The Hungarian Atlantic Council was established as a not-for-profit, non-governmental agency in 1992 and was reorganised in compliance with the laws of Hungary in 1999. Its original mission was to promote Hungary's accession to NATO and to promote the acceptance of Euro-Atlantic principles and values in Hungarian society as broad as possible. In 1997, the Hungarian people voted in favour of the NATO accession by 85 percent in a referendum. To date, this is the highest proportion of any acceding country in supporting entry into NATO.
The Council's current activities foresee the integration of Euro-Atlantic principles, focusing on practical issues and disseminating informed knowledge and credible information. The primary objective of the Hungarian Atlantic Council is to strengthen Atlantic cooperation with other Member States, not forgetting the continuity, traditions and cultural characteristics of Hungarian history.