination within the Ministry, a Preparatory Committee was set up in 2007. The Committee, chaired by the State Secretary for Defence Policy, gathers and informs the heads of departments, agencies, and other units of the MoD on the topical questions of the preparation. The EU Presidency Coordination Secretariat established in 2009 as a new unit within the Defence Policy Department provides an administrative background and is responsible for coordinating and assisting the tasks of the preparation and the Presidency.

The organisation of the different presidency events to be held in Hungary (an informal meeting of ministers of defence, an informal meeting of defence policy directors, seminars, and conferences) represent one of the major tasks of the preparation.