The Hungarian presidency renews the format of the Defense Council. The official calendar!
The informal meeting of Defense Ministers, under the Hungarian Presidency of the European Union, on 24 and 25 February 2011, like the Gymnich (foreign affairs), on 11 and 12 March 2011, and the informal summit devoted to the Eastern Partnership, on May 27, 2011, will take place in Budapest and in Gödöll?, a town 30 km northeast of the Hungarian capital (in the Pest county).
The castle of Gödöll?, belonged to a large family the Grassalkovitch. After the death of the last male heir, in 1841, it passed from hand to hand, experienced some damage in the revolution of 1848-49, then became part of the "Crown" of Austria-Hungary. It then served as the residence of Emperor François-Joseph and his wife Elisabeth (Sissi loved staying there, it is said), then Charles IV. During the Austro-Hungarian Empire, it was always the symbol of Hungarian autonomy. Between the two world wars, the regent, authoritarian, Miklós Horthy, made it his residence until 1940. Little affected by the 2nd World War, it was especially after that it was damaged. The Soviet army settled there and turned it into barracks and a retirement home. The castle was started to be established after the 1960s.
Specific format for Ministers of Defense
Regarding the dates of the formal meetings of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, those specified in a previous post (1) are confirmed. With an important novelty, the Council of Defense Ministers, like that of Development, will take place on May 24, with Foreign Ministers meeting the day before, on May 23. Initiated on December 9 by the Belgian presidency (2), the tradition of a specific format for Defense Ministers therefore seems to be perpetuated.
Download the Calendar of the Hungarian Presidency
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