Central Europe must play an important role in restoring European security and competitiveness, and accordingly it must take firm action in the interests of stopping migration, facilitating EU enlargement and reinforcing economic cooperation between the eastern and western half of the continent - this is the standpoint Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó will be representing at a meeting of Central European Initiative (CEI) foreign ministers in Minsk on Thursday.

In a telephone interview for Hungarian news agency MTI, Mr. Szijjártó pointed out that the CEI is a regional organisation with 18 members, including both EU and non-EU countries, and accordingly it is the best suited of all regional institutions to represent the interests of Central Europe.

According to the Minister, Europe is in an extremely serious position and is facing major challenges because of migration, the threat of terrorism and problems with competitiveness. “The situation is made even more serious by the fact that every European debate immediately turns into an emotional dispute that makes it practically impossible to realise a solution based on common sense”, he added.

“As a result, Central Europe must represent common sense in this situation and must strive to achieve rational solutions”, Mr. Szijjártó explained, pointing out that this was the case so far with relation to economic policy, and it is no accident that Central Europe has become the continent’s engine of economic growth. “This was also the case with regard to security, and security-centred Central European policies are proof of the fact that it is possible to stop the wave of immigration”, he said.

Mr. Szijjártó emphasised that it must be made clear with regard to migration that the wave of immigration can be stopped, and that accordingly it must be stopped, and only those should be allowed into Europe who have a right to do so according to law.

“The enragement process is in the EU’s security and economic interests. Major tensions are developing in the Western Balkans, and integration is the best solution for keeping this under control. Accordingly, the integration processes of Serbia and Macedonia must be significantly accelerated, because if the Balkan region is not integrated into the EU, then it will be integrated by someone else, which is definitely not in our interests”, the Minister said.

According to Mr. Szijjártó, Hungary is calling for cooperation between the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in view of the fact that advanced technologies are to be found in the western half of Europe, while mineral resources and raw materials can be found in the continent’s eastern half.

“If we can couple the two and are able to establish a normal cooperation based on mutual respect between the eastern and western halves of Europe, then Europe will be able to gain a very significant amount of strength in global competition”, the Minister said, adding that historical experience indicates that Central Europe can be a winner if relations between East and West are good, but always loses out if they aren’t.

“We do not want to lose out again, because Central Europe must also play the role of building a bridge between Eastern and Western Europe to facilitate their cooperation”, the Minister said.

While in Minsk, Mr. Szijjártó also held separate talks with Prime Minister of Belarus Andrei Kobyakov and Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei, in addition to which the participants of the CEI meeting were also received by President Alexander Lukashenko.

The Hungarian Foreign Minister and his Belarusian negotiating partners agreed that Hungary will continue to be a determined and committed supporter of expanding cooperation between the EU and Belarus, which is also in Europe’s interests from both an economic and security perspective.

The pharmaceutical industry, and especially Hungarian pharmaceutical company Richter Gedeon, play the main role in Hungary-Belarus trade relations, and accordingly Mr. Szijjártó and his negotiating partners agreed to continue discussions on enabling Hungarian pharmaceutical products to enjoy a greater presence on the Belarus market. They also agreed that Hungary will be supporting Belarus’s application for membership of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), as well as the earliest possible conclusion on an agreement on visa-free travel between the EU and Minsk.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)