The idea of creating a NATO Information Centre (its original name was North Atlantic Information Centre) was initiated by the Hungarian National Assembly during the Spring Session of the North Atlantic Assembly's (since 1998 NATO Parliamentary Assembly) organised in Budapest in 1995. The initiative was welcomed from inside and outside of the country. It did not appear surprising because it was common interest that Members of Parliament should have the most credible and detailed information about the Euro-Atlantic institutions. After the necessary arrangements the Centre was created on 15 December 1995 inside the Assembly's Office for Foreign Relations.
The task for the Centre is to provide Parliamentarians especially those who are involved in international relations or Members in various international parliamentary institutions with the necessary level of information about NATO, NATO Parliamentary Assembly and other international security institutions. The Centre is open for committee as well as parliamentary faction's experts and provides them with security-related information.
Between 1996-2004 the Centre had been publishing a regular weekly Hungarian/English NATO Newsletter with recent news and activities of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and NATO which then had been presented towards the Parliamentarians. Since 1996 we are also preparing a NATO Analyses for those MPs who are involved in international politics.
The Centre is organising informal panels and discussions in the framework of a Parliamentary NATO Club for Hungarian Parliamentarians with Parliamentarians of NATO member states, NATO and NATO PA-representatives. The panels and discussions are also open for other Hungarian officials, NGO-representatives (Hungarian Atlantic Council, Teleki László Institute, Centre for Security Policy and Military Studies). We established a tight co-operation with NGO's and think-tanks in the fields of foreign, security and defence policy;
The Hungarian National Assembly with its own special means continues to support the reorientation of the Alliance as well as the country's efforts to act as a responsible NATO member. Furthermore, it is also the Parliament's intention to continue its communication with the public interested in security related questions. For that purpose the Parliament organizes annual autumn international NATO conference.
Our intention to create a network of information with other parliamentary institutions like the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and various Parliaments and Embassies of Alliance countries and Central and Eastern European countries.
By meeting these aims the Centre intends to contribute to the development of an effective pool of security experts, a strategic community in Hungary.
The Centre is located in the Representatives' Office Building of the Hungarian Parliament:
NATO Information Centre
Széchenyi rakpart 19.
H - 1358 Budapest
Tel: (00 361) 441-6490 or 441-6491
Fax: (00 361) 441-6494
E-mail: nato-tk@parlament.hu