On Monday Bertalan Havasi, the Deputy State Secretary heading the Press Office of the Prime Minister, informed the Hungarian news agency MTI that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had written a letter of congratulations to Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the newly elected leader of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU).

The Prime Minister wrote: “You are taking over the leadership of the CDU at a time which is crucial for the future of your party, your country and the European Union. I wish you the best of health in successfully dealing with the major challenges”. He stressed that “in the spirit of the alliance we entered into with Helmut Kohl, we Hungarian Christian democrats continue to attach strategic importance to relations between Fidesz and the CDU which points far beyond the bilateral dimension”.

In the context of the upcoming elections to the European Parliament, the Prime Minister wrote that they add further significance to the alliance and cooperation between the two parties, as part of which Fidesz seeks both to preserve shared traditional values and to strengthen the European Union’s cohesion, security and competitiveness. “Our joint responsibility is for the European People’s Party to becoming an inescapable – and the strongest – player in shaping Europe’s political agenda over the period ahead”, Mr. Orbán wrote.

The Hungarian prime minister concluded his letter of congratulations thus: “I am pleased to acknowledge that we have launched a promising structured dialogue between Fidesz and the CDU. For my part I am ready to bring this joint project to a successful conclusion, and to this end I look forward to meeting you in person at your earliest convenience.”

(Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister/MTI)