Hungarian Conservative

Borjana Krišto emphasized the good cooperation between the two friendly countries and welcomed the work of the Joint Economic Commission between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Hungary, noting that there is significant space and demand for increasing bilateral trade.

Peter Pellegrini met with his Hungarian counterpart László Kövér, as well as President Tamás Sulyok, and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. He stressed that Hungary and Slovakia both oppose the removal of veto rights of EU Member States, illegal immigration into Europe, and sending troops to Ukraine.

One of the EU’s appeals is its ability to integrate economic regions in its immediate neighbourhood, where it can reap mutual benefits. This is also true for the candidate countries of the Western Balkans, whose future membership has geopolitical and security policy benefits in addition to economic advantages.

According to the ministry’s statement, the Hungarian Foreign Minister underscored that one of the main priorities of Hungarian foreign policy remains the acceleration of Western Balkan integration. Consequently, Hungary will dedicate particular attention to this goal during its upcoming EU presidency.

Hungary has been a committed promoter of the European Union’s enlargement in the Western Balkans, and sees it as a fundamental interest of European security and economy, Judit Varga, a Fidesz lawmaker, told Hungarian news agency MTI after talks in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In an interview with Hungarian political daily Magyar Nemzet, Chief of the General Staff Gábor Böröndi highlighted the new capabilities Hungary is contributing to NATO’s collective defence, and the extent to which the experience of the Russo-Ukrainian war has changed procurement plans and objectives.

Balázs Orbán pointed out that Hungarian foreign policy has long sought to draw attention to the fact that the Balkans should be offered the prospective of European integration. ‘This is another potential conflict zone that can explode just like the Ukrainian-Russian conflict. It is important for every EU country to stand in favour of the Western Balkans enlargement policy for the sake of the stability of the region,’ he emphasised.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited Belgrade, for talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.

Ahead of the upcoming presidential elections in Montenegro, US Deputy Assistant Secretary Gabriel Escobar has warned of the possibility of Russian interference. A fast-tracked accession to the EU of the Western Balkans countries, which Hungary has been urging for some time, could put an end to Russian influence in the region.

The latest developments in the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade indicate that Belgrade may even recognise Kosovo’s statehood in order for Kosovo and Serbia to find peace alongside each other as EU member states.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is celebrating its 31st anniversary on 1 March, while the President of the country’s autonomous unit Republika Srpska is denying the genocide that happened during the Bosnian War.

‘Hungary and Austria are good neighbours and maintain very close cooperation in almost all areas, including the field of the military and defence,’ the Hungarian Minister of Defence underlined after meeting with his Austrian counterpart in Budapest.