The Hungarian Government regards the European integration aspirations of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the rest of the countries of the Western Balkans as a priority strategic goal. Hungary is one of the EU Member States which intends to keep the enlargement of the EU on the agenda continuously, Szabolcs Takács, State Secretary for EU Affairs highlighted in his telephone interview given from Sarajevo to the Hungarian news agency MTI on Friday.
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Political tensions are present in the Western Balkans region on an ongoing basis, the State Secretary pointed out, however, the Hungarian position is that the safest solution to these problems is if the process of the integration of the region’s countries does not slow down.
In the context of Sarajevo’s integration, he said that the country has already submitted its accession request, and he hopes that they may be granted the candidate country status by the end of this year. There were some positive developments in the integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the end of last year, Mr Takács explained, and mentioned the visit of Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn to Sarajevo in December. During the course of the visit, the politician handed over the questionnaire, on the basis of which the European Commission states its view regarding the continuation of the country’s integration.
The internal political situation and the different interests of the various parts of the country all add to the tensions, but in the interest of the country’s stability, the preservation of peace and economic and social modernisation, integration is the only way, the EU State Secretary took the view. Hungary wishes to be a partner in this which is able to provide specific assistance for Sarajevo, he pointed out, adding that the Visegrád countries and some other EU Member States, too, are in favour of the continuation of the enlargement process. Mr Takács pointed out: while the Central-Eastern-Europeans support enlargement, Western-Europe “is increasingly turning inwards, and is characterised by a kind of enlargement lethargy”.
“We believe that enlargement is a means towards the European Union’s successful future, and the regaining and reinforcement of its global economic competitiveness which would make the EU stronger, rather than hindering its progress”, he pointed out.
Instability in the Western Balkans also conveys security risks, the State Secretary drew attention to this fact, and therefore integration could also remedy these problems. At the negotiations held with politicians responsible for specific policies, we identified the areas in which Hungary is able to provide specific assistance for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr Takács stressed. As he said, Budapest is able to help with the compilation of the reports to be submitted to the EU concerning the areas of agriculture, rural development, energy policy and environmental protection.
“We also have a vested interest in enabling the actors of the Hungarian economy to play a more active role in Bosnian projects”, he added. A credit facility was also mentioned which would help the cooperation of small and medium-sized businesses.
In the context of the issue of international migration, the parties confirmed at the bilateral meetings that the fact that the region’s countries have been able to take more decisive action recently has also contributed to the improved management of the Western Balkans migration route. The State Secretary nonetheless drew attention to the fact that while Budapest regards the agreement concluded by and between the EU and Turkey with respect to migration as important, it takes the view that Brussels cannot be thinking in terms of a single option.
In his view, the countries of the Western Balkans must therefore be furnished with all the strength that is necessary to enable them to regain control which is essential for the long-term management of the migration crisis.
(MTI)
