President Novák Urges Western Balkans’ EU Accession

MTI-Hungary Today 2023.09.05.

Hungary is a good ally, and we must show everyone that it has always been a good ally and will always be one, the President of the Republic highlighted at the annual meeting of ambassadors held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Monday.

In her speech to Hungary’s head of missions, Katalin Novák stressed that Hungary is an ally that can be counted on when things get “tough” and never breaks its word.

The head of state noted that

Hungary always acts in the Hungarian interest and “negotiates at eye level” with its allies and with parties beyond systems of alliances.

The president also mentioned that “our goal is for the Western Balkans to finally belong to the European Union. Our country has a bridging role to play in this, because we must help to promote understanding between the Member States of the EU and the countries of the Western Balkans.”

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Novák stressed that the countries of the region do not need to prove that they are European. The countries of the Western Balkans are obviously European countries, the culture of the Western Balkans is obviously European culture.

The president pointed out that this was beyond dispute and that Hungary had to strengthen their conviction that they naturally belonged to Europe. She said

it would therefore be a restoration of a natural state of affairs if they finally joined the EU in legal terms.

Speaking about the Russian-Ukrainian war, Novák said that Hungary’s position is crystal clear: Hungary is on the side of peace, and we have condemned Russia’s aggression from the very first moment, and we stand by Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The head of state also underlined that Hungary insists on the minority and language rights of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia (formerly part of Hungary, now Ukraine) and will continue to do so in the future. No one can expect us to make any concessions or compromises with regard to the Hungarians living in Transcarpathia that would diminish or deprive them of their rights, she added.

Fact

Last December, the Ukrainian parliament adopted a new law on national minorities, as one of the conditions for Ukraine to start negotiations on its accession to the EU. However, Hungarian organizations criticized the new law, saying that lawmakers completely ignored constructive proposals previously made by minority organizations. According to them, the law not only reinforces the restrictions on rights previously codified in the Education and Language Law that was hurtful to Hungarian communities, but also introduces new ones, and it “does not guarantee the preservation of compact nationality settlement areas, nor the use of nationality symbols.”

At the end of her speech, Novák also emphasized: our allies are welcome in Hungary.

On September 14-15, the Budapest Demographic Summit will take place for the fifth time,

and in the second half of next year, she would like to host world women leaders during the Hungarian EU Presidency.

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Via MTI, Featured image via Facebook/Novák Katalin