Foreign Minister János Martonyi was the guest of honour of the traditional luncheon organised by CNC Communications and the American Institute for Contemporary Studies on the sidelines of the Munich Conference on Security Policy on 31 January 2014.

Foreign Minister János Martonyi was the guest of honour of the traditional luncheon organised by CNC Communications and the American Institute for Contemporary Studies on the sidelines of the Munich Conference on Security Policy on 31 January 2014.

In his speech, the Hungarian Foreign Minister pointed out: the anniversaries of this year - the 100th anniversary of the breakout of World War I, the 70th anniversary of the Hungarian Holocaust, the 25th anniversary of the regime change in Central Europe, as well as the 15th and the 10th anniversary of our NATO and EU accession, respectively - convey numerous messages for Europe, including Hungary.

First of all, they convey the message that a strong Europe and a strong Trans-Atlantic link guarantee that the events leading to these sad anniversaries should never happen again. Speaking about the tasks ahead, he said: European crisis management should be taken to completion, however this requires new solutions with the input and the involvement of the public. The creeping increase of EU competencies would bring precisely the opposite result.

Speaking about the events in Ukraine, he pointed out: it is important for Europe to regain her self-confidence. The protests of elementary proportions since December 2013 have proven that Europe remains relevant; the mediation efforts of the EU during recent days and weeks have been efficient and critically significant in cooling the tension. Being neighbours, Central Europe, including Hungary, also has an important responsibility. This was also attested to by the recent meeting of the Visegrad Group heads of government in Budapest, at which the Prime Ministers discussed their positions on Ukraine along with necessary measures.

The Gala Luncheon of CNC Communications - which invited former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak last year and Guido Westerwelle the year before last year - was attended by about thirty high ranking, primarily German, leading figures from the world of politics, business, media and the academic community.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)