The Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expects an immediate explanation from the United States in connection with a WikiLeaks report showing Budapest on a map of surveillance stations deployed by the National Security Agency (NSA). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) stated that it was concerned about the surveillance and relay stations and expected the US to clarify the situation and provide an explanation about what happened as soon as possible, as previously requested from the US Ambassador in Budapest. The MFA declared that Hungary staunchly espouses the protection of human rights, including the protection of privacy.

The issue will be on the agenda of upcoming talks between Foreign Minister János Martonyi and US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland, who will be visiting Hungary to attend a meeting of foreign affairs officials of the Visegrad Group (V4) and of the Central European Initiative (CEI) which takes place on Thursday. However, the issue has grown beyond bilateral relations and Hungary will also seek a solution within the EU and other forums.

The EU heads of state and government underlined the importance of Trans-Atlantic cooperation and the fight against terrorism at their October 25 meeting; at the same time, they pointed out that lack of trust may undermine the effectiveness of collaborative work. The EU leaders acknowledged the German-French initiative that initiated talks aimed at reaching an agreement  with the United States on secret service cooperation before the end of the year. This initiative is also open to other member countries and Hungary will formulate its position on whether to join the initiative later this year, when concrete proposals will be submitted.

In addition to the EU framework, Hungary is also taking part in multilateral cooperation under the aegis of the UN Human Rights Council and of the UN General Assembly in order to facilitate a solution. Hungary has joined an initiative launched by Germany in Geneva this July that proposed adding an optional protocol to Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)