The representatives of the 27 Member States remaining in the European Union succeeded in coming to an agreement on the position which the EU will represent during the course of the Brexit talks related to the departure of the United Kingdom from the EU, Szabolcs Takács, Minister of State for EU Affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office said in an interview given to the Hungarian news agency MTI by telephone on Thursday after the Luxembourg meeting of Ministers responsible for EU affairs.

He said that the heads of state and government of EU Member States will adopt the agreed negotiating directives on Saturday, thereby giving Michel Barnier, the European Chief Negotiator for Brexit, who heads the EU task force responsible for the negotiations to be conducted with London with respect of the terms of the UK’s exit and who has been delegated by the European Commission, a strong authorisation for the commencement and implementation of talks and the representation of the EU position.

The Minister of State said: at the Thursday meeting, during the course of the formulation and adoption of the common EU position, Hungary proved that it is engaged in the representation of its national interests in the European Union in a way which is at all times open to constructive dialogues with its partners not only in the infringement cases, but also on issues concerning the common future of Europe.

According to his information, the essence of the Hungarian position during the course of the Brexit talks lies in the protection of the rights and interests of the more than one hundred thousand Hungarians living in the United Kingdom. He added: Hungary sincerely hopes that a fair and just agreement may come into being between the European Union and London which also duly takes account of the interests of Hungarian business actors, with regard to the fact, as he said, that in the wake of its exit, the island state will be the EU’s largest trade partner.

Mr Takács further highlighted: Hungary takes the view that the EU must closely cooperate with the United Kingdom after its departure also in the fields of defence and security. The migration crisis of recent years has demonstrated that we must do more for the protection of the external borders, and there is no room for economising when it comes to the European people’s security, he pointed out.

(Prime Minister's Office)