“Hungary and Croatia have an interest not in animosity, but in friendship and strategic cooperation, as was previously characteristic of their relationship”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said following a meeting with his Croatian counterpart in Budapest on Tuesday.

The Minister stressed that Hungarian-Croatian relations have never been as bad as they are currently, and accordingly the tremendous task awaiting both governments is to raise bilateral relations from this low.

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“We have behind us honest negotiations and honesty is something that is especially important given the current state of bilateral relations. Hungary has suffered several unfair attacks in recent months on the part of the previous Croatian government, but we are fully aware of the fact that this has nothing to do with the current Croatian government”, Mr. Szijjártó declared. However, in view of the fact that these attacks were both unfair and unacceptable, we cannot pretend they didn’t happen, he added.

As a result of the negotiations, a plan of action will be developed to solve open issues, the Minister said. Important issues include fully restoring rail travel between the two countries, construction of the Sarajevo-Eszék-Budapest motorway, the issue of the Croatian LNG terminal and the Mol-INA affair, he added.

With relation to the LNG terminal, Mr. Szijjártó explained that the question of when Croatia completes construction of the terminal is less important than ever in view of the fact that another EU-funded route via Romania, which is also important with regard to diversification, has since come to the forefront. On the Mol-INA affair, the Minister said it was a great help that the parties are now capable of speaking with each other rationally and in a cultured manner, because the lack of constructive dialogue had in the past cast a shadow on intergovernmental relations. Hungary expects the establishment of a business and legal environment in which Mol can operate INA as a responsible investor, and the successful operation of the two companies is in the fundamental interests of both countries, he explained, adding that the issue requires a new kind of communication rather than the previous messages sent via the media.

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The Minister also mentioned the fact that trade between the two countries increased by 22 percent year-on-year during the first 11 months of last year, while all known trade records were broken in 2015. Eximbank is providing a credit line of 185 million euros for cooperation between Hungarian and Croatian enterprises to help ensure that this growth continues.

With relation to the migration crisis, Mr. Szijjártó said that Europe is currently unprotected and is incapable of stopping or controlling the flow of migrants from its southern and south-eastern neighbours, and accordingly we need a strong southern line of defence and if required Europe must establish a Bulgarian-Macedonian line of defence, because otherwise the terrorist threat will rise and public safety in Europe will decrease further.

The Minister congratulated his counterpart on the formation of the new HDZ-led Croatian government, adding that Hungary has great expectations with regard to the activities of the new cabinet, with whom cooperation is expected to be smoother than it was a few months ago with its predecessor.

Croatian Minister of Foreign Affair Miro Kovac stressed that Croatia and Hungary are friends, their friendship has a long and strong history, and it is in this spirit that the parties are approaching the solution of their remaining open issues.

Mr. Kovac also said he had met with the representative of the Croatian minority living in Hungary, who assured him that he is happy with the way they are being treated by the Hungarian state. Croatia is also doing its best to take suitable care of its minorities, he added.

Croatia wishes to develop intensive cooperation with Hungary and the Visegrád Group, Mr. Kovac highlighted. The current Croatian government is concentrating on the future and wishes to develop cooperation with Hungary, but will not circumvent known problems, he stated, adding that communication is important and the parties would solve any problems that arise in the spirit of good neighbours.

Croatia is also ready to discuss joint action with regard to the migrant crisis, he stated. The key word is coordination and the only long term solution is an EU-level one with the involvement of every member state, he continued.
The Croatian Minister of Foreign Affairs urged the continuation of the activities of the three existing Hungarian-Croatian joint committees, in addition to which he also suggested the possibility of a joint Hungarian-Croatian cabinet meeting.

In reply to a question from the press regarding the EU reform package, Mr. Szijjártó said he wasn’t aware of the contents of the letter sent by European Council President Donald Tusk, but it is always viewed with approval if a country wishes to reduce the abuse of its social services system, although Hungary does not agree with any solution that includes any form of discrimination.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)