“Hungarian-Polish and Visegrád Group cooperation has always been in the focus of Hungarian foreign policy and will remain so in future”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and trade Péter Szijjártó said following talks with his Polish counterpart on Wednesday.
The Minister stressed that an unacceptable attack against Poland has begun in Europe, but the Polish people and Poland deserve respect. Every European institution, official, country and politician must respect the decision of the Polish people to entrust the present government with running the country, which it made at democratic elections, and this is something that everyone must accept, he declared.
The further strengthening of Visegrád cooperation is of strategic importance to Hungary, because we would be weaker without the V4, in addition to which the attainable economic success and political cooperation significantly increases the weight of the region within Europe, he stated, adding that he and hi Polish colleague had agreed that we need a strong Europe, but that this is impossible without strong member states.
Mr. Szijjártó also spoke about the fact that the two countries are also linked by a host of security policy, economic and energy-related interests. Last year produced the highest ever recorded level of trade between the two countries and Eximbank is providing a credit line of 492 million euros to facilitate cooperation between Hungarian and Polish enterprises. In addition, the Minister stressed the importance of north-south infrastructure and that Hungarian energy company Mol’s role on the Polish market will hopefully serve to further strengthen economic ties between the two countries.
Hungary is grateful to Poland for providing assistance in the most difficult of times to protect the country’s borders and those of the Schengen Area, Mr. Szijjártó declared. Hungary was the only country with an external Schengen border to fully comply with regulations, and this also required help from Poland received within the framework of the Visegrád Group, he pointed out.
The Minister once again stressed the significance of the Macedonian-Bulgarian line of defence and the importance of differentiating between refugees and economic immigrants. Ha also stated that Hungary regards the quota system as being unfeasible and contrary to common sense and will be seeing the procedure through before the European Court of Justice.
Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Witold Waszczykowski declared that there is yet to be an issue that divides the two countries; they agree or have very similar views on everything and put forward similar solutions to problems.
Poland’s view is also that the migration crisis must be handled at its source and not in Europe, he explained, adding that the country views Hungarian-Russian relations as practical cooperation; there are issues that can only be realised through pragmatic cooperation. Russia is Poland’s neighbour and there must always be some level of practical cooperation with a neighbouring country, but that doesn’t mean that Poland accepts Moscow’s every move, he stated.
The Polish Minster of Foreign Affairs’ visit to Budapest also provided an opportunity to prepare for the visit by the Polish Prime Minister next week, he noted.
In reply to a question from the press, Mr. Waszczykowski said with relation to the recommendations put forward by President of the European Council Donald Tusk that it is important that those who have already received social benefits should not lose them, meaning that the new regulations should only be valid with regard to new employees. Some of the regulations are decidedly favourable, but the recommendation package must be examined in detail, he added.
On the same subject, Mr. Szijjártó said that if possible it was important that the V4 develop a joint standpoint on the issue, and there is a good chance of this occurring. It is in the EU’s interests that Great Britain should remain part of the European Union, he added.
In reply to another question, Mr. Waszczykowski said that NATO’s eastern border is less protected than its western border, which is untenable. Beyond Europe’s eastern borders there is no end in sight to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, and so this is where NATO borders should be reinforced, he emphasised.
Mr. Szijjártó said in reply to a question that Hungary has so far received no official request to allow NATO troops or American military equipment to be stationed here. NATO is currently facing challenges from both the south and the east, and must make greater efforts than ever before to successfully face up to these challenges, he added.
It is Europe’s interests for the Schengen Agreement to remain intact, because if it doesn’t survive the current crisis that would cause immeasurable damage to the region, Mr. Szijjártó said. For this reason, the countries of Central Europe are protecting their borders and helping each other to do so, he declared.
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade/MTI)
